<p>I love entrepreneurship and after getting rejected from stanford and wharton, it looks like I’m coming to UCLA. I’m gonna be studying engineering, but are there any classes, programs, clubs, or activities at UCLA for me to participate in for my business/entrepreneurship interests? I’ve started an online retail company already, and hoping to look into other ventures as I continue to learn and grow. Do any aspects the engineering programs at UCLA cater technology entrepreneurs? I’m very self-motivated, but it’d be nice to get a little help.</p>
<p>UCLA doesn’t value entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>The business school (UCLA Anderson) is known for its entrepreneurship training (it’s not GSB or Wharton though) and you should be able to join in with some of the MBA students there who are interested in entrepreneurship. As a recent grad and engineer, UCLA will offer some help in the sense that there are a ton of people whom you can interact with in your quest to create a business. I’ve had the opportunity to take classes at Anderson and you should take advantage of Peter Pao’s classes - his perspective is largely from an industry/corporate viewpoint, but what he teaches you in product strategy is pretty clutch. Other classes to take include finance/technology management so you can know the numbers behind the business, business law so you won’t get screwed, and micro/macro econ. In addition, you can always attend the multitude of talks and events that are hosted on campus. For example, Alexis Ohanian is coming to UCLA in two days to speak, I saw Tim Westergren (founder of Pandora) last year among others as well. </p>
<p>Overall though - I have to say… university courses aren’t exactly the best way to prepare for running your own tech startup/etc. You’re already DOING which is where you’ll learn the most. Many of my friends have started businesses out of UCLA, some success, some to lesser degrees and although UCLA will help you craft the mindset needed to succeed in life (thinking critically about world issues), it’s not going to teach you anything mind blowing in entrepreneurship. There’s definitely clubs where you can take advantage of running your own mini-business/organization. I’m going to do a plug for where I spent 3 years - Bruin Consulting (find them at bruinco.com) will surround you with like minded people (although the main goal is getting consulting jobs to students, many of us end up elsewhere). If you don’t see what you like, you can create your club.</p>
<p>not sure what types of engineering you are entering as, but I have two good CS friends that landed great internships…the quirkier of the two loves to invest/has crazy business ideas and he’s going to work at Google this summer, so provided you excel, you can land some amazing opportunities here</p>
<p>I’ve found there are a decent amount of opportunities for entrepreneurs in the engineering college. I’m taking a “technical management” technical elective which features the courses: Entrepreneurship, Engineering economics, and business finances (or something like that). Further, I’ve gotten a bunch of E-mails about entrepreneurial mixers between the Anderson school and the engineering college. There are also entrepreneurial and business frats to become a part of. The opportunities are definitely here in my opinion.</p>
<p>and also, I’m an undergrad student, if that makes a difference</p>
<p>Nice post by Deuces…</p>
<p>The problem with someone studying entrepreneurship (spelling?) in college is what to entreprenueur when he/she graduates.</p>
<p>Is retail what you want to do? That and engineering seem to be at opposite poles – one is low tech and one is extremely high tech.</p>
<p>That’s why it’s better to study something to give a preofession in which to turn: manufacturing/industrial engineering, electrical engineering, etc, and worry about the starting one’s own bus later.</p>
<p>And if you were to get a doctorate in, say, electrical engineering, you could start your own chip firm and maybe have it bought out by a bigger one, or expand your own company. (I know, this is getting way getting way ahead.) By doing something like this, you can have someone handle the administrative, running-the-bus part and create/design chips yourself.</p>
<p>Most people learn the entreprenurial stuff as they go along. I’m not real big on this degree in and of itself, even if you had to turn in a senior thesis on starting a company.</p>
<p>I started my company more as a learning experience (learn the basics of starting a business, and online retail is the lowest overhead/risk and as you said low tech business to start with), in addition to its benefits over having a job. I wasn’t planning on majoring in business, and that’s why wharton (M&T) was the only business school I applied to. I was just wondering if there were any perks/guidance available to entrepreneurs at UCLA to help me move from my current business to implementing an idea I have for a tech business that is more complex.</p>
<p>I just realized that this thread is also an attempt to sooth the disappointment of being rejected from wharton.</p>
<p>is there anything at UCLA that’s remotely similar to USC’s or MIT’s e-club? (entrepreneurs’ club)</p>
<p>I’m starting to feel like the entire college application/acceptance process (and the associated costs) are a HUGE scam: [College</a> Admit Rate Plummets: Big Money College Bonanza Time! | The Awl](<a href=“http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/college-admit-rate-plummets-big-money-college-bonanza-time]College”>College Admit Rate Plummets: Big Money College Bonanza Time! - The Awl)</p>
<p>“A record-high number of applicants for UCLA results in low admissions”</p>
<p>Ugh.</p>
<p>Having worked with a lot of entrepreneurs in my career now (I work in tech, they’re everywhere!) I gotta say… I see no trends in schools. The only thing I see is that they’re really hungry, really hard working types.</p>
<p>I’m not convinced that “entrepreneurship” clubs or classes have much value outside of the networking. If you have it, you’ll do great either way.</p>
<p>narnio,</p>
<p>How does your comment relate to this thread?</p>
<p>I guess a better question to ask would be If I were to go to UCLA, will I have the time and freedom to try out entrepreneurial ideas? Also, I work on projects all the time at home; my most recent project is building a CNC machine. I doubt I’ll be able to do these things in my dorm, but are the resources there for me to work on projects like these at UCLA?</p>
<p>They’re all PHDs, undoubtedly consult, have their own businesses. Tell them of your personal projects; I think they’ll get a kick out of them and be impressed. These are the men and women you’ll most identify with on mentorship basis, in whatever direction you take. </p>
<p>Also, join the engineering clubs on campus and find people of with the same interests as you, but at least vary the mix. You’ll notice that all the firms/companies that are initially formed are usually partnerships, usually with different things each brings to the table.</p>
<p>Friends have mine have gone on to create companies out projects within the research lab - it’s a bit more focused on the technical stuff, but that’s one opportunity. The beauty of college life is that you can allocate as much time as you fit, as long as you can handle it. One of my good friends, who once was on this board, recently moved to London because he could run his web start-up from anywhere in the world. Took a break from school and just left to finish out the project. </p>
<p>Are you already reading sites like TechCrunch, Hacker News (news.ycombinator.com) or other start-up related blogs? If software entrepreneurship is what you want to do, hacking away on your own time is the best way to do it, but undergoing a CS degree will also help focus your energies and provide a backup degree in case you burn out or fail as an entrepreneur (which will happen!).</p>