Educational Objectives

This course is rooted in the belief that economic justice for communities of color in America hinges on the opportunity to create and scale impactful business enterprises. However, Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) face economic, sociocultural, and institutional barriers across all phases of entrepreneurship from start-up through scaling and exit. Scaling Minority Businesses (SMB) was created to marshal the intellectual resources and community of Harvard Business School to help MBEs address this challenge. The course pairs teams of second-year MBA students with businesses owned by Black, LatinX, and other entrepreneurs of color to address either a strategic or operational issue faced by the businesses. In the course students draw upon and strengthen their learnings from a range of RC courses including, but not limited to, TEM, Marketing, Strategy, and TOM. As students prepare to become leaders who will make a difference in the world, SMB provides a unique opportunity to both serve and deepen their understanding of the issues facing entrepreneurs who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

Course Content and Organization

The course is a mix of traditional case-based classes and hands-on consulting assignments with MBEs. There are five course modules:

• Historical Perspective
• Access to Capital
• Access to Customers and Markets
• Public Policy
• Allyship

The cases and background readings examine the range of issues faced by MBEs including racial discrimination, limited access to capital, and difficulties in establishing government and corporate supplier relationships. Students hear from a range of speakers, including policy experts and prominent businesspeople, who discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by minority-owned businesses.

The hands-on projects entail students working in small teams with an MBE (typically > $1m in revenue) to tackle a well- defined challenge or growth opportunity. To facilitate collaboration, students are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement covering their work in the course.

Course Requirements and Grading

Deliverables: The course has five deliverables: (1) team launch document, (2) draft presentation, (3) final presentation, (4) peer evaluation, and (5) individual reflection.

Grading: Each student’s grade is based on (1) quality of team’s final presentation and viability of recommendations, (2) class participation, (3) peer evaluation, (4) draft presentation, and (5) personal reflection.

Pre-Requisites

None

Cross-Registrants/Auditors

The course is open to a very limited number of cross-registrants. Auditors are not permitted.

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