Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
Our mission: We accelerate new ventures of all kinds by providing Babson’s emerging entrepreneurs access to the opportunities, community, and critical resources that they need. We ignite the exchange of innovative ideas that will shape the future of entrepreneurship through our research and thought leadership.
Dedicated in 1998, The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship is the nerve center for entrepreneurial activity at Babson. The center was named in honor of Arthur M. Blank ’63, H’98 (co-founder of The Home Depot) and provides a home for:
- Signature Programs: Rocket Pitch, B.E.T.A. Challenge, and Summer Venture Program
- The John E. and Alice L. Butler Launch Pad
- The Butler Institute for Free Enterprise Through Entrepreneurship (BIFETE)
- Members of the Entrepreneurship Division faculty
- Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC)
- The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
Frank & Eileen™ Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership
At the Frank & Eileen™ Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (F&E CWEL) we believe entrepreneurial leadership is a life skill.
Thanks to the generosity of Frank & Eileen™ founder Audrey McLoghlin, we educate and empower leaders to create social and economic impact through industry and innovation as we research and enlighten the global community about the importance of inclusive leadership for prosperity and human progress.
The Center’s award-winning programs include:
- The F&E CWEL Mentor Network for graduate and undergraduate students
- The Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab® venture accelerator program for women entrepreneurs
- The Babson Association of Women MBAs (BAWMBA)
- The Diana International Research Institute (DIRI), the premier global research institute dedicated to women’s entrepreneurship
- Executive Education: Leadership Program for Women & Allies
Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship is where innovation meets entrepreneurship to bring health, economic, and social value for all, with a focus on health equity and justice. The KMH Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship aims impact entrepreneurial leaders in the health sector globally and the Babson community, including more than 1400 Babson alumni in the health sector via a series of initiatives including:
- Entrepreneurial Learning: The UGHE/Babson Global Health Innovation Lab
- Undergraduate Badge program: Be active in the health opportunities on campus and earn cords for graduation and an interesting talking point on your resume
- Research: Ongoing studies at the intersection of health innovation, entrepreneurship and health equity, health analytics, and health and well-being: Project ROI: Driving Corporate Involvement
- Advanced Education and Mentoring: Developing customized programs in Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Health Sector, Innovation and Commercialization, and Employee and Leader Well-Being
- Undergraduate Healthcare & Biotech Club
Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship
The Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship (BIFE) is a hub for research, resources, and innovative programming dedicated to entrepreneurial students and their families. Consistent with Babson’s leadership in entrepreneurship education, and unlike any other school, Babson’s commitment to family entrepreneurs recognizes that families, not just family businesses, drive entrepreneurial behavior. This includes the support of multigenerational family businesses, family foundations, startups and acquisitions supported by families, spousal startups, entrepreneurial family members embarking on separate ventures, and many other value-creating family activities.
Our programs include:
- Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Program
- Family Entrepreneurship Amplifier Program
- Networking by Industry
- Family Entrepreneurship Mentorship Program
- Live Case Study Series
Institute for Social Innovation
The Institute for Social Innovation inspires action around the biggest challenges of our time: the UN Global Goals. We help the Babson community and cross-sector stakeholders tap into important networks, frameworks, resources, and conversations that promote taking productive action in creating economic and social value simultaneously, including:
- The Uncommon Table—open conversations, often featuring external experts
- Action Tanks—deep dives into topics like food, mobility, and youth
- Experiential Learning—courses, real-world learning opportunities, and an intensity track
- Changemaker Mentoring—real-time ideas, feedback, and connections
The Tariq Farid Franchise Institute at Babson College
The new Tariq Farid Franchise Institute will create cross-disciplinary programming that draws on Babson’s business and entrepreneurial expertise, combined with the experience and knowledge of franchising experts, to provide cocurricular education and expertise to rising entrepreneurs to accelerate their success in the world of franchising.
Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village
The Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village (HELV) at Babson College is a one-of-a-kind facility where Babson students, alumni, faculty, stakeholders, and staff will collaborate and come together as they learn.
Made possible by the generous naming gift from the Herring Family and the founding gift from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (AMBFF), The Herring Family ELV allows Babson's students and community to expand upon the college's strategic vision, developing the skills necessary to be an entrepreneurial leader impacting communities everywhere. Aspiring and established entrepreneurial leaders will learn and apply the mindsets, principles, and tools of entrepreneurial leadership to turn their ideas into reality.
The physical village will serve as a space that brings students, faculty, staff, partners, and new stakeholders together, as a community, for unique living and learning experiences as well as educational experimentation.
Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance
The Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance enhances Babson’s innovative and practical approach to finance education through programs and resources that enrich the student learning experience, support faculty research, and engage our alumni community.
The Center was founded in 2000 with a generous gift from Stephen D. Cutler MBA’61 and his wife, Alice. Thanks to their generosity and the ongoing support of our many donors, the Cutler Center advances financial education and improves Babson students' skill set and marketability.
Today, nearly one-third of Babson students pursue a degree in finance. With the increased demands on the Cutler Center, a newly expanded center in the Babson Commons was opened in June 2019. To help prepare students for a career in finance, the Cutler Center provides access to state-of-the-art information resources and educational opportunities in and outside of the classroom.
The Cutler Center supports the Finance Division’s offering of rigorous, state-of-the-art programs of study in finance at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The faculty’s practical approach to education is enhanced by authentic experiences, hands-on learning, and practical application. The Babson College Fund (BCF) is our signature program where selected students manage $5 million of the Babson College endowment.
The Weissman Foundry
The Foundry is a design studio Babson students can use to create prototypes, pursue creative goals, and collaborate on hands-on projects across Wellesley and Olin colleges. This space, which includes a woodshop, digital fabrication studio, and textile and electronics studio, is open to all of our students. Come expand your knowledge of technological concepts such as AI and Blockchains, learn about crowdfunding, and get your start in the fashion industry.
The Foundry is a place where you can collaborate with other students who help you build on your ideas. It’s an entrepreneurial think tank, an artist’s studio, a performance space, a media lab, a wood shop – and your 10,000 square foot arena to work on any project you want. Stop by or email us and we will help you get started. Want to brainstorm with a team, let us know and we will put one together just for you.
Have an idea and don’t know where to begin?
Bring it to the the Foundry and we will help you get it off the ground and make it a reality. Working on a project already? We can help you advance it even further with technical support, advanced fabrication equipment and fresh perspectives. The new Weissman Foundry has everything you need to build your art, design, academic or entrepreneurial projects. It’s an entire building dedicated solely to making your ideas happen, and it is open to all BOW students and faculty.
Think outside the curriculum – and the campus –and put your ideas into motion.
At The Foundry, we don't put restrictions on what you can do, because we don't believe in self-imposed limitations. We encourage you to bring us ideas outside your areas of study and work on them right here.
It’s a positive environment where taking risks is encouraged and all ideas are welcome. We don’t stop there. We have the tools, materials and state-of-the art technology you need to make your ideas happen. And we have a team of volunteers from all three schools waiting to help.
The Weissman Foundry is an open-door design studio, inspiring transdisciplinary innovative collaboration between Babson, Olin, and Wellesley for the advancement of new or existing projects.