With more than 20 years of experience in business analytics education, we offer the MS in Business Analytics (MSBA), combining data analysis, computer science and operations research applied to various business fields. This program allows you to gain an in-depth understanding of state-of-the-art data analytics techniques that are in demand, and to become proficient at the use of leading statistical packages and database management tools.

Through this program, you will become a well-rounded business professional with a specialty in business analytics, and have learning opportunities that reinforce theories, practices and principles through internships and projects. Directed studies also are available, with approval from the program director. For more information, contact the Academic Advising Office. Our program is a STEM-designated program, allowing international students greater flexibility.

Outside of the classroom, we have a very active analytics research group, allowing you to participate in research projects with professors and connect with them in person. We work closely with our Corporate Advisory Board to incorporate real-world expertise into the curriculum. We also encourage you to become involved in the professional business analytics community by participating in academic events on and off campus.

Admission

The ideal candidate for the Masters of Business Analytics would have at least a bachelor’s degree in science, business or engineering, but highly motivated students from all disciplines are welcome. For more information about admission requirements, financial aid and scholarships, information sessions, the new student checklist, and Orientation, visit the Graduate School of Business.

Corporate Advising Committee

In order to ensure our program stays current, the program director will also work with a group of corporate advisors.
Current Corporate Advising Committee Members list

Like the Bentley Analytics Society on Facebook!

MBA Concentration in Business Analytics

All students currently enrolled in the Emerging Leaders or Professional MBA can select Business Analytics as their concentration. You should read the program curriculum carefully and plan your course schedule ahead.

Business Analytics Concentration Curriculum

Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics

The Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics program allows students to participate in the same classes as master’s degree candidates.This program requires 2 quantitative analysis classes, 1 methodology class and 1 application class, from the program curriculum. Current Bentley MS students can fill this certificate declaration form to join this certificate program and follow the instruction of the declaration form to the registration office. External applicants need to file application to our Graduate School admission office to join this program.

Business Analytics Certificate Curriculum

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History | Campus | Sports

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Bentley University

Bentley University is a private co-educational university in Waltham, Massachusetts, 9 miles (14 km) west of Boston, focused on business. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham in 1968. Bentley awards bachelor of science degrees in 11 business fields and bachelor of arts degrees in 6 arts and sciences disciplines. The graduate school emphasizes the impact of technology on business practice, and offers PhD programs in Business and Accountancy, the Bentley MBA with 16 areas of concentration, an integrated MS+MBA, 7 Master of Science degrees, and custom executive education programs.

Bentley's athletic teams compete in Division II of the NCAA (except for men's hockey, which competes in Division I) and is known collectively as the Bentley Falcons. They compete in the Northeast-10 Conference.

History

Bentley University was founded in 1917 as the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance by Harry C. Bentley who served as the school’s president until 1953. In 1961, the college was accredited to confer four-year Bachelor of Science degrees under President Morison, who moved the college from its Boylston Street address in Boston to its current day location in Waltham, Massachusetts. Gregory H. Adamian, a major driving force in the college's development, became the fourth president in 1970. Under his guidance, the college became accredited to confer four-year Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1971 and graduate degrees in 1973. During this time, the school also changed its name to Bentley College. In 2002, Bentley College opened up a campus in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain in partnership with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance. The college was accredited to confer its first doctoral degrees in the fields of business and accountancy in 2005.^[3] A main fixture of the campus, The Bentley Library, underwent a sweeping renovation in 2006 during which time the school's logo was changed to showcase the clock tower that sits atop the building.^[4] One year later, Gloria Cordes Larson, a former state and federal government official and Boston-based lawyer became the first female president of Bentley College. In 2008, the school changed its name to Bentley University after being authorized by the state board of higher education to do so.^[5]

Campus

In 1968, Bentley moved from downtown Boston to Waltham, Massachusetts, to accommodate an increasing number of students. The first buildings on the Waltham campus were built between 1965 and 1968. Today, the campus stretches across 163 acres (0.66 km²) of land, and is accessible by the MBTA554 bus.

Bentley University's campus is divided into three parts: Upper Campus, Lower Campus and North Campus.

Upper Campus

Upper Campus contains most of the school's academic buildings and all of its classrooms. It is located on the North side of Beaver Street.

  

To be... or not to be...

