Corporate innovation and entrepreneurship

If you're a young professional with big ideas, you might be wondering: Should I start my own venture or innovate within an established company? Corporate innovation and entrepreneurship are often thought of as the same, but even though corporate innovators and entrepreneurs share many similar traits, the methods and frameworks they work within differ.  This article will break down the differences, explore what it takes to succeed, and help you choose the right path for your ambitions.  

What is entrepreneurship?  

Entrepreneurship is all about turning a vision into reality. It's the art and science of building and growing ventures by blending creativity, strategy, and resilience to bring new solutions to life. As an entrepreneur, you'll drive the force behind the creation of new businesses. You'll be responsible for:  

• Securing funding 
• Building a team 
• Developing and marketing your product 
• Scaling operations 

Unlike innovators within a company, you operate with complete freedom, without oversight or corporate guardrails. That independence comes with more personal risk, something you'll need to understand and embrace when you choose entrepreneurship. This path is ideal if you thrive on independence, want to set your own vision, and are comfortable with uncertainty. The rewards can be significant, but so can the challenges.  

What is corporate innovation?  

Corporate innovation is the process of creating new value within an established company. It's about introducing innovative ideas, products, services, and business models, thereby maintaining competitiveness and challenging the status quo.  

As a corporate innovator, you'll aim to make meaningful change from inside your organization. Your goal? To launch new ideas while staying aligned with broader corporate goals. You'll benefit from skills in:  

• product and service development 
•  financing innovation 
• go-to-market strategies
• lean development
• managing high-performance teams 

Unlike entrepreneurs, you balance creativity with stakeholder approval and operational feasibility. If you want to innovate without taking on the full risk of entrepreneurship, this path offers the chance to drive transformation at scale.  

Building vs. Mobilizing: How do entrepreneurs and corporate innovators differ?   

Corporate innovation and entrepreneurship are two paths that will make you a driver of change, but the way you enact that change is fundamentally different. Here's how they compare: 

Common ground: Where do entrepreneurs and corporate innovators overlap? 

Despite their differences, entrepreneurs and corporate innovators share many traits, including creativity, perseverance, strategic vision, adaptability, and leadership. In both roles, you'll be working to identify gaps in markets or processes, solve problems, and look for growth opportunities — just on different scales.  

Mastering skills in innovation strategy, leadership, and business development is critical for success as both an entrepreneur and a corporate innovator. That's why many choose to expand their business education. 

Experience matters: universal principles of entrepreneurship and corporate innovation 

Programs that emphasize experiential learning are particularly helpful because they don't just teach theory, they give you the chance to apply it in real-world contexts. Whether your goal is to launch a startup or drive innovation, experience is the key to success. Graduate programs designed for entrepreneurial thinkers provide the ideal environment to gain that experience. With a strong foundation in business fundamentals, you'll gain the ability to conduct market research, pitch ideas to investors and stakeholders, and lead innovation with success.  

When you explore graduate programs, focus your search on Northeastern University. Located in the heart of Boston, Northeastern's D'Amore-McKim School of Business is a hub for experiential learning and innovation. Here, you can benefit from flexible, experience-driven programs delivered by expert faculty, many of whom are entrepreneurs themselves. You'll have the support of powerful venture accelerator and mentorship programs as you master core business knowledge in the frameworks of innovation and market launches. This will ensure you foster an innovative mindset that sets you apart.  

“The professors do a great job connecting core concepts to current global and geopolitical issues, which makes the material feel practical and timely. During my corporate residency, my team was impressed by how much I already understood thanks to those courses.”

Hannah Josovitz, MBA'25

Explore our entrepreneurship-focused programs: 

• Entrepreneurship, MBA concentration
• Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship  

Consider our corporate innovation-focused programs:  

• Corporate Innovation, MBA Concentration 
• Graduate Certificate in Corporate Innovation 

At D'Amore-McKim, you'll earn more than a degree. You'll join a vibrant community of innovative thinkers, like yourself, ready to cheer you on through every phase of your entrepreneurial journey. Whether you're brainstorming ideas and launching your startup with IDEA, our student-led venture accelerator, seeking guidance and mentorship from The McCarthy'(s) Venture Mentoring Network, or learning from the entrepreneurship and innovation faculty, you'll find the resources you need to thrive.  

“I see myself as a strategist, a creative, and a storyteller, so branding and marketing were the perfect fit. The MBA program offers me the flexibility I need to pursue my interests while working full-time and launching a business. My MBA is developing me as a consultant, an entrepreneur, and a marketer.” 

Kerrian Johnson, Part-Time MBA'25

Ready to take the next step? 

Whether your path leads to launching your own venture or driving change within an established company, Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business will give you the tools, experience, and network to turn your dreams into reality. Explore our graduate programs and complete the form for the one that interests you the most.  

The perspectives shared here are informed by Northeastern University's entrepreneurship ecosystem, including concepts covered in our MBA Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation concentrations and Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship. Ideas were also distilled from materials found on the university's Entrepreneurship, IDEA, and Venture Mentoring Network websites.