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Ask HN: Going to MBA for a degree in Entreprenuership

by lix2333 on 7/31/12, 8:35 PM with 2 comments

I've been going back and forth about this for a while. What are the reasons someone would want to get an MBA if they want to come out of school to join a startup or found their own company?

I can only think of a few reasons:

1) Connections. Going to a top school will help you meet and get to know many people who are just as well connected and ambitious.

2) Professors. They can help guide you and give you tips much like a mentor would.

3) Status. It could possibly be easier to get funding and capital if you have a MBA from Stanford on your team.

Is this generally it? To me, it doesn't seem like there's much of a reason to get an MBA, even from a top school, if you're planning on doing entrepreneurship / startups.

  • by joshkaufman on 7/31/12, 8:58 PM

    Here's research on business school outcomes, notably compiled by Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford GSB: http://www.aomonline.org/Publications/Articles/BSchools.asp. The study was published in 2002, but the costs have skyrocketed and the benefits have imploded even more severely since publication. Net, if you don't want to work in investment banking or Fortune 500 management consulting, you don't need to buy a $150,000+ interview.

    If you're planning to start your own company, MBA programs are a waste of time and money. You're far, far better off saving your money, learning on your own, and working on your company. It's not that difficult, and employers/clients/investors care more about results than credentials 99 times out of 100.

    That's pretty much the introduction to my book (http://book.personalmba.com). The book itself is a primer on the most important things you need to know to get started.

    Hope you find this useful. Good luck!

  • by guyzero on 7/31/12, 9:10 PM

    I took a degree program in Entrepreneurship - http://www.conrad.uwaterloo.ca/mbet

    You could definitely just go out and start your own company. I'd never say that's not an option.

    The program curriculum covered things like accounting and taxation which are reasonably important depending on what kind of business you're running. We got the chance to interact with local VC's and went through mock term sheet negotiations as well as discussion of what various terms mean in the world of venture funding. None of these things are un-learnable outside of school, but it was a positive experience.

    We covered some technical things like organization structure and strategy and technology lifecycle management. We also covered marketing which may or may not be "technical" depending on your opinion of what marketers do.

    You certainly do get connections, etc. Honestly there's a certain category of jobs that want to see an MBA before they'll hire you but I'm not sure of actual VCs really care about it.

    The final truth is that even from an entrepreneurship program, the majority of students go on to get regular jobs.