What is the Entrepreneur Association?

The Entrepreneur Association (EA) is the largest student organization at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and offers its more than 800 members a wide range of extracurricular activities, from networking events to experiential learning opportunities. As the largest-student run organization on campus, the EA takes advantage of its vast resources to put on 100+ events per year – or an average of more than three events per week. These include speaker series on entrepreneurship, hands-on workshops, intimate networking events with successful entrepreneurs, a world-class business plan competition, and a conference at the end of the year.

In addition, the EA works closely with the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The Price Center provides curriculum, research, and experiential learning programs that prepare MBA candidates for the challenges of management in entrepreneurial environments.

Who should join the EA?

The EA is a community of students with varied interests who have one thing in common – a desire to explore the world of entrepreneurship. Whether you want to take your next big idea forward, join a startup, become a venture capitalist, or refine your ability to run your own business for when the time comes… the EA is for you.

For us, the idea of going down the road less-traveled isn’t scary – it’s exciting.

What can the EA do for you?

In the entrepreneur’s world of uncertainty, two things are certain – it’sabout who you know and what you know. The EA can help you fill in gaps, while refining your strengths. You will also have the opportunity to meet team members and business partners that will benefit you throughout your career.

Experience
  • Generations of Anderson entrepreneurs agree: Experiential learning is the most effective kind. That’s why the EA provides opportunities for you to use and hone your entrepreneurial skills during your time at Anderson. Call it the incubator treatment.
  • Entrepreneur Labs: A program that lets you develop and receive feedback on your business ideas, find partners, and launch a venture.
  • The Knapp Venture Competition: Where you can hone your fundraising skills and find out if you and your business plan have the chops to make it out in the real world. Pitch to a judging panel made up of prominent venture capitalists and experienced entrepreneurs.
  • Management Development for Entrepreneurs (MDE): Take the wisdom you’ve gained in your first year and apply it to Anderson experiential programs. This Price Center program turns you into an advisor to small business owners eager to learn from MBAs.
  • Top off a great first year by becoming an owner-manager of your favorite program in Year 2 -- and become a leader to a whole new generation of Anderson students.
Relationships
  • No one can dispute the importance of “who you know.”  For this reason, the EA organizes Dinners for Eight with prominent businesspeople, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists and numerous other networking events.
  • Immerse yourself in Vistage, the program that gives you unparalleled access to different successful entrepreneurs each month.

Tips on how to make the most of the EA

  • Get involved with one of the 11 EA programs. Your enthusiastic involvement will lead naturally into a leadership position next year.
  • Be on the lookout for selective programs such as Vistage, Dinners for Eight, and Management Development for Entrepreneurs – these are the experiences that’ll stay with you for years to come.
  • There are so many programs to choose from – attend some events outside your area of interest. You might be surprised by what you find!