Kauffman Labs Training Aspiring Entrepreneurs

There are a lot of colleges and universities offering MBAs and even entrepreneur courses but another well known foundation has just graduated its first class in an effort to give entrepreneurs real world training on how to take a business from an idea to a thriving institution who is hiring employees and generating positive cash flow.

You may have heard of the Kauffman Foundation. As one of the nations 30 largest foundations with $2.1 billion in assets, the Kauffman Foundation is able to throw a lot of financial weight behind the programs that it believes will further the growth of entrepreneurialism. One of their biggest areas of investment has always been education. This started with the Kauffman Campsuses. After working with post secondary colleges and universities for years to establish entrepreneurism as a bonafied academic program, the Kauffman Foundation selected 8 universitiy campuses to launch this new program.

This program was not designed as a business program. Instead, it was crafted to encourage entrepreneurial thinking across all disiplines. From artists to physicians, every academic discipline requires entreprenerial thinking and by encouraging this way of thinking while learning the foundational knowledge needed to start a business, the next generation of small businesses would emerge.

Just this year, the Kauffman Foundation graduated its first class from Kauffman Labs. This program is drastically different from their college and university endeavors. Think of this program as an entrepreneur boot camp. Twenty three entrepreneurs selected from more than one thousands applicants spent four months learning through practical instruction the science of entrepreneurship.

The instruction was individualized and intense. Each participant learned how to form and refine their idea, build a team of experts, explore the many different funding options, and present to venture capitalists and angel investors. Their final assignment was to present their busienss idea to sixty six of the nations biggest and most influential business professionals. This was far more than an exercise in forming a business. As a result of their training, some of the Kauffman Labs participants received funding to further develop their idea.

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur remember that there is always more to learn and Foundations like the Kauffman Foundation are on the front lines of making sure that the knowledge you need to succeed as an entrepreneur is available to you. Go to their website and learn how you can further your knowledge. For an entrepreneur, knowledge directly equals more revenue.