In the late 2010s, Professor Paul Gompers started noticing clusters of entrepreneurial ecosystems popping up in places around the world not known for such activity: Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines. What was driving their emergence? What could other developing economies learn as they seek to grow? What insights could business leaders gain from this phenomenon?

“Entrepreneurship is no longer something we see exclusively in tech hubs like Silicon Valley,” says Gompers, the Eugene Holman Professor of Business Administration, who focuses on financial issues related to startup, high-growth, and newly public companies. “It has gone global.”

To explore this trend, Gompers has spent a year conducting in-depth field research spanning continents. His work will inform the creation of a new MBA elective course called Entrepreneurship Outside the Valley, a book of the same name, and at least 15 new cases. Throughout this ambitious effort, he is tapping the expertise and resources of HBS’s network of 18 global research centers and offices, which facilitate faculty research and support a variety of the School’s activities (read related story).

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“The way we transform countries is through the grit and passion of entrepreneurs. That’s the way we raise economic well-being and increase standards of living,” Gompers says.

During the course of this research in the Middle East, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe, Gompers has spoken with and gathered insights from hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and other leaders around the world. “I’m trying to understand the phenomenon by speaking with people on the ground,” he says. “This is deep, granular field research. I’m gaining an understanding that would be impossible from just gathering data or meeting with people on Zoom.” This fall, Gompers plans to go to sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, and next year, he will continue his study of this trend in India and China.

With this research, Gompers aims to produce a set of insights and prescriptions to help founders and investors determine how to do entrepreneurship right. In many cases, this means overcoming historical impediments and cultural barriers, as well as dealing with legal and regulatory environments that may not be entrepreneurship friendly.

In Japan, for example, failure is stigmatized. Parents want their children to join established companies, such as Toyota or Mitsubishi, because they offer safe careers, while starting a company is viewed as career-destroying. Gompers also learned that in some countries, legal constraints may deter entrepreneurial ambitions, citing Egypt, where there is no real bankruptcy law. “If you bounce a check, you go to jail,” Gompers explains. “So, starting a company there is very risky and a number of failing entrepreneurs leave the country.”

HBS’s research centers have been invaluable in preparing Gompers to make the most of his time abroad. In each location, he looks to the nearest global research center to help him make connections and identify potential companies to feature in cases. Because research staff live and work in their respective regions, they have extensive contacts with local companies and organizations. They also work with their center’s advisory board, comprising well-connected alumni and other practitioners who have deep knowledge of businesses there.

By the conclusion of his research, Gompers anticipates he will work with most—if not all—of the School’s 10 global research centers and eight offices. “There’s nowhere else in the world where I could do this kind of work than at HBS,” he says.

Gompers hopes the new course will inspire students from emerging economies to return home and start companies. “Over the course of my career, I have seen how entrepreneurship can lift entire economies. Equipped with the knowledge and tactical insights they gain at HBS, in general, and in this course, in particular, students will be uniquely positioned to help transform their countries,” he says. “That’s a powerful way to deliver on HBS’s mission to educate leaders who will make a difference in the world.”

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