This paper investigates students' perceptions and learning effects of pitch training with the social robot Furhat. Embedded in an undergraduate course on entrepreneurship, the training aimed to support business students in preparing their final startup pitches. Participant could select a male or a female coach, which was then embodied by the robot. The pitch training used a set of evaluation criteria for startups based on a national specification. Results from our within-subjects study showed a statistically significant correlation between student gender and the choice of the robot persona. Results also revealed significant correlations between perceptions of the robot and students’ learning experiences, suggesting that likeability, naturalness, and human-likeness of the robot significantly impacted the perceived quality of the learning experience, including enjoyment, motivation and curiosity. Regression analysis confirmed that perceived robot’s likeability significantly predicted the overall learning experience. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant increase in perceived preparedness for the final pitch after the training. These findings demonstrate that social robots can be effectively applied in entrepreneurship education.