MSc Entrepreneurship and Venture Management

Course Overview

The Master’s programme in Venture Management and Business Scaling focuses on the practical aspects of managing and scaling new businesses, standing out from conventional entrepreneurship master's programmes’ attention on the preliminary stages of opportunity recognition and business model design. This unique programme is tailored to specific management career paths such as founders associates in startups, junior management roles in scaling ventures, and next-generation CEOs of new family business spin-off ventures.

The programme aims to equip students with the specialised skills and knowledge required to manage ventures from startup to harvest. It leverages the expertise and reputation of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Growth & Scaling (CEGS at the University of Galway, a founder member of the European Scaleup Institute. Building on the established reputation for Masters degrees in Management at the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, this programme integrates the University’s priority research areas by focusing on scaling solutions to global challenges at the firm level.

Practical Experience and Distinctive Approach

The programme differs from traditional entrepreneurship programmes that emphasise pre-start skills often provided for free by incubators and accelerators, this Master's programme focuses on the critical stages of business growth and scaling. This approach aligns with the graduate demand for clear career pathways and job readiness upon graduation, addressing a common void of conventional entrepreneurship programmes.

Students in this programme will engage in consulting work with university spinouts and startups within Galway’s dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem, gaining hands-on experience in real-world venture management and business scaling. The programme was developed in consultation with venture HR specialists and CEOs hiring Founder’s Associates. It addresses the specific knowledge and skill needs in entrepreneurial strategy, finance, sales, leadership, data analytics, and project management, ensuring graduates are well-equipped for the demands of startup to growth and scaling phases.

Normally a H2.1 degree (NFQ Level 8 or equivalent). However, candidates with a H2.2 honours degree and who have a minimum of 2 years relevant work experience, will also be considered. IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent, if applicable.

Academic entry requirements standardised per country here.

English language requirements here.

While many entrepreneurship programmes concentrate on prestart activities like opportunity recognition and business model design, this course uniquely emphasises the management of new ventures from startup to scaleup and harvest.

This programme covers critical areas often overlooked in traditional entrepreneurship courses, such as selling, finance, talent management, and operations. It equips students with the skills needed for marketing & sales and finance & operations, addressing key deficits identified in Ireland's startup ecosystem (ScaleIreland surveys 2023, 2024).

The programme is designed to ensure that graduates are job-ready and equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in various roles within the entrepreneurial ecosystem including:

• Founder's Associates

The Founders Associate role is a very recent pathway to participation in a startup for someone who does not have a business idea of their own, or who would prefer to work in a startup before taking the leap themselves. It is growing rapidly, particularly in European startup hotspots like London, Berlin or Dublin, with specialist HR agencies linking a market for this new job category. The basic idea is that startup founders rapidly become time-poor as they have to create new strategy, structure, processes and systems, manage existing stakeholders and seek new ones. Why not give some of these tasks to someone you can trust? That’s where the Founders Associate comes in. The CEO needs to pitch to customers or investors, but tasks like customer research, financial modeling, pitchdecks and job descriptions can be created by a Founders Associate – if they know how to do it! This programme provides potential Founders Associates with a range of skills needed to support their CEO.

• Next Generation Family Business Management

Family businesses often task the next generation with a new departure for the business: it could be a foray into a new sector, or testing out a new business model, or running a new division. These all require startup skills that differ from running the core business. Investing in training in the skills needed to start and scale a new business for whoever will run this new venture is a wise move. This programme provides those skills.

• Specialist Functional Roles in Scaling

Scaling businesses need junior managers and section leaders who can build out scale-proof systems and processes and understand the nature of scaling and what it is like to be in the eye of the storm as a business scales rapidly. This programme gives that insight into the scaling process.

A small number of graduates may also become founders or co-founders, leveraging their comprehensive understanding of venture management to launch their own startups.