Product Description

This new and updated third edition equips real–world entrepreneurs with the same state–of–the–art business knowledge and information taught to MBA candidates in top business schools. Within this book you’ll find all the entrepreneurial advice you need to run a business:

• Recognizing great entrepreneurial opportunities
• Writing a business plan and building your financial statements
• Securing financing with venture capital or debt financing
• Franchising your business
• Managing a growing business
• Protecting intellectual property
• Selling a business when the time comes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #179175 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 500 pages

From the Inside Flap
Opportunities for entrepreneurs with vision are endless in today’s global economy. More and more people are seizing the opportunity to get out of someone else’s office and into their own–starting their own businesses and finding independence. Success is by no means a guarantee, but there’s no reward without risk. The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship is designed to lessen that risk.

This new and updated Third Edition equips real–world entrepreneurs with the same state–of–the–art business knowledge and information taught to MBA candidates in top business schools. William Bygrave and Andrew Zacharakis lead an all–star team of professors, consultants, and entrepreneurs in bringing this bestselling business resource into step with the times through a host of new case studies and examples. Changing legal, tax, and regulatory climates for small businesses and entrepreneurs are examined and explained in full detail, and–as in previous editions–you’ll find all the entrepreneurial advice you need to run a business:

• Recognizing great entrepreneurial opportunities
• Writing a business plan and building your financial statements
• Securing financing with venture capital or debt financing
• Franchising your business
• Managing a growing business
• Protecting intellectual property
• Selling a business when the time comes

As always, The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship brings you the collective wisdom of some of the top names in business and academia, in plain, accessible language. Solid and substantive, written in a clear and engaging style, this book is a cutting–edge education in entrepreneurship at a cut–rate price.

From the Back Cover
The only book that offers a state–of–the–art education in entrepreneurship

. . . From an all–star team that includes:

William D. Bygrave, Babson College • Jeffry Timmons, Harvard University and Babson College • Abdul Ali, Babson College • Kathleen Seiders, Babson College • Andrew Zacharakis, Babson College • William Wetzel, University of New Hampshire • Joel Shulman, Babson College • Elizabeth Gatewood, Indiana University • Richard Mandel, Babson College • Joseph Iandiorio, Iandiorio & Teska • Steve Spinelli, Babson College • J. William Petty, Baylor University • Julian Lange, Babson College • Ed Marram, Babson College • Donna Kelly, Babson College

Starting your own business is an increasingly popular and feasible response to today’s changing job market, and the best entrepreneurial wisdom available is in The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship, Third Edition. Edited by William Bygrave and Andrew Zacharakis, two seasoned professors of entrepreneurship at Babson College, it covers all the fundamentals–from opportunity recognition to venture capital to formulating smart business plans. This revised volume of the 600,000–copy bestseller includes a wealth of new case studies, as well as updated tax and legal information. Geared towards both MBA candidates and aspiring entrepreneurs, The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship guides the reader through the startup process and beyond, culling wisdom from the best and brightest in the field. If you’re ready to see what the entrepreneurial world has to offer you, this book is your ticket.

About the Author
WILLIAM D. BYGRAVE, MA, Dphil, MBA, DBA, is the Frederic C. Hamilton Professor for Free Enterprise and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Babson College, and visiting professor at INSEAD (the European Institute for Business Administration).

ANDREW ZACHARAKIS, BS, MBA, PhD, is the Paul T. Babson Term Chair in Entrepreneurship and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College.

The Portable MBA Series
The Portable MBA, with over 600,000 copies sold, continues to provide readers with a continuing business education. These titles provide comprehensive coverage of the primary business functions taught in MBA programs, as well as focused coverage of today’s vital business topics.

Customer Reviews

A good reference and overview of Entrepreneurship
As an undergraduate, I studied political science; as a graduate student, I studied history (among other things) - however, few if any of my classes ever dealt with the actual mechanics of business, despite dealing with business in a more general sense (as it would fit in the context of history and politics). I decided that it was important to learn some of the basic concepts of business administration, and the Portable MBA series by John Wiley & Sons publishers fit the bill.

This book on entrepreneurship begins very directly - 'This is the entrepreneurial age,' author William Bygrave writes in the first chapter. Entrepreneurship is a revolutionary force driving economies on a global scale, often from very small beginnings. This book has gone through several editions; imagine the change in the world since the first edition in 1993, when the world wide web and this thing called the 'internet' was barely a blip on the business radar screen! This show the power of entrepreneurial spirit and activity.

Schumpeter once described an entrepreneur as 'the person who destroys the existing economic order by introducing new products and services, by creating new forms of organisation, or by exploiting new raw materials.' This can be done within existing businesses or by creating new ones - observe the number of transformations that have taken place with even major corporations revamping their product lines, means of production, or organisational/administrative structures. The factors that go into creating entrepreneurial enterprises are psychological, sociological, personal/creative, environmental, political - it is hard to isolate particular things as indispensable, but relatively easy to see those things which are helpful.

Entrepreneurs are like inventors in many ways - on the one hand, they must create something new, but on the other hand, must find ways to exploit it in a beneficial way. This includes financing, intellectual property / patent rights, business negotiations, possibly franchising and licensing for production and sales. These require an understanding of the business processes including marketing, accounting, finance, management, planning, and more. This book covers all these aspects. There is also a special section devoted to the internet (which is also addressed as appropriate in the other sections, too).

The authors who contributed to this volume have both academic and professional experience, and tend to do a good job at explaining things in terms that the non-professional can understanding. Anyone with a basic undergraduate background should find this volume accessible.

This is not a how-to book, but rather a good survey and reference for those who want to better understand the entrepreneurial phenomenon, which is an important force in the economy today.

A decent reference book, but not a good read.
I would not consider this a "Portable MBA". It is clearly a book for reference. Additionally, this book does not compare to a true MBA education.

Good Entrepreneurial Resource
Needed this book for an MBA class. This was the first book I actually enjoyed reading and did more than what was assigned. Insightful and practical, a good beginners resource for entrpreneurialism.