Recreational marijuana has just been legalized in my state and I'm considering creating a startup within the space. I believe there's a lot of room for creativity and growth in the marijuana industry and I'm interested in exploring my options. However I'm concerned about how this may look on an MBA application since a marijuana startup doesn't exactly follow the traditional path to M7, plus it's not legal on a federal level (yet). I'm currently in tech consulting with a lot of focus on implementation, and I'm aiming for tech strategy or a PM role at FAANG/Microsoft post-MBA. Obviously I'm not looking to target the marijuana industry post-MBA, which I'm concerned could make me look flaky. I suppose that could change if I genuinely became passionate about it, but right now I'm looking to stay in consulting long term.
Anyone have any insight on how marijuana startups are viewed in MBA admissions, especially if it's not your long term goal?
You should not do it. My take has nothing to do with how adcoms view Marijuana start-ups (which IMO shouldn't be any different than any other start-up given it's legal in your state), but is informed by the mere fact that you're thinking about the start-up through the lens of MBA admissions. If you want to be successful in creating a start-up, you need to have a burning desire to succeed because it's something you feel passionate about. Starting a company from scratch is TOUGH. There will be a never-ending stream of challenges: developing supplier relationships, hounding said suppliers when they're late, learning how to sell/market to consumers, adapting to harsh customer feedback, dealing with complaints, etc. In order for it to succeed you need to be 100% committed to your venture, and so if you already know it's not your long term goal, you're much better off focusing your time, money, and energy on what will help you get to your actual long term goals.
If that's tech strategy or PM at FAANG/M post-MBA, great. It sounds like you're perfectly positioned given your current tech consulting role. Crush the GMAT, get top reviews at work, and use your current experience to craft b-school essays that tell adcoms what you love about the industry, why you want to transition to strategy/PM, and how the MBA will help you do that. This feels like a very linear and achievable story that coupled with strong academics would make you competitive for M7
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