Shakespeare

North Campus

North Campus is located 1/2 mile North of the main entrance to Upper Campus on Forest Street. Transportation to and from North Campus is provided via shuttle bus. North Campus contains only residence hall buildings named: A, B, C and D. Residence halls A and B were opened in 2005 while C and D were opened in 2007 making North Campus the most recent addition to Bentley's facilities. Each building has 3 floors and include an elevator and 2 stairwells. Originally North Campus was intended to be graduate student housing but due to the sharp growth of enrollment it is occupied mostly by undergraduates.

Rankings

U.S. News & World Report^[6]

• Top 10 Master's Universities in the North 2013 - ranked 4th
• Top 50 Undergraduate Business Programs 2013

Bloomberg Businessweek^[7]

• Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2013 - ranked 20th
• Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014 - ranked 21st

Student life

Club Sports at Bentley University

In addition to the intercollegiate and intramural programs, the university offers a number of club sports for students to take part in. These clubs are operated within the Student Activities department, and are financially supported by the student's activity fees. Club Sports include: cheerleading, dance team, men’s rugby, women’s rugby, men's ultimate frisbee (2014 USA Ultimate Div-III Champions), women's ultimate frisbee, and sailing.

Campus media

Fraternities and sororities

There currently are eight recognized men’s fraternities at Bentley University: Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Gamma Pi, Alpha Sigma Phi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Kappa Pi Alpha, Kappa Sigma, Sigma Chi, Sigma Gamma Delta, and Sigma Pi. Six chapters are inter/national and are governed by the North American Interfraternity Conference. Two of the men’s organizations are local groups which mean that Bentley University is the only institution that house these chapters. There currently are four recognized women’s sororities at Bentley University: Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta, Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, and Phi Sigma Sigma. These chapters are governed by the National Panhellenic Conference or the National Association of Latina/Latino Fraternal Organizations, Inc.

Bentley University

Bentley University is a private co-educational university in Waltham, Massachusetts, 9 miles (14 km) west of Boston, focused on business. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham in 1968. Bentley awards bachelor of science degrees in 11 business fields and bachelor of arts degrees in 6 arts and sciences disciplines. The graduate school emphasizes the impact of technology on business practice, and offers PhD programs in Business and Accountancy, the Bentley MBA with 16 areas of concentration, an integrated MS+MBA, 7 Master of Science degrees, and custom executive education programs.

Bentley's athletic teams compete in Division II of the NCAA (except for men's hockey, which competes in Division I) and is known collectively as the Bentley Falcons. They compete in the Northeast-10 Conference.

History

Bentley University was founded in 1917 as the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance by Harry C. Bentley who served as the school’s president until 1953. In 1961, the college was accredited to confer four-year Bachelor of Science degrees under President Morison, who moved the college from its Boylston Street address in Boston to its current day location in Waltham, Massachusetts. Gregory H. Adamian, a major driving force in the college's development, became the fourth president in 1970. Under his guidance, the college became accredited to confer four-year Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1971 and graduate degrees in 1973. During this time, the school also changed its name to Bentley College. In 2002, Bentley College opened up a campus in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain in partnership with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance. The college was accredited to confer its first doctoral degrees in the fields of business and accountancy in 2005.[3] A main fixture of the campus, The Bentley Library, underwent a sweeping renovation in 2006 during which time the school's logo was changed to showcase the clock tower that sits atop the building.[4] One year later, Gloria Cordes Larson, a former state and federal government official and Boston-based lawyer became the first female president of Bentley College. In 2008, the school changed its name to Bentley University after being authorized by the state board of higher education to do so.[5]

Campus

In 1968, Bentley moved from downtown Boston to Waltham, Massachusetts, to accommodate an increasing number of students. The first buildings on the Waltham campus were built between 1965 and 1968. Today, the campus stretches across 163 acres (0.66 km2) of land, and is accessible by the MBTA 554 bus.

Bentley University's campus is divided into three parts: Upper Campus, Lower Campus and North Campus.

Upper Campus

Upper Campus contains most of the school's academic buildings and all of its classrooms. It is located on the North side of Beaver Street.

North Campus

North Campus is located 1/2 mile North of the main entrance to Upper Campus on Forest Street. Transportation to and from North Campus is provided via shuttle bus. North Campus contains only residence hall buildings named: A, B, C and D. Residence halls A and B were opened in 2005 while C and D were opened in 2007 making North Campus the most recent addition to Bentley's facilities. Each building has 3 floors and include an elevator and 2 stairwells. Originally North Campus was intended to be graduate student housing but due to the sharp growth of enrollment it is occupied mostly by undergraduates.

