Need advice - Best MBA programs for internet startups?

One word..."Kal-ee-'for-nyah"

Agree with Gekko.

I have no experience to give you advice but you'd have to think that you should be around silicon valley.

Stanford GSB

Honestly, you don't need a bachelor's degree to run a successful internet startup, much less an MBA. People don't visit a website because its creator has the "right" qualifications, they visit because it's entertaining or useful. If your site idea is as full-proof as you're envisioning, save your tuition money and invest it in your site.

gekko21/fratling - thanks for the advice, ill take an extra hard look at schools in that area.

K - stanford gsb? - you must have not read my post very carefully.

San Franciscan - prestige isn't a concern at all. but i really know absolutely nothing about running a business. i'm looking to acquire practical skills here.

EDIT - forgot to mention, an MBA program with a good marketing reputation would also be ideal.

Babson College MBA. US News #1 for entrepreneurship for 17 years, #2 entre at WSJ in 2007, #1 entre Financial Times in 2010, #1 entre princeton review 08-10, top entre school in world according to Latin Trade.

Obviously Stanford beats holistically for VC/entre because of its prestige and proximity to Silicon. But Babson would give likely give a good education on the "business of starting a business."

Still, in my personal opinion, entrepreneurs don't need MBAs. You can learn everything as you go business-wise. The hard part is actually having an idea and creating a product.

I second SF's advice. Starting a business is about learning the ropes yourself. The only way to do it is to build one and if it fails, then you learn from it and move on. I'd say spend your time finding a business partner that has the skills you are looking for instead of wasting your time and money on an MBA.

runner99 - how hard is babson to get into?

libor - the idea i have...its great...but its simple. it's simple in the sense that a reasonably intelligent person could make it happen without me if they had the idea. so i worry about getting rubbed out by a potential business partner and not making any loot. that's really the main reason i want to acquire the skills to do this on my own.

Start your business. Google "how to run a business" etc (there are a lot of very good resources online) and audit classes at the best near-by university. Stop worrying so much about people stealing your idea, because if your business is half-decent someone will end up copying you anyway.

Do you have a background in software development? If this is an internet venture and you do not have programming experience, I would recommend you partner with someone who does. You have the option of outsourcing the programming but in my experience it is much better to have in house. Let your partner focus on the development and you focus on the business aspect. These guys are right, you don't need an MBA. Research online and you will learn as you go. Doing a startup alone though, like you are saying, can end up being very difficult.

Interesting comments...

i guess that im going to have to be a little more specific about the actual business idea if im going to get any more helpful advice that i haven't already.

it's an internet business that would provide a traditional face-to-face service over the web...and all of those incredible advantages that we know the web can bring would come along with it. it turns out that im not the first person to have the same basic idea. but i had to look it up to see if it even existed. now, i consider myself a reasonably intelligent individual, i went to a great school, i have a lot of smart friends, and i have a great knowledge of this field...and i still had to look this up to see if this kind of business even existed. that alone tells me that it's not being done right. if being done right, i think - check, i know - that it could be incredibly, incredibly successful.

it's not like i'm going to be inventing a new kind of software or anything, but still, i'm going to need SOME help, as i know next to nothing about setting up an internet business. i need someone to...a) set up/design the actual site in a professional manner...b) set up a private means to communicate with the clients on the site (not much different than AIM really)...and c) set up an online payment system. that doesn't seem like a 'business partner's' role. that seems more like something i could just pay someone good to do once...and then maybe hire someone cheaper full time to maintain.

marketing is probably going to end up being what makes or breaks this business. and there are two issues here, #1) marketing skills, and #2) marketing money. i'll start with skills. i think that i have some great raw marketing skills. but i've never taken any marketing classes or anything (lots of psych though). so this is something that i'm probably either going to need to acquire through classes - mba, or maybe just a series of specific marketing courses - or an area where i'm going to need to bring in a business partner with an expertise in marketing. now, i really don't like the idea of having a business partner, especially at this stage. in addition to ultimately meaning half as much cheese...if i bring in someone that's better than me right now, before i've established myself as THE GUY, i could get rubbed out. i mean, like i said, it's a simple idea. and that idea's all i've got right now. if he's got the skills needed to make it happen AND the idea, where do i fit in!?

now, money. if this thing is going to be a success, im going to need a ton of money for marketing. if i'm going to make this thing happen, i'm going to have to be the first person to really, really market it on a huge scale. like i said, there are other people out there doing it, but you wouldn't know it because the marketing has been literally nonexistent. so...im going to need to sell someone with a lot of money on the idea to give me a big loan. i'd prefer to not give up a percentage of the business...i'd rather take a high interest rate, but i guess we'll see how that shakes out. i'd also prefer to make a rich friend (and i've got a couple uber rich friends) a little richer instead of some venture capitalist, but again, i guess we'll see how that shakes out. aside from marketing...i really just need some money to hire the website designer for a one time job, to put a website maintainer on the payroll, to put several certain qualified professionals on the payroll (i've considered becoming one myself...but it'd take too much time...and it'd be easier to just hire them), and to hande all the other typical expenses that come along with a business.

the more i think about it...and the more i read your helpful responses...i'm thinking that instead of wasting two plus years in an mba program, i might be better off just taking a job or internship at one of these companies that isn't maximizing their potential. i could probably learn MOST of the essentials there. and while working, i could take marketing classes at a local school. and then maybe take some other additional courses if i see them as necessary based on my experience.

again, thank you all for the help so far, and for all the help to come!

best,

blue

1) You didn't shed any more light about your idea, really. Just said something generic. That's fine, though. I wouldn't talk about an idea, either.

2) No class was a bigger waste of time than marketing. You learn two things: 1) marketing lingo for completely intuitive concepts; and 2) determining your demographics, which is a simple endeavor. My prof was a successful professional in the field, too; it was still useless. If you're really concerned here, you will gain the most value by just ordering a good marketing text book.

3) I would reach out to some angel investors. At the very least, have lunch with one angel investor from a local network. They could recommend/connect you to tech/operating partners, or service providers if you're skeptical about bringing in a partner. Hit up google to find local networks.

4) You're not going to get any sort of sizable loan (for a variety of reasons), so get ready to give up ownership; unless, your rich buddies pull through.

i have zero experience asking for funding for something like this. how do i go about meeting with angel investors...and not having them just turn around and steal my idea? like i said, almost anyone could make the idea work. do i need to bring a lawyer or something to these meetings?

makes sense about marketing though really.

Consider applying to Techstars or Y Combinator. These are essentially "startup schools" that will get straight to the point for what you want to do. Also great networking opportunities.