As the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this month, it was named for two notable faculty members who founded the center and guided it to become a leader in entrepreneurship education.
The Grousbeck-Holloway Center for Entrepreneurial Studies honors professors H. Irving Grousbeck and Charles A. Holloway, who created the center in 1996 and have helped generations of students launch successful businesses. More than 100 alumni and friends who have benefited from their expertise contributed to the naming gift, which supports the center’s core teaching and research programs and bolsters its efforts to evolve in a rapidly shifting startup landscape.
“Irv and Chuck paved the way for entrepreneurial studies at Stanford,” said Stanford President Jonathan Levin, who previously served as dean of the business school. “I’m grateful for their leadership and for the generous alumni who are honoring their enduring influence by supporting this incredible center for learning and discovery.”
Founders with a vision
Grousbeck and Holloway established the center at a time when entrepreneurship education was in its early days at Stanford. There were just three course offerings and virtually no published research when A. Michael Spence, then dean of Stanford GSB, challenged them to establish a program in entrepreneurial studies that capitalized on the school’s location in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Grousbeck, the MBA Class of 1980 Adjunct Professor of Management, Emeritus, and Holloway, the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Professor of Management, Emeritus, led the center’s growth over many years. As the center took shape, they cultivated a model of entrepreneurship education that features classes co-taught by Stanford researchers and accomplished founders or investors, in-class analysis of case studies of recent startups, and co-curricular programs like the Entrepreneurial Summer Internship Program that enable students to try out entrepreneurship by interning with early-stage firms.
“The Grousbeck-Holloway Center for Entrepreneurial Studies is a testament to what’s possible through the ongoing engagement of alums as mentors and supporters,” said Sarah A. Soule, the Philip H. Knight Professor and Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Morgridge Professor of Organizational Behavior. “It’s fitting to recognize Irv and Chuck for placing entrepreneurial studies at the heart of the GSB experience. Nearly every MBA student takes at least one entrepreneurship course. As student demand for these courses rises and markets shift in real time, the continued support of alumni will be especially meaningful to shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
Stanford GSB alumni have founded more than 5,500 ventures, including Asurion, Tableau, and Workday, in the three decades since the center's establishment, and many have returned as lecturers in the center’s classes. Today, the center offers more than 50 courses on entrepreneurship and innovation; supports research on startups, venture funding, and entrepreneurial ecosystems; publishes 40-50 cases annually; and offers a range of co-curricular learning opportunities. Its signature offerings include the Botha-Chan Innovation Program, an eight-week experiential summer program made possible by a gift from Roelof Botha, MBA ’00, and Huifen Chan, MBA ’00, and the Stanford Venture Studio, which provides a set of resources for students evaluating a new startup idea as part of their Stanford GSB learning journey.
A new era of entrepreneurship
About a decade ago, more than 100 alumni and friends of Stanford GSB joined together to name the Grousbeck-Holloway Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Their collective fundraising effort was designed to honor Grousbeck and Holloway after their retirement and support the center’s ongoing innovation in teaching and research. Grousbeck retired last year, enabling the center to announce its new name during its 30th anniversary celebration earlier this month.
“The reason I teach here and why I contributed to this gift is simple,” said Graham Weaver, MBA ’99, who teaches courses on leadership and personal development. “Stanford GSB students have so much potential to take what they learn and do something that has an incredible impact on the world. I see it every day in our extraordinary students. They come here because they want to make a difference in the world – and they are.”
In the years since the gift was made, it has enabled the center to hire lecturers for existing courses, launch new courses, and create timely and relevant case studies, providing vital support for the center’s continual efforts to adapt amid rapid changes to the business landscape.
New courses launched with support from the gift include Understanding AI Technologies for Business Problems, designed to help future leaders become conversant in AI and attuned to its potential; Research-Driven Inspiration, in which students interview experts to develop a deeper understanding of the industries they hope to change; and Ecopreneurship Foundations, an entry-level course on climate-focused entrepreneurship.
“There will always be a need to refresh our curriculum because the playing field for entrepreneurs is always shifting, reshaping how companies form, grow, and compete. The support and engagement of GSB alumni and friends is critical to our ability to continue adapting,” said Stefanos Zenios, faculty director of the center and the Investment Group of Santa Barbara Professor of Entrepreneurship. “It’s exciting to think about the connections, ideas, and ventures the center might spark for future students – and the impact those students will go on to have throughout their careers.”
Writer
Andrew Johnson