Rankings

U.S. News & World Report[6]

Top 10 Master's Universities in the North 2013 - ranked 4th
Top 50 Undergraduate Business Programs 2013

Bloomberg Businessweek

Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2013 - ranked 20th
Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014 - ranked 21st

Student life

YouTube Video

Club Sports at Bentley University

In addition to the intercollegiate and intramural programs, the university offers a number of club sports for students to take part in. These clubs are operated within the Student Activities department, and are financially supported by the student's activity fees. Club Sports include: cheerleading, dance team, men’s rugby, women’s rugby, men's ultimate frisbee (2014 USA Ultimate Div-III Champions), women's ultimate frisbee, and sailing.

Campus media

Bentley TV: student-produced TV station broadcasting on channel 45 on campus.[8]
The Vanguard: student-produced weekly on-campus newspaper[9]
Piecework: student-produced annual literary magazine
Bentley Observer: staff-produced quarterly magazine for alumni[10]
WBTY - Radio Bentley: on-campus radio station, operating at 105.3 FM
Falcon Records: An independent record label focused on promoted local artists in Boston and providing free and entertaining music to consumers.

Fraternities and sororities

There currently are eight recognized men’s fraternities at Bentley University: Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Gamma Pi, Alpha Sigma Phi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Kappa Pi Alpha, Kappa Sigma, Sigma Chi, Sigma Gamma Delta, and Sigma Pi. Six chapters are inter/national and are governed by the North American Interfraternity Conference. Two of the men’s organizations are local groups which mean that Bentley University is the only institution that house these chapters. There currently are four recognized women’s sororities at Bentley University: Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta, Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, and Phi Sigma Sigma. These chapters are governed by the National Panhellenic Conference or the National Association of Latina/Latino Fraternal Organizations, Inc.

According to the Modis staffing agency, there will be 685,000 new technology-related jobs in the U.S. by 2022, causing employment in the tech field to rise by 18 percent.

If you’re interested in a tech-related job, there are a few different avenues you can take to help you get one. The most consistently successful? Getting a graduate degree that will prepare you with the definitive skills needed in a particular industry or position.

But since there are several different technology-related degree programs out there -- each with their own curriculum and outcomes -- choosing the right one can present a challenge. The key to picking a program is to know what you plan to accomplish after you’ve gotten the degree.

To help you narrow down your choices, here are four of the technology programs Bentley University offers, along what you’ll learn and potential career outcomes.

1. Master’s In Human Factors In Information Design (HFID)

A Master’s in HFID encompasses user experience design (UXD), which is the process of enhancing a user’s satisfaction with a product by improving its usability, accessibility and aesthetics to best meet their wants and needs.

Successful UXD starts with a solid understanding of human behavior and is enriched by detailed user research -- this leads to product insights and design innovation. Those in the user experience (UX) field must comprehend and appreciate people and what they value, including their goals, abilities and limitations.

Possible Career Outcome: UX Researcher/Designer

A potential career opportunity for HFID degree holders is in UX research or design. In a position like this, you would research and provide insight into user behavior, needs and motivations to identify potential improvements. You would also drive the development of user design processes. (Find out what it’s like to be a UX designer for Google.)

2. Master’s In Information Technology (MSIT)

Those in the IT sector work with computer storage, networking and infrastructure to create, store, secure and exchange all forms of electronic data. A master’s program in IT prepares professionals to integrate this information systems knowledge with a strong understanding of the global business environment.

IT professionals must have a working knowledge of the theory and current practices in communication networks and database technologies, as well as how to implement them as state-of-the-art business solutions.

Possible Career Outcome: Systems Analyst

As a systems analyst, you would use computers and related information systems to design new IT solutions and modify or enhance existing systems. You would frequently analyze system requirements, undertake product development, and configure and test potential IT solutions.

3. Master’s In Business Analytics (MSBA)

Data analytics, or “big data,” is emerging as an immensely powerful resource for businesses and organizations because of its predictive capabilities -- companies are using big data to learn more about their customers, as well as the needs of their customers.

Read about six industries big data is taking over.

A Master’s in Business Analytics provides students with a firm grounding in the use of analytics to identify trends and patterns and to refine and develop strategies suggested by the data. Business analytics touches a wide range of sectors, including data science, economics, information management, marketing and finance.

