Ethan Mollick

Ethan Mollick is an Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies and teaches innovation and entrepreneurship. He is also author of The Unicorn’s Shadow: Combating the Dangerous Myths that Hold Back Startups, Founders, and Investors. His papers have been published in top management journals and have won multiple awards. His work on crowdfunding is the most cited article in management published in the last seven years.

Prior to his time in academia, Ethan cofounded a startup company, and he currently advises a number of startups and organizations. As the Academic Director and cofounder of Wharton Interactive, he works to transform entrepreneurship education using games and simulations. He has long had interest in using games for teaching, and he coauthored a book on the intersection between video games and business that was named one of the American Library Association’s top 10 business books of the year. He has built numerous teaching games, which are used by tens of thousands of students around the world.

Mollick received his PhD and MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, magna cum laude.

Awards and Honors

• Greif Research Impact Award, 2020
• Lazaridis Institute Award for Best Paper in JBV, 2019
• Outstanding Publication in Organizational Behavior, 2017
• Schultze Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, 2016-2019
• McGraw-Hill/Academy of Management Innovation in Entrepreneurship Pedagogy Award, 2016
• Reimagine Education Silver Award for MBA Education, 2015
• AOM-TIM Emerging Scholar Award, 2015
• AOM Careers Division Best Paper Award, 2014
• The 40 Most Outstanding B-School Profs Under 40 In The World, 2014
• Top 30 Influencers in Crowdfunding, 2014
• Thinkers 50 Future Thinker Award Shortlist, 2013
• Kauffman Junior Faculty Fellowship in Entrepreneurship Research, 2013
• SMS Best Paper Award Nomination, 2012
• Heizer Award for Best Dissertation in Entrepreneurship, Finalist, 2011
• Teaching Commitment and Curricular Innovation Award, 2011
• Graduate Management Council Ideas to Innovation Challenge, 3rd Place, 2011
• American Library Association’s “Top Ten Business Books of 2009”, 2009
• Kauffman Dissertation Fellow, 2007