Frankly, we don't care where they work the issue is thinking like an entrepreneur wherever they work. Guest lecturers include company founders and venture capitalists who cover such topics as product and market strategy, venture financing and cash flow management, and the challenges of managing growth and handling adversity. We go through a whole bunch of case studies, and by the time we get into June, the students have gotten a shot of adrenaline. That's when the students start their internships with start-up firms, generally defined as companies founded within the past two years, employ fewer than 50 people, and have yet to generate a profit. Throughout the internship, they meet regularly with their mentor, usually the CEO or another high-level executive, and gather as a class for six sessions with Byers and other faculty members to share experiences and seek guidance.
Students also keep e-mail journals of their internship experiences.
Mark Shaw, who received his master's in computer science in June 1998, interned at Kana. Com, Inc., a firm that develops software programs to help companies manage large volumes of consumer e-mail. At first, there were four or five people total, all of us in one room. We would sit around the table talking about the market, about documentation, about design icons. Everyone had input into everything, and I got to see the decision-making process up close.