I’ve been fortunate enough to attend two world class educational institutions – first as part of the Executive Masters in Technology Management program in the University Of Pennsylvania’s Engineering School, which was co-sponsored by the Wharton School, and now as a MBA candidate with the Kellogg School of Management. I’m also very fortunate to be one of the few people in both of my cohorts to be an active entrepreneur. While I found my time in both programs to be very valuable – something I wouldn’t trade for anything, I do have one piece of advice to everyone who wants to be an entrepreneur:
Don’t go to business school to become an entrepreneur.
Don’t get me wrong. As I said before, I loved my time in both those programs, especially the time I spent at Kellogg. I’ll will remember the time spent and education received at Kellogg as a major turning point in my life. My time at Kellogg and Wharton really showed me how to manage a business. It changed the way I think. I know look at business problems from a much more strategic point of view, and the thought of shareholder value constantly permeates my thinking. I’ve been well equipped to understand how the major functions of a business – finance/accounting, economics, operations, marketing, leadership, all intertwine in a symphony that must be perfectly balanced for true success. I have a new found respect for (most) of the Fortune 500 CEO’s who have to make critical decisions based on imperfect data. And the global of network of alumni that I now have access to through both schools is top notch.
But I didn’t learn how to raise a seed round. No one taught us how to build a top notch product, or how to disrupt stagnant markets with innovative solutions. There were no mentors there that help guide me through the growing pains that every startup endures. No one to teach me how to recruit, or when to recruit or when to not hire people because I really don’t need them. I wouldn’t find a CTO at business school – everyone is like minded – they’re all business folk! While there were many people who wanted to be entrepreneurs, no one was willing to take the risk of being one. And no one told me that all the time I would spend studying for my MBA would be time lost in building a kick ass product.
The reality is that all the topics that you need learn to manage a business – finance/accounting, marketing – and things you need to learn when starting a technology based business – UX design, Product Management and Back End development can be found online such as Khan Academy or in a more formal in person class like those taught at General Assembly. You don’t need to spend $150,000+ and countless hours to gain that knowledge. Hell, that $150,000 and those countless hours could be used to build your first prototype without having to raise a seed round instead!
Sure, both Kellogg and Wharton are trying to tap into the new era of entrepreneurs we’re experiencing now. Wharton even has a business plan competition, startup clubs, and an incubator. Kellogg unfortunately is a bit behind in this, but are trying to catch up. Regardless, like I mentioned before, you’ll be around like minded people – essentially forming an echo chamber, and echo chambers lead to failure.
If you want to build a strong network of contacts, really understand business principles, and eventually manage larger organizations, then an MBA may be the right thing for you to do. But if you want to become an entrepreneur, trust me. Build your company first. The MBA can come later when you need to scale your company into that multi-billion dollar business. It’s not going to help you launch it.
Key Takeaways
- An MBA program is not well suited for those trying to become Entrepreneurs
- An MBA program can help you scale a business, it won’t help you launch one.
- The knowledge that you need to start a business is easily available in other mediums, use the saved MBA tuition money and time not studying to build your product.
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