Possible Career Outcome: Business Analytics (BA) Strategy Consultant

With a degree in business analytics, you could become a BA strategy consultant. In this position, you would develop new and innovative analytical solutions that meet the needs of an organization, while supporting marketing activities and contributing in research development. On a daily basis, you would lead projects, collect data for analysis and prepare documents to analyze the effectiveness of marketing and strategic campaigns.

4. Master’s In Marketing Analytics (MSMA)

As the approach in marketing shifts from product-focused to customer-focused, marketing professionals need a deep understanding of customer preferences. They must also have a firm grounding in the essentials of strategic marketing and possess the analytical tools needed to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving business environment.

A Master’s in Marketing Analytics teaches students how to become more engaged with consumers, how to design and deliver robust statistical analysis, and how to effectively communicate the resulting insights. The program prepares professionals to be comfortable with numbers and to make marketing decisions based on quantitative analysis.

Possible Career Outcome: Market Research Analyst

As a market research analyst, you would use a variety of techniques (from surveys and focus groups to statistical analysis and data mining) to study consumer preferences and buying habits. You would use the findings from this data to improve companies’ marketing strategies and predict future sales.

Choose Your Path

As you consider the idea of a master’s degree in the field of technology, it’s important not only to consider your interests, but also to think about your strengths, abilities and experience.

If you’d like a free tool to help you identify your technical skills and explain more about degrees in this field, check out our ebook, Which Technology Path Is Right For You? It outlines several technology-related degree program options, gives some background on the students who enter these programs, lists potential career outcomes and explains the skills associated with each degree. Download it now to figure out the path that’s right for you.

Pride of Paintball (documentary) from Bentley English & Media Studies on Vimeo.

Written by Sean Kerrigan.

Thione Niang grew up in darkness. He hopes his tale of hope and opportunity shows others the light.

Niang met with members of the Bentley MBA cohort recently to discuss politics, entrepreneurism and progress—or lack thereof—in the United States and his home country of Senegal.

Named one of the 10 Young Activists Who Are Changing the World by Complex magazine in 2013 and one of America’s 10 Most Daring Young Black Activists by the Center for American Progress in 2011, Niang was in the area as part of a book tour in support of his latest release, “Memoirs of an Eternal Optimist.” He was invited to speak by Kader Kaneye MBA ‘16, who met Thione in Washington earlier this fall.

“Thione is a charismatic and inspirational leader that reminds us who we can be, for making the world a better place,” said Kaneye. “His personal story is terrific and he naturally relates it with the message he conveys.”  
 

Thione Niang’s Journey

Not surprisingly given the title of his memoir, that message is one of optimism. But Niang is nothing if not a realist. A native of Senegal, he grew up in a family of 28. Inspired by a teacher who had studied in the United States, he came here in July 2000 with $20 to his name, knowing no one. He worked as a busboy outside of New York, unable to even wait tables because of his limited English. After saving up enough for tuition, he made his way to Ohio and Cuyahoga Community College.

It was there Niang became obsessed with politics. He volunteered for local campaigns (first city council, then state senate), until a young U.S. senator from Illinois came through town during the 2008 presidential campaign. Niang signed up with Barack Obama’s campaign early, and the experience changed his life. After Obama’s historic victory, Niang was eager to do something with the energy he saw in young voters.

“We knew what it took to change a community,” he said.
 

Creating Change Is Possible

He decided to go global, and in 2009 launched the Give1 Project, dedicated to engaging and empowering young leaders toward positive change in their communities through training in leadership and entrepreneurship.

Still, he knew he could do more. Niang yearned to make a change in his homeland, but there were several steep hills to climb. One of the biggest was energy.

“When the sun goes down in my country, the day is over,” he explained. Most have no money for kerosene, so it gets dark. If he couldn’t finish his schoolwork by sundown, Niang would ask his grandparents to wake him at dawn so he could finish.

“When there is no energy,” he said, “there’s no education, no health, no nothing.”
 

So in 2013 he invited the rap star Akon—who spent most of his own childhood in Senegal—to Washington to show him his progress, and to issue a challenge.

“I told him, ‘You’ve got 52 million followers on Facebook. Dr. King didn’t have Facebook. What are you going to do with that blessing?’”

Niang and Akon teamed up on what would become Akon Lighting Africa. The project now provides electricity for 14 African countries, employing more than 5,000 young Africans.

How Niang Inspires Others

During a question-and-answer session following his talk, Niang pressed upon members of the cohort to take advantage of their education and their gifts.

