Living Entrepreneurship Blog / Global & Multicultural

Babson’s Professor Peter Cohan talks about his Elective Abroad: Paris Start-up Strategy

Professor Peter Cohan recently wrote an article for the Worcester Telegram about his Elective Abroad in Paris…

About three years ago, I thought it would be fun to teach a course about Paris startups. But I was pretty sure there were none. After some research I found out I was wrong. And so was born Babson College’s Paris Startup Strategy Offshore Elective.

On May 21, I returned from the third running of this annual undergraduate course, and it’s clear that Paris is making some progress. And that progress suggests some lessons for Worcester.

The Paris Startup Strategy Offshore Elective consists of three parts. The first — two day-long classes — explores theories seeking to explain questions: Why do some countries attract more private capital than others? Why does a small handful of cities spawn most startups and most cities do not? What makes the differences between the tiny number of successful startups and the rest?

The second part of the course involves cultural activities in Paris, such as visiting the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay, and meetings with startups, venture capitalists and incubators there.

In the third part, four student teams provide six weeks’ of consulting help to four Paris startups seeking to increase their revenues…

To read the entire article, click here.