Entrepreneurship Summer School | London Business School

Assess and shape your business opportunity in a robust and practical way

Gain the skills and insights you need to research your target market and industry. Find out what it takes to turn your idea into a viable business.

Are you contemplating an entrepreneurial venture but unsure how to take it forward?

Gain a robust methodology for assessing and shaping your venture, as well as plenty of time to discuss your idea with your peers, investors and experienced entrepreneurs
Work with a mentor to think through your business idea, overcome stumbling blocks and serve as a sounding board
Use your experience to decide whether a career as an entrepreneur is right for you.

Application Information 2020

Entrepreneurship Summer School Information Slides 2020

Applications for Entrepreneurship Summer School 2020 are now closed

All participants share the desire to develop a new venture idea. The Entrepreneurship Summer School is designed for:

Individuals who want to research the feasibility of a new business idea
People who are thinking of starting a new venture within their organisation
Those deciding if they want to pursue the entrepreneurial life
Those with start-up experience and those new to the idea
People from all backgrounds, including graduate students and people currently in the workforce.

Current London Business School students - the Entrepreneurship Summer School is covered by your tuition fees
External participants - full fees are £7,000, which includes all programme materials
London Business School alumni - all London Business School alumni receive a 50% discount.

"Entrepreneurship Summer School was a gamechanger for me, not only did I test a real business idea and get meaningful insights into the business model and potential customers, but also, I got a chance to test myself and my fit for a life as an entrepreneur."

Eido Almog,

Entrepreneurship Summer School student 2019 and MBA 2020
"ESS provided me with the structure to explore my business idea while emphasizing, above all, the need for market research. It takes the nature of the business idea to a real world setting with real potential clients and customers and forces you to assess viability."

Maeve Heneghan,

Entrepreneurship Summer School student 2019 and MBA 2020
"ESS gave us that boost we needed to jumpstart our startup and provided a chance to meet many fellow entrepreneurs, dreamers, and idealists we still keep in touch with."

Jenna Ahn,

Entrepreneurship Summer School student 2019 and EMBA Global Americas and Europe 2020
"Entrepreneurship Summer School was a gamechanger for me, not only did I test a real business idea and get meaningful insights into the business model and potential customers, but also, I got a chance to test myself and my fit for a life as an entrepreneur."

Eido Almog,

Entrepreneurship Summer School student 2019 and MBA 2020
"I now have a much better understanding of my business concept's true cost structure and customer needs due to the guidance and structured schedule of Entrepreneurship Summer School. "

Andrew Bates,

Entrepreneurship Summer School student, 2007 and MBA, 2008
"While I have not started a business since leaving Summer School in 2005, the knowledge I gained during the summer - how to build a business plan, fund projects and develop entrepreneurial skills - has proved vital in my career as a management consultant. "

Marc Berman

Entrepreneurship Summer School, 2005, and SEMBA 2006
"Thanks to ESS I found 'the cracks, so that the light could shine through'. By interacting with other students, successful and less successful founders, pragmatic and... even more pragmatic investors, I was able to get a 360 view of what is means to start your own company."

Alessandro Riccombeni,

Entrepreneurship Summer School student 2019, and EMBALS2020

Faculty FAQs

Who is eligible to apply?

LBS Students:

First year full-time MBA, EMBA, MiF, and Sloan students.

- First Year MBAs

- Sloan

- MiF

- EMBA London and Dubai:

• EMBADJ2020

• EMBALJ2020

• EMBADS2021

• EMBALS2021

- MiM and MaM students who are taking the 4th term

Any LBS student is eligible to take the course as an alumni after they graduate (50% reduction on the course fees).

External Applicants:

Must hold an undergraduate degree, copies of your transcripts will be required for your application.
Can I miss any sessions?

You really need to plan to attend all sessions. The only leeway we give is in the final weekend when we know that some students have already started exchange programmes. But the block week and August weekend are mandatory.
Can I do an internship over the summer as well as ESS?

It would be very difficult to complete both the ESS programme and a full-time internship properly. Both absorb your time – and just as importantly, your creative, thinking time. Part-time internships (say three days a week) seem to be more manageable (inasmuch as students have done so and done OK at ESS). If the internship is in a very similar sector to the ESS project then maybe you can combine but in that case I sure hope you’re disclosing your entrepreneurial ambition to the firm at which you’re interning!
I have an idea but it’s not yet fully formed. Can I still apply?

Yes, we don’t assume that the idea will survive ESS in its original form. So apply with your ‘best guess’ and expect the idea to morph and iterate as you carry out your research. We’d go as far as to say that -hardly any ideas remain unscathed by ESS. Adaptation and refining is part of the process. You get to Plan B through plan A.
Can I assume multiple ideas during the programme?

You should select just one idea to pursue. You can’t do two in enough depth. Remember it’s the methodology you’re learning. The venture idea is simply the vehicle for that learning.
Information on mentors

The mentors do not necessarily have domain knowledge. Their role is to help you on the process of starting a venture, something that they’ve all been through themselves at least once. We send them the 100 words summary of you venture (plus the 100 word bio) and they then select the ventures that intrigue them and to which they think they can add value. Often they have domain expertise and contacts, but this is a bonus. We do give participants a list of all mentor bios and if there is another with that sector experience then you can contact them through their mentee.
Finding tech support

We don’t provide this on systematic basis. Like all other types of input and expertise you need to test viability, it is for you to find. That is part of the process of building a business.

I have several ideas. How do I decide which to apply with?

You are welcome to pursue any idea that you may have as long as it’s ‘meaty’ enough to form the basis of a thorough micro-level analysis. We ask you to commit to one then carry out a thorough macro level market and industry analysis which – if done properly – weeds out fundamentally poor ideas before they ever get to ESS.
Can I apply if I have already started a business?

The purpose of ESS is the test the viability of a business idea, and to see if the entrepreneurial life is for you. If you already have a thriving business, then ESS is not for you, because you’ve already decided that your idea is viable. ESS is for ideas that you want to be more sure about before investing more time, money and energy (as well as credibility!).
Can I apply if my idea does not solve an existing problem?

Yes – maybe you’re ahead of the curve and potential users cannot envisage the benefits of the product or feel the pain of a problem they’re yet to have. Businesses like this can be the best – though there are different problems of timing and accurate ‘futurology’ which makes such ideas higher risk.
What if I have other commitments during the days of the session?

You should not schedule any other activities during the Block Week, Long Weekend, or Presentation Weekend, as these sessions will run over the full day (with some social events scheduled in the evening). It is not necessary for you to remain on campus in the weeks between these sessions, however you will need to schedule time to complete the assignments.
Can I apply as part of a team?

Yes, we accept teams of up to 3 people. Each member of a team must submit a CV, Bio and Personal Mission Statement. All other parts of the application may be submitted jointly.

Of course, one representative of your business idea may participate in ESS alone, it is not necessary for the whole team to apply together if this is not feasible.
Feedback on venture idea

We very explicitly do not judge the venture idea – rather we admit you on the arguments you present for the market and industry being OK (i.e. no early, obvious showstoppers). Clearly we do have thoughts on weak spots and are happy to discuss in class. However even here it is far healthier for participants to test out their ideas on each other and to come to their own conclusions on the areas where they should prioritise their research (which may or may not involve building some kind of MVP).