Co-founder of The Entrepreneurial Mind, serial entrepreneur and professor of entrepreneurship.
Author: Jeff Cornwall
Dr. Jeff Cornwall is the inaugural Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Dr. Cornwall's current research and teaching interests include entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurial ethics.
Dr. Jeff Cornwall is the inaugural Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Dr. Cornwall's current research and teaching interests include entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurial ethics.
The debate is still raging about how to improve the ethical climate in American business. Now that the shock of Enron, etc., etc., has passed the debate is still framed as one of two choices. Choice one, let the markets regulate ethics as honesty will pay off in the long run. Choice two, only government can force ethical behaviors on the market. A recent article in Entrepreneur magazine captures this age old debate. However, there is a third force that seems to get put further and further onto the back-burner: culture.
Entrepreneurship can be a powerful tool to help improve economic conditions within disadvantaged communities. This web site offers a wealth of information on programs and research related to this important topic.
As entrepreneurs exit their businesses through sale or merger, they are often faced with a period of employment with the new owner of their company. This may sound simple, but many find such transitions to be very difficult. They are no longer in charge, and often become frustrated with the “new direction” that the new owners take with their businesses.
My wife Ann and I married in 1978. We have two adult children. Both are graduates of Belmont University. Russ is married to Stacy, and they have three children. Russ works at a healthcare tech startup in Nashville. Maggie is married to Matt Kuyper, and they have two children. She is the head volleyball coach at St. Cecilia High School here in Nashville. Ann and I enjoy music, golf, travel, long walks with our dogs, and watching Green Bay Packer football games in our rec room, known in the neighborhood as “The Packer Pub.”
My interest in entrepreneurship came early in life. I grew-up with entrepreneurship and small business as topics around the dinner table at night. My family was involved in many ventures. My father left a career in corporate America to pursue an entrepreneurial career in the mid-1970s. I was fortunate to be able to be involved in many of my late father’s entrepreneurial endeavors from an early age. That is where I caught the entrepreneurial bug.
At Belmont, I am the inaugural Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship. Previously, I was the Sandra Schulze Chair in Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and was on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Kentucky. I have a Doctorate in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of Kentucky, and received my undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
In the late 1980’s, I felt the entrepreneurial calling in life and left academics to become the Co-founder and President/CEO of Atlantic Behavioral Health Systems, headquartered in Raleigh, NC. Our company operated a variety of health care facilities and programs and employed over 300 people. After nine years of rapid growth, we negotiating the sale of most of our corporations’ business interests, and I returned to academics.
Recently, my whole family caught the entrepreneurial bug. Together Ann, Russ, Maggie and I formed Entrepreneurial Mind, LLC. In addition to our own digital learning platform, we develop educational content for a variety of external learning platforms. All of our content focuses on entrepreneurship and small business.
My current research and teaching interests include business modeling, entrepreneurial finance, and entrepreneurial ethics. I authored or co-authored nine books: Organizational Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Financial Management, The Entrepreneurial Educator, From the Ground Up: Entrepreneurial School Leadership, Bringing Your Business to Life, Bootstrapping, Entrepreneurship and the Modern University, Entrepreneurship and Effective Small Business Management, and Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management.