“The world needs you,” he said. “You are the lucky ones. You are the ones who have access to energy, water, higher education. But to whom much is given, much is expected.”

That’s one of the reasons he wrote a memoir while still in his thirties.

“I like to do things against the odds,” Niang said. “And if I can inspire one or two people, why wait? The world needs inspiration.”

What Niang’s Message Meant for MBA Students

The talk was just one way the Bentley MBA exposes its cohort to real-world experience and expertise, something students said afterward was a key part of the program.

“The MBA lasts for 11 months, during which we are revolving all the time around our modules, our learning process and our teams,” said Flavia Stoian, PhD, who is graduating this year with a dual MBA and master’s in Business Analytics degree. “It’s easy at times to get caught up into our academic ecosystem and to forget the big picture. Having guests with critical experience and immediate connections to different environments is what keeps us plugged to what the world needs from us. We’re not isolated in our learning bubble. We’re processing everything we learn also through the eyes of our guests, which is invaluable.” 

“And, especially for the international members of the cohort,” continued Stoian, a native of Romania, “meeting our guests gives us a strong insight into the American cultural and economic environment. It changes and shifts our background perspective, refining the multidisciplinary and intercultural experience of the MBA.”

Kaneye echoed the sentiment.

“When trapped in the daily intensive activities of the Bentley MBA, we can forget the big picture. Having outstanding leaders like Thione helps us not lose sight of what matters the most: Staying focused, building sustainable relationships, contributing to change, being happy.”
 

During the talk, Andy Aylesworth, associate professor and chair of the Marketing Department, sat in the back of the MBA studio and smiled.

“I think it’s important for the students to see someone like that because these students are the best and brightest, they are the future leaders, and seeing someone like Thione shows them that they can, in fact, make a difference,” Aylesworth said after the talk. “I think ‘making a difference’ can seem intimidating. What can I do that is going to make a difference? Seeing Thione shows them that all they need to do is start doing something.”
 

When you're launching an early stage company, and—to borrow from Top Gun—"going Mach-2 with your hair on fire" in the competitive race to get your product or service to market, naturally a few mistakes are going to be made along the way.

"Speed Wins," as Steve Kaufer, founder of Needham-based TripAdvisor, famously advises, but moving too quickly can also lead to hiring the wrong people, spending too much time or too many resources in the wrong areas, or being too rigid about your roadmap, among other rookie mistakes.
 

Take the advice of veteran startup founders, like these four entrepreneurs who spoke at the Bentley's Innovation Series at District Hall in the Seaport area of Boston. Learn from their hard-won lessons about what NOT to do.
 

1. Don’t Waste Too Much Time on Your Business Plan
   Of course, when you start a company it's good to have structure for your ideas and a vision that is tangible and presentable. But our panelists and Bentley professor Alain Hanover (himself a veteran entrepreneur and investor) all agree that a formal, meticulous and micro-detailed business plan at your seed stage is a huge waste of your time and resources, since you will likely toss it out or rework it completely after your first meeting.
   
   Bentley alum, serial entrepreneur and investor Cort Johnson’06 cautions that you shouldn't waste months and months honing your business plan. Instead, he suggests using a simple 10-page slide deck that covers all the important bases, including your:
    
   • Market
   • Team
   • Advisors
   • Competition
   • Existing problem
   • Solution to the problem
   • Product or brand development strategy
   • Projected traction
   • Early financials
   • Needs

   "You have to have answers for all those things, so a business plan is good when it gets you to think about all those things and fully vet your idea. But once it's done I would just throw it out," says Arian Radmand, co-founder of CoachUp. "You'll have all the knowledge that you need—it nearly makes you a domain expert so it has served its purpose—and then it's just time to execute."
   
   Don’t know how to create a business plan? An MBA degree can give you the necessary skills.

2. Don’t Be Afraid to Pivot
   Ellen Fitzgerald, founder of Boston's Mother Juice food truck, points out that major items from your business plan like revenue streams (in her case, wholesaling raw juice) could also change entirely if you hit regulatory or other limitations. Don’t let fear of changing your ideas hold you back. Be flexible and embrace pivoting early on. 
   
   "No matter how much time you spend on your business plan, you're not going to foresee some of the challenges that you'll face," Fitzgerald advises. "When that happened to us, we started doing corporate catering instead and it has become a much more lucrative business for us anyway. Don't let obstacles get you down; they’ve happened to every single business. You just need to pivot and try again.”
    
