The Skandalaris Center is thrilled to announce that Washington University’s MBA entrepreneurship programs have secured the top spot in Poets&Quants ranking for the fifth consecutive year. MBAs are actively involved in entrepreneurship at the Skandalaris Center and we are proud to support them as they explore ideas and build incredible startups.
In the spring of 2023, the Skandalaris Center proudly awarded funding to an Olin MBA who was named a winner in our Skandalaris Venture Competition. Tim Berg (MBA ’22), founder of Ice Cream for Bears, received $10,000 in Launch Funding to support his startup’s continued growth and development.
“Each year, we continue to be impressed by the ambition and vision of our MBA students,” said II Luscri, Managing Director and Assistant Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “The #1 ranking, and the continued recognition of Olin’s programs, is a true testament of the entrepreneurial mindset and collaborative spirit found at WashU.”
According to the November 1st news release on Olin’s blog, written by Kurt Greenbaum:
For the fifth consecutive year, WashU Olin was ranked first in Poets&Quants’ global ranking of MBA entrepreneurship programs—a clean sweep since the ranking began.
The first-place ranking came on the strength of the percentage of Olin MBAs involved in startups and the number of startup mentors per MBA student.
Ranking organizers said it was close this year, with Olin edging out second-place finisher ESMT Berlin.
“This fifth consecutive top ranking further affirms our commitment to the critical role innovation plays in our economy and to the entrepreneurial spirit of our students, alumni, faculty and staff,” said Mike Mazzeo, WashU Olin’s dean. “It’s gratifying to be part of a school where this spirit is built into our DNA and part of everyday conversations.”
Courses at Olin, including the League of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, provide a platform to grow and scale companies. The course, taught by Doug Villhard, director of Olin’s entrepreneurship program, is a recent innovation in WashU Olin’s entrepreneurship curriculum, having welcomed its second cohort of students this year.
“We’ve worked hard to take our program to the next level by increasing our budget, adding advanced courses, diversifying guest speakers, engaging record numbers of alumni as mentors, hosting a national $50,000 pitch competition, offering five full-ride entrepreneurial fellowships, and recruiting exceptional faculty, staff and students,” Villhard said.
“However, the biggest impact on the rankings has been the success of our graduates in terms of starting companies, raising money, becoming venture capitalists, and earning entrepreneurial roles in large corporations,” he said. “Our students, always, are the real heroes of Olin’s ranking success.”
Olin was also a strong finisher in several other dimensions of the ranking, including MBAs creating startups after graduating; the percentage of MBAs taking innovation-focused electives; and the ratio of funding for MBA startups. In fact, these are the categories where WashU Olin ranked in the top five:
- MBAs who created startups within three months of graduation (five-year average), rank: third with 20.6%
- Percentage of MBAs taking an entrepreneurship/innovation-focused elective, rank: fifth with 89%
- Incubator/accelerator ratio: fourth
- Entrepreneurship-in-residence ratio: fifth
- VC/private equity ratio: fourth
- Mentor hour ratio per MBA: second, 19.40
- Ratio of funding for MBA startups: fourth