Jeffry Timmons
Jeffry A. Timmons (died 2008) was an American entrepreneurship scholar who taught for many years at Babson College, wrote the textbook New Venture Creation, and created the Kauffman Fellows ProgramKauffman FellowsKauffman Fellows is a nonprofit education and peer network for venture capital professionals, built around a two-year fellowship and operated by the Center for Venture Education. Originating at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, it launched its first class in 1995 and by 2026 counted about 1,060 Fellows.Open the full entry for venture capital investors.
Contents14 sections
Key facts
1971Doctoral Dissertation
He graduated from Colgate University and earned an MBA and a doctorate in business administration at HarvardHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private research university in Massachusetts, established by the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature in 1636 and named in 1639 for early benefactor John Harvard. Its principal campuses are in Cambridge and the Allston and Longwood neighborhoods of Boston. It includes Harvard College, graduate and professional schools, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Two governing boards share oversight. Alan M. Garber was president as of October 2026, and the endowment stood at $56.9 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.Open the full entry; his 1971 dissertation was the first with entrepreneurial in its title.[1]
1982Joining Babson
He joined Babson College in 1982 and also taught for a time at Harvard Business School.[2]
1984SEE and a Business Plan Competition
In 1984 he launched the Price-Babson Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators (SEE) and started what is thought to be the first U.S. collegiate business plan competition.[3]
His books also include The Entrepreneurial Mind and, with Bygrave, Venture Capital at the Crossroads.[3]
1991–2000Colgate Trustee
From 1991 to 2000 he was a trustee of Colgate University.[4]
1995First Olin Professor
In 1995 he became Babson’s first Franklin W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship.[5]
1995Creating the Kauffman Fellows Program
A charter board member of the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, he created the Kauffman Fellows Program and later became its dean of faculty emeritus.[4]
The program, a two-year fellowship for venture investors, launched in 1995.[6]
1999New Venture Creation on an Inc. List
Inc. named his textbook New Venture Creation one of eight books entrepreneurs should read before starting a business.[2]
2004Educator of the Year
In 2004 he received the Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year award from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.[7]
2006Chair of a Kauffman Fellows Advisory Board
As of May 2006 he was dean of faculty of the Kauffman Fellows Program and had recently become chair of its Education Advisory Board.[5]
His textbook New Venture Creation was then published by McGraw-Hill, co-written with Stephen Spinelli.[5]
October 11, 2007Rochester Lecture
He lectured on Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Mindset at the University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business.[1]
April 8, 2008Death
He died on April 8, 2008, aged 66, survived by his wife, Sara, and two daughters.[2]
The day before he died, he spent the whole day at Babson discussing the history and future of entrepreneurship.[3]
A 2008 Kansas State University profile said he had been married to his wife for 42 years and had twin daughters and four grandsons.[4]
Under his estate plan Babson created an endowed chair in his name, awarded that year to his protégée Heidi Neck.[7]
October 25, 2023Babson Recalls His Legacy
Babson described him and William Bygrave as co-founders of entrepreneurship at the college.[8]
It said he left a lasting imprint on entrepreneurship education and research.[8]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Babson College: Official website: https://www.babson.edu/ (opens in a new window)[9]
Kauffman Fellows: Official website: https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/ (opens in a new window)[10]
Sources
- Lecture on cultivating entrepreneurship by Professor Jeffry Timmons (opens in a new window)
- Remembering Jeff Timmons, Top Entrepreneurial Thinker (opens in a new window)
- Babson 100 | Babson Centennial (opens in a new window)
- Jeffry Timmons | K-State | Kansas State University (opens in a new window)
- Jeffrey A. Timmons (opens in a new window)
- Kauffman Fellows: Seeding a more capable venture (opens in a new window)
- The Lasting Impact of Endowed Chairs (opens in a new window)
- Celebrating 25 Years at the Forefront of Entrepreneurship (opens in a new window)
- Best College For Entrepreneurship | Babson College (opens in a new window)
- Kauffman Fellows | Leading the Future of Venture Capital (opens in a new window)