Thirty-two MBA students form Alfaisal University came to Boise for an educational seminar designed specifically for them — “Business Startups: Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship” at Boise State.
The session was organized by Bill Lathen, accounting professor and former dean of the College of Business and Economics. While on sabbatical teaching in Saudi Arabia, he was appointed interim dean and recommended that the MBA students make Boise the destination for their international trip. Lathen and Kirk Smith, associate dean for the COBE along with Executive Education staff and faculty put together the 10-day program.
The program emphasis was on the early stage of business formation including conception, initial funding, getting customers and making changes to a business plan along th
e way.
Instructors and guest speakers were selected to give the optimum blend of academic and business experience. All of the instructors have many years of experience teaching in Boise State’s MBA programs—both traditional and executive—and many of them also lead our executive education programs. Guest speakers Clay Young, CEO, Inovus and George Mulhern, CEO, CradlePoint gave students a glimpse into well-run, Western start-ups. David Light, CEO, PakSense and Tony Olbrich, CEO, US Bank also spoke to the students.
Classroom instruction topics and professors were Presentation Strategies, Pat Delana; Design Thinking, Roy Glen; Personal Selling, Cheryl Larabee; Initial Revenue Generation Including Social Media, Jason MacDonald; Jobs Based Segmentation and Targeting, Jason MacDonald; Scanning the Periphery and The Hambrick Model, Nancy Napier; Marketing Opportunity and Early Stage Financing, Kent Neupert; and Turnarounds and Dramatic Repositioning, Courtney White.
The 10-day event wasn’t all in the classroom. Recreational activities for the group included a covered wagon ride and western dinner, rafting the Payette river, tour of Boise, Thunder Mountain Train ride, and an American Thanksgiving dinner at the Lathen residence.
