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MIT was founded with a practical bent in mind. In fact, the 1861 enabling Massachusetts legislation cited "the advancement, development, and practical application of science in connection with arts, agriculture, manufactures, and commerce." And today, entrepreneurship--the practice of launching businesses aimed at cutting edge opportunities--is a powerful mantra throughout the Institute.

MIT's 50K Entrepreneurship Competition is the flagship of this impetus. The student business plan competition, begun in 1990 with a $10K prize, has grown from an opportunity for students to present ideas to venture capitalists to a community-wide fast track to IPOs that is watched world-wide.

"We have a real impact at MIT. We have catalyzed the formation of 59 companies worth $10.5 billion employing well over 1800 people," says Elad Gil, PhD '01, lead organizer of the competition (read more in an interview with Elad Gil).

The $50K path begins each fall as students engage in a series of workshops, teambuilding activities, and a preliminary $1K warmup competition that all lead to a May showdown of crisp ideas that could launch fast--with some cash.

Read about this year's winner, EyeGen, or find out how alumni/ae can get involved on teams, as mentors, or as sponsors.

Big Tent for Entrepreneurs

To foster business innovation across the Institute, MIT launched the Entrepreneurship Center to "train and develop leaders who will make high-tech ventures successful." The Center facilitates research and educational momentum as well as premier networking opportunities.

The Center offers courses during the semester and IAP including E-Lab, a "part internship, part entrepreneurship" experience that exposes students to business principles while solving the high-stakes problems of client firms.

Getting money to fund budding ventures is also key. The Technology Capital Network, a nonprofit established at MIT in 1990, uses a proprietary, computerized matching process and education programs to "make money flow between investors and entrepreneurs." In 1999, that amounted to $38 million.

Housed at the Sloan School, the Center also hosts the Entrepreneurship Society, a support network for students and recent alums that links them to other alumni/ae, faculty, and staff and to funding sources. Members pledge to contribute 3 to 25 percent of their share in any venture they participate in founding in the course of their career.

A student focus comes via e-MIT, a web portal that highlights entrepreneurial events, programs, and ventures available to the MIT community and friends. The e-MIT site offers articles such as "Measure by Measure: E-Businesses Identify Best Practices with Metrics," a profile of McKinsey & Company's ePerformance Scorecard to help online businesses benchmark their business-to-customer efforts.

go on to Part 2: eBusiness Reigns at Sloan...

Technology Licensing Office TLO helped start 30 new companies for MIT community members last year. Find out what they can do for you.

Smart Money Strategies October 28: Candice Carpenter, CEO and founder of iVillage.com, will talk about raising and spending money on a new business venture in the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Fall Workshop.

Entrepreneurs Club Every Tuesday: Idea-sharing forum and networking session from 6-7 pm in Room 56-114.