The VentureFizz Podcast: Tom Eisenmann - Professor at Harvard Business School

For the 72nd episode of our podcast, I interviewed Tom Eisenmann, Professor at Harvard Business School.

What do the companies Rent the Runway, Birchbox, ThredUp, Cloudflare, Evertrue, and InsightSquared all have in common? Well, they are all companies that you may have heard of… but did you know that they all participated in Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition? It’s true and this is a small sampling of the amazing companies from this competition.

Sure, careers in management consulting and investment banking are still commonly considered by b-school grads, but its the path of entrepreneurship that has been one of the fastest growing areas of interest for students.

Thus, I was excited to interview Tom and get an inside look at entrepreneurship at HBS. Tom has over 20 years of experience as a faculty member and he is also the faculty Co-Chair of the HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, which supports these students who are looking to transform their ideas into successful startups and even perhaps… change the world.

In this episode of our podcast, we also cover lots of great topics like:

• ABC’s Shark Tank and how so many HBS affiliated companies have appeared on the show.
• Tom’s background and what led him down the path of academia.
• How HBS has evolved over time as it relates to entrepreneurship and its curriculum, including their case method approach.
• The common mistakes where entrepreneurs get tripped up.
• Tom’s thoughts on whether or not entrepreneurship is a trait someone is born with or is it something that can be taught.
• Advice on how to get into Harvard Business School.
• Plus, a lot more.

You can listen to the podcast in the player below. To make sure you receive future episodes, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or Soundcloud. If you enjoyed our show, please consider writing us a 5-star review—it will definitely help us get the word out there!