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From International MBA To Entrepreneurship: How I Launched My Own Company

Find out how Haobo Jiang discovered a passion for innovation at the emlyon International MBA

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Mon Nov 27 2023

BusinessBecause
Whether you want to be your own boss, or you have a great idea for a startup, becoming an entrepreneur is a popular career path for business school grads.

Entrepreneurship is a popular post-business school career goal and a sought-after part of the MBA curriculum. In 2023, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) Prospective Students Survey found that almost half of business school applicants felt entrepreneurship and innovation was a curricula essential.

For Haobo Jiang, his International MBA from emlyon business school not only fueled his passion for entrepreneurship but also served as the launching pad for his own successful business venture.

We caught up with Haobo to find out how his International MBA helped him get there. 


Discovering MBA entrepreneurship

After 13 years working across various sectors including IT engineering, finance, and supply chain management at appliance company Groupe SEB, Haobo (pictured) decided it was time for a change.

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“I had a general vision of the business world, but I lacked an understanding of core business elements,” he explains. “I realized it would be a good thing to have an MBA to complete that piece of the puzzle.”

With emlyon, a top-rated business school in Lyon, France, located across the street from his place of work, Haobo got the perfect opportunity to find that missing piece of his puzzle.

Despite having no prior plans to launch a startup, as soon as Haobo joined emlyon he quickly became interested in MBA entrepreneurship. The small class sizes gave him the ability to connect with his cohort and access personal support that developed his interest in the area. 

“Our team took the [entrepreneurship] course quite seriously, and we had a great teacher who inspired a lot of ideas. That was the start of everything.”


Gaining experience in MBA entrepreneurship 

The emlyon International MBA prioritizes innovative thinking and places a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship. 

One of the MBA classes Haobo took, named Fundamentals of New Ventures, is a dynamic and involved course, which works with students to develop their ideas from the conception of a problem to pitching a fully-fledged idea. 

A freelance professor, Benjamin-Samuel Ewenczyk (pictured), teaches this class and brings his own experience as a successful entrepreneurship. Ben founded 4 Hour Startup, which creates, teaches, and helps implement resources about lean startup methodology and lean prototyping. 

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He also launched a vintage clothes brand with a past student, so he had many business lessons to impart to budding emlyon MBA entrepreneurs.

His class teaches students how to establish small, achievable ideas, then workshop the concepts and, finally, pitch a complete idea. 

“The class is a small accelerator. The idea is to teach the students about the fundamentals and push them to work on what's important at that stage,” Ben says.  

He adds that the key is for students to discover the most important part of a business idea.

“At the end of the day, what you want is to do something that’s useful, and that’s solving a problem for your users.”

Throughout Haobo’s time at emlyon, especially on his entrepreneurship course, collaboration with his fellow students helped him develop his entrepreneurial mindset and skills.

“At first, we didn't realize we were making mistakes. And then when we shared the results, not only with the teacher, but also with other groups, you realize that there are better ways of doing things,” he says. 


Launching a business after an MBA

At the end of the semester, many of Ben’s students have strong ideas that morph into viable solutions. 

Haobo’s initial business idea came about from thinking about ways to teach Chinese in French schools. He went through various versions and mistakes before the idea became a solid foundation for a startup.

“That project evolved and matured a lot. Its origin was a very different version.”

Haobo describes the thorough process he went through to find the right version of his idea.   

“I submitted the proposal to my colleagues, to explore how things are going in the French education system. Then step by step, we met people who are working in the field, such as educational officials, parents, and students.

“Somehow we got to a conclusion about how we can contribute to make things better,” he explains. 

This conclusion formed the basis of his business, Rivière Yuan EdTech. Haobo realized that teachers had too many balls to juggle, including class preparation, dedicated time with students, and reporting to superiors and parents. 

He proposed an end-to-end process that invested in generative AI, helping students prepare more efficiently, more readily interact with the students during class, and transform preparation into exercises.

“Finally, since everything is tracked with the platform we’ve created, we give teachers some really easy to use models for the basic reporting purpose.”

Haobo still feels supported by the emlyon International MBA through the network he cultivated there and the support he received. 

“You get very experienced professionals—not only professors but entrepreneurs themselves—who spend some time with you, who can listen and help you succeed as an MBA entrepreneur,” he concludes. 

Student Reviews

emlyon business school

Student

Verified

4/12/2023

On Campus

Intense courses, helpful professors

I am an international student in my 3rd year and I love going to this school and do not regret chosing it for my BBA. The classes are helpful, professors are always there to help as well and we have a very understanding administration.

Student

Verified

18/03/2023

On Campus

Leadership in an amazing city

I decided to do my exchange in Emlyon because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, and I found a space with very capable People.. participatory, empathetic and full of leadership. I will never forget Lyon, apart from giving me an unforgettable experience, he gave me great friends

Student

Verified

23/11/2021

On Campus

A lot of opportunities professionally and socially. A unique program in France.

You can choose your courses and do your internship, exchange whenever you want. It's flexible and adapted to the needs of each student. A great program and a great city! Professionally, it opens a lot of doors for you to find internships or jobs in France or abroad thanks to the network and career events.

Fabian

Verified

7/06/2020

MSc in Digital Marketing

Combining both worlds into one, this course gave me all the on-demand technical skills in data science while maintaining a business-oriented approach. Thanks to the strong academic profile of this university I was able to secure an internship and full-time job at Amazon.

Student

Verified

14/10/2018

Top Business School fostering innovative entrepreneurs

EMLyon is one of the best business schools. The campuses, associations and courses offered provide the students with the best options to build the future they have chosen. The various opportunities to study and work abroad also offer a deeper understanding of the world, not only economy-wise but social, which helps the student become as well a better individual and not only a pre-formated business school student.

Student

Verified

9/06/2020

Emlyon campus in Paris

It has a great international community and you have access to many international tools, courses and professors. I had many networking events and workshops for students. Campus and some details of the program could have been improved or need to be bigger in order to have a better student life.

Student

Verified

21/11/2022

On Campus

Entrepreneurship

Overall good content and good activities. Lack of administration but still ok. Good flexibility and liberty offered to the students. Finally, the amount of internship is also a good way to improve qualifications.

Student

Verified

25/05/2020

Good Reputation and International Business School

The course was not well adapted but it was up to the mark. The professors are very well experienced and their experience comes in handy while working on assignments. The facilities on the campus are top class. Truly professional. I really like spending time in the learning hub and using all the available resources. Lyon is an amazing city. You will never get bored.

Edel

Verified

11/07/2024

On Campus

MSc International Hospitality Management

The best educational experience of my life so far! It’s been full of exposure and great connections. From Lyon to London, Paris, Los Angeles and Las Vegas! Truly an exceptional way to discover the world of hospitality.

Student

Verified

11/07/2024

On Campus

Real networking opportunities

- meeting new people, specially professionals during seminars or evening meeting at school. - going abroad to study luxury - being involved as an ambassador to promote the school and the program I was into (MSc LMM) - having such a great professional core

Daphné

Verified

14/07/2024

On Campus

white baccalaureate in the world of work

I really appreciated the MS SDAI as a whole. The teaching staff, the different subjects, the university exchange, TEM... I started my internship in a consulting firm having acquired a solid foundation. Downside for CentraleSupélec, which I found far too academic for a program such as this.

Student

Verified

11/09/2024

On Campus

Great

Pretty great ! Emlyon business school is a top educational institution known for its outstanding academic programs, nurturing environment, and state-of-the-art facilities. It fosters creativity, critical thinking, and leadership in students.