3. Don't Rush to Be First to Market
   Especially in the "Speed Wins" era of consumer startups, there’s culture of panic that can take over and make even veteran entrepreneurs anxious about the need to be the first company or product to market, or the first to "disrupt" a particular industry in order to secure market dominance.
   
   But our experts caution that the first to market is not always the consistent market leader. Instead they can create a bona fide example of market need and traction that you can use to execute your business plan even more successfully—maybe even grease your wheels on the road to recruit investors.
   
   If you're a software company or mobile app, this could mean learning from the design, functionality, marketing, funding or adoption mistakes of your early competition. If you're launching a traditional brick-and-mortar business, this could mean simply creating a bigger market for the type of product you're selling and then offering you the opportunity to innovate.
    
4. Don’t Ignore Paperwork
   Stories about companies whose partnerships ended hostilely and in very costly ways are all too common in the startup world. It can cause the longevity of the company or the financial success of its founders to suffer as a consequence. 
   
   "When you're starting a company, you're working with a friend, and you just have an idea. It seems crazy to go to a lawyer and ask them to put that in writing for you, but those documents are so important should anything happen with your partnership," recommends Fitzgerald.
   
   Even at the earliest hypothetical stages of your business, take the documentation of your ownership stake and your partnerships seriously. Look around for resources near you or online that can help create your legal framework for free or pro bono. Don't overlook the importance of dotting your I's and crossing your T's from the beginning.
    
5. Don’t Ask Everyone You Know for Funding
   Yes, if you’re working on a small project and only need a $50K, asking friends and relatives for money is fine. But involving people you know for larger projects can be tricky. (Need convincing? Watch the family dynamics in the movie Joy.)
   
   You also shouldn’t reach out to every possible investor out there. “You don’t want to muddy your investor group if you don’t have to,” cautions Hanover. Some venture capitalists want to be the first ones in the door, and shopping your opportunity around may make you used goods. “Once you shop the deal, word gets out,” he says. “The investment community is very small.” You could hurt your chances by going to the wrong investors or too many of them.   
    
6. Don’t Hurry the Hiring Process
   Finding the right people to join your team is always tough. Sometimes you want to rush to get people on board. But taking your time can be a major value-add in the long run. Spend the time and energy up front vetting candidates. Bring in people who can not only do the job, but also think a little deeper. Look for colleagues who offer distinct skills and unique resources and networks to the tableeven just distinctly culture-creating personalities.
   
   “There were a couple of hires that I’ve made over the years that, if I had to do it again, I wouldn't do it,” says Hanover. “The people that you choose to hire and bring into your organization are the lifeblood of everything, from selling your product to delivering your service to creating the actual culture. Every person that you hire is important, especially in critical stages for your company.”
    

7. Don’t Forget the Big Picture
   Modern entrepreneurship culture loves to harp on the statistic that nine out of every 10 businesses fail. But those numbers can be misleading as to the definition of failure.
   
   If you define failure as the inability to IPO, that’s one thing. Hanover advises instead to think of a successful company as one that gets a high valuation and decent payout, especially when weighing the option of how much equity to give up in exchange for investment.
   
   Hanover describes a company he funded as an angel. It didn't have a product, just some software prototypes. The founders gave up half the company for $1.5 million. “But at the end of the day, the company was worth half a billion dollars. I always tell people it's better to have a small piece of a big pie than big piece of nothing.”
   
   Working on your financing plans? Try these 6 Creative Ways to Get Funding.
    
8. Don’t Forego Your Salary
   Entrepreneurs have a tendency to put all of their available funding and liquidity back into their businesses, sometimes without thought for their own personal finances. But paying yourself a salary—even if it’s a small wage, even if you’re bootstrapping—will be crucial to your longevity and your future success.
   
   "[Founder salaries] need to be a part of your business plan,” cautions Fitzgerald. “A lot of small businesses—and I know I thought the same way—don't want to take money out the business because your business is you.”
   
   If you're looking for financing later on, angels and venture capitalists will want to see salaries in your financials. “It’s not a real business if you can't afford to pay yourself,” she shares. “It doesn't look good in the eyes of the investors to opt out of paying yourself, even in the beginning.”
    
9. Don’t Dismiss College or Grad School
   Yes, you want to get going on your amazing idea. So much so that you think going to college or getting a graduate degree is a waste of time. But be open to the opportunities that an education will offer. In business classes, you can learn about how to create a business plan, market your product or structure your company.
   
