Entrepreneur FAQs

Please email RossOpenRoad@umich.edu with any additional questions.

What is Open Road?

Open Road @ Ross is a fellowship program at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Based of the MBAs Across America (MBAx) program, Open Road is a movement of MBAs & entrepreneurs working together to revitalize America. Every summer we send teams of MBAs across the country to work in 1 week engagements with entrepreneurs creating jobs and changing lives in their communities.

Who are MBA Open Road Fellows?

Open Road Fellows are current business students who have been vetted through a rigorous values-focused application process to spend 4 weeks of their summers traveling the US and working alongside entrepreneurs.

How many MBAs are on a team of Open Road Fellows?

Four.

What do Open Road Fellows do for Open Road Entrepreneurs?

The first job of Open Road Fellows is to understand the biggest challenges and opportunities facing your business. They get some sense of this through the entrepreneur application process, but once a team of Open Road Fellows selects the entrepreneurs they will work with, they are in touch with each entrepreneur to refine, hone, and scope a project to work on collaboratively. Open Road teams cater their work to the needs of their entrepreneurs and in the past have worked on projects related to almost every aspect of running a business including cash flow, fundraising, operations, marketing, finance, HR, pricing, customer surveys, employee engagement, IT systems and tools, etc.

How do I apply to work with an Open Road Team?

Find the first step of the application here.

What is the application timeline?

Applications from entrepreneurs are accepted on a rolling basis through March 31 for the following summer. Beginning in March, teams of Open Road Fellows contact entrepreneurs whose applications we have accepted and select those they would like to work with.

What does Open Road look for in selecting entrepreneurs?

We are searching for entrepreneurs with three key traits:

• A positive social impact: our entrepreneurs solve real problems and change lives in their communities every day, expanding what it means to be a “social enterprise”.
• A place with a story to tell: we work with entrepreneurs in cities that are surviving & thriving against the odds and without the hype — whether in a hard-hit city, a Heartland hub, or a tiny rural town.
• A business poised for growth: we work with manufacturers, tech startups, creative agencies, and even barbershops, but our entrepreneurs all have one thing in common: they want to grow their impact.

When do Open Road Teams hit the road to work with entrepreneurs?

Each team hits the road for a total of 4 weeks. Teams will typically begin the first week of May and end the first week of June.

How long do Open Road teams work with their entrepreneurs?

The relationship starts in the months leading up to the summer when Open Road teams reach out to their entrepreneurs and start to learn about their businesses in greater detail. Open Road teams then spend 1 week with each of the entrepreneurs they select. We build genuine friendships with our entrepreneurs that keep us in touch and supporting one another far beyond the end of the summer.

If I’m selected as an Open Road Entrepreneur, will I be in touch with my team of Open Road Fellows before the summer?

Yes, teams of Open Road Fellows reach out to the entrepreneurs they are interested in working with starting in March.

What do I do when my team of Open Road Fellows comes to town?

Our teams work with you collaboratively while they are in your city. This means that you are not an audience for the team — you are an active participant in working with them and helping them be as helpful to you as possible. We know you have a business to run, so teams will be sensitive to your time constraints and work around your schedule, but they’ll need some of your time every day.

Is there a chance I could be accepted as an Open Road Entrepreneur but not matched with a team this summer?

Yes. Unfortunately to make the logistics of the matching and the geographical limitations of our road trips work, we can never work with all of the entrepreneurs that we wish we could. Once accepted, however, you will be eligible for future programs and included in a powerful network of other incredible entrepreneurs and MBAs.

How much will this cost me?

Nothing but your time. We do not charge our entrepreneurs or MBAs.