[Chronicle]

June 10, 2004
Vol. 23 No. 18

current issue
archive / search
contact
Chronicle RSS Feed

    Scott Meadow, Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship in the GSB

    By Jessamine Chan
    Graduate School of Business

      
      

    After nearly 20 years as a general partner in the venture capital industry, Scott Meadow, Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Graduate School of Business, is now also the only three-time recipient of the Phoenix Award.

    Since 1997, the Phoenix Award has been given annually to the GSB faculty member who, in addition to classroom responsibilities, has greatly enriched the learning experience of students through voluntary and committed involvement in extracurricular and community activities.

    Students from the graduating class of the full-time M.B.A. program nominate faculty members for the award, and the deans determine the recipient. Meadow has been chosen for the award for three consecutive years.

    “The best part of teaching at the GSB is the knowledge that my students have the psychological confidence and technical foundation to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor should they so choose,” said Meadow.

    Meadow’s courses include Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity and Commercializing Innovation, which are practical applications of lessons developed from his career as a venture capitalist.

    “I hope that seeing the successes and failures I’ve lived through will help my students reach their potential with a sense of perspective on the ups and downs of an intense career,” said Meadow.

    Outside the classroom, Meadow helps students develop strategies for securing sound positions in the entrepreneurial world, a field that is fraught with uncertainty. He conducts one-on-one career counseling sessions and utilizes his professional contacts to expose the GSB community to industry leaders.

    “While it’s impossible to teach ‘vision,’ my philosophy is to provide a depth and breadth of analytical support for creative business concepts that becomes a common language between the entrepreneur and the communities with which he or she interacts,” said Meadow.

    In his courses, he emphasizes the importance of proof and logic at every stage of the decision-making process. He also does not shy away from highlighting the scarcity of resources in new enterprises and the fact that imprecise analysis is magnified exponentially in this risky environment.

    “In professional management education, teachers can see future sources of anxiety for their students, and hopefully provide prescriptions that will allow students to avoid ‘affluent lives of quite desperation’ for them, their families and the people under their charge.”

    Meadow earned his A.B. in history and literature from Harvard College in 1977 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University Business School in 1980.