   And there are benefits outside the classroom as well. For example, Hanover says that the best place to meet business partners is at college or grad school. “Most companies have co-founders who met in school.” You have the chance to both work and socialize with your fellow students, bouncing ideas around and seeing what resonates. Who knows? Your next great idea could come up during an all-nighter studying together. 
   
   Learn more about Bentley’s Graduate School of Business.

Melissa Massello is a journalist, editor, blogger, serial entrepreneur and former start-up executive who is passionate about issues facing women in business, modern workplace culture and urban communities. A Boston native, she currently resides in Austin, TX.
 

Written by Kristen L. Walsh.

Heikki Topi, a professor of Computer Information Systems (CIS) at Bentley, has received the 2015 Outstanding Contribution to IS Education Award from The Association for Information Systems (AIS). Often described as a lifetime achievement award in IS education, it recognizes contributions to the field, curriculum development, an ability to inspire students, new teaching tools and methods, and publication. 

Professor Topi’s involvement in IS education includes leadership in the development of model curricula for the field, leadership roles in broader computing education and accreditation through both the AIS and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and textbook authorship. He teaches Bentley courses in the Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) and undergraduate programs.

According to Professor Topi, “My teaching is focused on helping students learn two core types of competencies: first, how to be effective contributors to and leaders in processes that identify how information technology can best be used to help organizations achieve their goals, and second, how to design and implement systems that positively transform organizations.”

Read this Q&A with Professor Topi to learn more about his work:
 

Q: What are your top goals as an educator?
A: For me, the most important goal is to help my own students develop competencies that allow them to thrive throughout their careers as information systems professionals.

I also want to contribute to the information systems community’s continuous improvement efforts; our field changes so rapidly that IS education has to evolve constantly.

It’s also important to help my own students and the whole IS community understand better the implications and potential consequences of our actions; as IS professionals, we have very important ethical responsibilities.

Q: What do you enjoy most about IS education on a broad level, and also teaching?
A: In my work, I enjoy most the moments when I feel that I have been able to help a student discover something new, something that has allowed the student to gain important new capabilities and see the world from a different perspective.

I also enjoy the opportunity to be involved in the very rapid and fundamental transformation of organizations and individual work that information technology is currently enabling.

Finally, both within the Bentley community and the broader information systems community, I have wonderful colleagues without whom the work would be impossible, but with whom it is enjoyable!

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of teaching?
A: The challenges are related to the rapid, transformational change of the underlying technologies—staying competent as an IS educator requires constant and intensive learning.

Fortunately, this is also one of the most fun parts of what I do. If only there was more time.

For us as educators, it is important to identify those competences that are most likely to stay valuable throughout a 40-year career. This is where education excels compared to training of short-term technical skills.
 

Q: What is your current research focused on?
A: I’ve recently studied the nature and identity of the information systems discipline and its relationship with other computing disciplines. This is a topic directly linked to my work within IS education, because in the education work one of the key questions is to figure out what is in the core of our field.

I’ve also had an opportunity to be part of a long-term project with my CIS colleagues that studies how the user’s experience and interaction with large-scale enterprise systems can be improved. This is an area that links directly to my systems analysis and design courses.

Q: What are the top skills that technology professionals need?
A: There are many that are essential, but at this point in time, the following four competencies are fundamental to IS professionals:

1. Understanding how to structure and model data and processes in a way that transforms overwhelming details to a clear and understandable set of well designed concepts in a way that serves organizational goals.
2. Knowing how to discover and retrieve data from various types of internal and external sources to enable effective analytics (often using SQL and its derivative languages).
3. Determining if and how technology can help achieve organizational goals before investing money and time—don’t get Hadoop to manage distributed data just because everyone else has it.
4. Understanding the ethical implications and potential consequences of technology.

Kristen Walsh is a freelance writer and editor in the Boston area with a niche in higher education, health care and small business. She enjoys the behind-the-scenes information gathering and personal interviews that bring stories to life and strike a chord with readers. Online content and magazine writing includes blogs, opinion pieces, features and health care reporting. Her work has been published by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Hechinger Report and The MetroWest Daily News.

Written by Jennifer Marino Walters.

For Safiya Samms ’12, MBA ’14, service-learning was a very important part of her college experience. During her time at Bentley, Samms volunteered at a nearby elementary school for two years. She also served as a tax preparer through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program.

“I truly believe in giving back to the community,” says Samms.

A Career in Technology
Luckily, she has been able to continue doing so in her current job as a product specialist at Facebook.

