I'm a serial entrepreneur and I've been looking at MBAs, but it's hard to justify spending the time and the money to do one. So I'm considering just doing a certificate in entrepreneurship - does anybody have any experience with these? I saw that Wharton, a local school for me, has one - it's six courses that add up to be far less money-wise than their MBA program.

I also saw that Stanford, a school that I have the upmost respect for, has an entrepreneurship certificate that takes place completely online - but I'm skeptical about the benefits of an online program, especially when I can do similar ones for free through Coursera.

I have an certificate in entrepreneurship from HHL, a top German business school, and also took entrepreneurship courses in my MBA.

I think these are quite different. Certificate courses are often aimed at people starting up their own businesses, often on quite a small scale. In an MBA you're typically looking at larger scale start-ups, and at MBOs and MBIs. The MBA courses give students a strong common set of skills, so they are more advanced. However, not many VCs come to MBA programmes to find entrepreneurs and, excepting family businesses, few MBAs are looking into start-ups if they are carrying debt.

I'm a serial entrepreneur and I've been looking at MBAs, but it's hard to justify spending the time and the money to do one. So I'm considering just doing a certificate in entrepreneurship - does anybody have any experience with these? I saw that Wharton, a local school for me, has one - it's six courses that add up to be far less money-wise than their MBA program.

I also saw that Stanford, a school that I have the upmost respect for, has an entrepreneurship certificate that takes place completely online - but I'm skeptical about the benefits of an online program, especially when I can do similar ones for free through Coursera.

Also, you can check the PgDip in Entrepreneurship from Cambridge:

http://www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/diploma/index.html

I would agree with Duncan's comments.

A full-on MBA is good if you want to hone your general management skills, and then build on those with a more entrepreneurial-oriented skillset. The certificates can help by covering frameworks for starting or building a business. So if you want help with focusing your business idea, writing a business plan, etc., a certificate might help.

Depending on your needs, a short course might be a good place to start. You could get your feet wet through a one-day course in the basics like Babson's Entrepreneurship 101:
http://www.nextexecutive.com/courses/8620

Harvard's got a week-long course called "Launching New Ventures"
http://www.nextexecutive.com/courses/4708

And Rutgers has what they call a "mini MBA" in Entrepreneurship:
http://www.nextexecutive.com/courses/10071

Thank you everybody for your helpful input!

I think I would be better off with something more targeted, rather than a longer general program - and it wouldn't hurt to save some money.

I'll check out all the options suggested. I'm especially interested in other courses in Philadelphia - although I wouldn't mind traveling for a short course if it was worth it.

It seems like you're leaning away from an MBA - but another option to consider might be Temple Fox's part-time MBA program. It's in Philadelphia, and while there is no concentration in entrepreneurship per se, the school's Innovation and Entrepreneurship has a range of resources you would be able to take advantage of.

Thanks for the suggestion, I checked out the Temple Fox program and it's pretty interesting. Seems like the current class is made up of students in my general experience and age range.

I have a lot to consider - least of which is whether the investment of an MBA program make sense for me.

Thanks again for your help!