Part of her job entails working to make the company’s products accessible to differently abled users. Samms is also responsible for monitoring the quality and stability of Facebook’s products, as well as taking direct user feedback to influence product roadmaps and improve operational efficiency of the company’s quality initiatives.

“Facebook is the most awesome place to work. The company really trusts employees to work as a team and be effective decision makers while making a positive impact on the world,” Samms says. “Plus, I get to work on the most visited website on earth that connects 1.4 billion people every day. It’s amazing!”

Samms also got to work at the most-used search engine on the Web — Google — for two summers. The summer before her senior year, Samms helped out in online sales for Google’s retail clients. After graduation, she did financial planning and analysis for Google’s Geo division.

Continuing on a great career path, Samms then worked for two and a half years at Leaf Holdings (acquired by Heartland Payment Systems), first as a hardware logistics manager and then as a product marketing manager. She joined Facebook in June 2015.

Samms’ Bentley Background
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Samms went on to earn her MBA in Management from Bentley in 2014.

But throughout her six years at the school, her favorite classes were not all related to her majors. Her gender studies course with Professor Traci Abbott, she says, helped her understand the power of being a feminist. She says that one of her MBA courses on the management of technology-based businesses, was the most useful class she has taken related to the technology industry.

But Samms’ all-time favorite class at Bentley was economic botany, in which she learned a great deal about plants.

“It was the most interesting class I took. It helped me realize the importance of being an environmentalist and the damage of humanity’s impact on Earth,” says Samms. “I highly recommend this class!”

Bentley was also home to Samms’ first job: She worked part-time for five years at the university’s library.

“It was the best first job I could have asked for,” she says. “My favorite part was sitting in the reference section reading encyclopedias. Yes, I’m aware I’m a massive geek!”

Continuing to Give Back
In addition to all of her work experience, Samms has served as a mentor for Smarter in the City, a Boston-based technology accelerator that aims to give opportunities to entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities. The organization’s focus fits well with Samms’ belief that technology can be a solution for many of Earth’s major issues.

“The world has a ton of problems,” Samms says. “Figure out which one you want to solve and go for it!”

To reach today’s savvy consumer, understanding just analytics, marketing or technology isn’t enough. You need to see the big picture.

Because while having technical expertise is nice, it’s not worth much if you can’t communicate that knowledge to others in different disciplines. That’s why top business schools like Bentley University are focusing more on improving so-called soft or civic skills, no matter what your field.

Cesar Hernandez is a great example. The Vistaprint analytics manager tests the company’s customer treatments to see whether they are positively received, in an effort to understand the segments of customers he’s identified as key to growing in the market.

“My goal is to not only be able to identify these customers in our database,” says Hernandez, “but also determine how to communicate to these customers, understand their needs, and work across teams to deliver the most value to this segment.” 

When he first arrived at Bentley to begin his graduate studies, Hernandez wasn’t sure in which direction he should point his career. He soon discovered that one direction wasn’t enough.

“I see myself like someone that can operate in an environment where business, technology and analytics collide,” he says. “If you think about it, most companies use a similar framework.”

Taking on Human Problems 
So Hernandez took advantage of Bentley’s innovative MS+MBA program to earn a master’s degree in Information Technology alongside his MBA. The combination of IT, analytics and management helped him progress through his career where others stalled.

“I can separate the classes I took into technical skills and soft skills,” Hernandez explains. “After graduating, my technical skills were paramount to continue my professional development. As I grew as an analyst, I used many of the classes I took, especially database management (SQL), Java, statistics, data-mining and time series. When I started moving into managing people and projects, most of my MBA classes became more important. Today, I am equally likely to be found thinking about how to bring an idea to reality across multifunctional teams or running heavy code in Hadoop and R.”

While many younger professionals focus on the practical tools that help fill up a résumé, Hernandez believes they shouldn’t underestimate certain skills just because they’re “soft.”

“Human problems sometimes are much more complex than analytical problems,” he says. “The classes at Bentley prepare you effectively to approach those problems — all of them.”

Working at Vistaprint allows Hernandez to continue working on both sides of his brain.

“The people I work with are among the smartest people I know. This allows us to have really interesting conversations about how we approach the business and how we solve a specific problem,” he says. “And the perks are great: We have a game room that I use a lot and a full state-of-the-art gym. Plus, the company arranges bring food trucks to come every other week for free lunch for employees. We can’t wait to see what they will bring next.”