Top 27 profiles for HBS - Class of 2014

As some celebrate the end of the grueling admission process (short,compbanker etc) others are just beginning (class of 2016)

I will be applying to the usual suspects this fall, came across this post and thought to myself "the new formula for getting into HBS" goes something like this; found a start up (no matter how boring) + found/be highly active in an NGO = $$$$

What are your thoughts on this new trendfrom blue chip/BB+PE experience to start up and NGO experience.

**Management consultants still seem to get some love.


Harvard Business School is one of the most exclusive institutions in the world: Only 13% of applicants were admitted last year, and it is US News' top-ranked business school.
An MBA from Harvard is the path to the corner office and a six-figure salary right out of school, and also a place where entrepreneurs are born. Famous alumni include Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and NYC Mayor and Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg.
We found the most impressive students currently getting their MBAs — many of whom aren't waiting to graduate to get their businesses going. One went to Princeton at 16 before joining Microsoft as an engineer. Another sold his successful startup for more than $100 million and published a book before enrolling.
People we've spoken to at Harvard agree that these students are among the school's finest. And they're just getting started.

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-impressive-harvard-business-school-…
 

I have no idea why the majority of these people would event want to go to business school. Seems like a massive waste of potential to me.

This is a perfect example of what Nassim Taleb described as (I'm paraphrasing), "HBS accepting birds and then taking credit for their ability to fly."

 

The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 
SonnyZH:

The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.

Brady, get a therapist.

Amazing how many of these folks want to do pickenneny consumer tech startups.

 
Dirk Dirkenson:
SonnyZH:

The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.

Brady, get a therapist.

Amazing how many of these folks want to do pickenneny consumer tech startups.

pickenneny?

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 
Ipso facto:

When I see posts like this, I anticipate one of two things will ensue:

1. A lot of hating
2. A lot of jacking off / mental masturbation

Surprisingly, none of these things have happened yet.

Just because it hadn't happened yet at the time of your comment...

Seriously people. Why do you care? Looks like an interesting group of people. And it should be no news to you that 99% of high achievers are good at gaming the system and generating resume fluff. I'm sure there are plenty of boring 4.0 / 780's F500 / MBB / BB IBD mixed into the class too.

To quote another WSO member... "I've never seen a Ferrari paid for by what people think..." and the reverse is true too. I've definitely never seen a Ferrari paid for by hating on people you don't even know.

 

Really? These are some pretty mediocre resumes. It looks like HBS is taking on every failed entrepreneur they can find who has a high GPA and GMAT score. That's not to say that these students are failures or will be failures in their futures, but there's nothing that impressive here with regard to career. Most of the business ideas are mediocre-to-bad ideas that have clearly not produced much return. And then there's the fluff: "Manages a $1.2 million endowment"? Wow...you mean he manages an Asian family's two 7-11s?

 

Not gonna hate on HBS; I got dinged there. But seriously, very few of these profiles are genuinely impressive.

BusinessInsider is turning into business porn. These types of articles are really retarded.

 
mbavsmfin:

Not gonna hate on HBS; I got dinged there. But seriously, very few of these profiles are genuinely impressive.

BusinessInsider is turning into business porn. These types of articles are really retarded.

I only read BI when I want to know what Marissa Mayer had for lunch yesterday.
 
krauser:

OK, seriously? THESE are the people at HBS? A few of them are pretty good, but the others basically got in because great undergrad + failed entrepreneur + fluff NGO work = HBS these days.

Maybe HBS is better off taking Asian kids with mind blowing stats. At least nobody can fluff a 780 GMAT and a 4.0 GPA.

Amen

 
Amphipathic:
krauser:

OK, seriously? THESE are the people at HBS? A few of them are pretty good, but the others basically got in because great undergrad + failed entrepreneur + fluff NGO work = HBS these days.

Maybe HBS is better off taking Asian kids with mind blowing stats. At least nobody can fluff a 780 GMAT and a 4.0 GPA.

Amen

With all due respect... What the fuck are you talking about?
Built the company from its start in 2003 to over $50 million in annual sales, 300 employees, and one million users before selling the firm to Washington D.C.-based Vocus for $169 million.
...landed both women a spot in Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business – Next Generation Entrepreneurs 2011
...started at Princeton at just 16, where he conducted cutting-edge research on biomedical applications of infrared lasers...
physician in the Royal Thai Air Force
double amputee veteran working in the DoD
graduated from Harvard at 20...
valdedictorian of three separate classes in three unique disciplines...
top-rated analyst at Morgan Stanley to respected PE firm
Bain Consultant to Bain Capital and author of a book acclaimed by the CEO of Netflix, former McKinsey & Goldman Partners to founding a successful start up
IB at Citi to working for a huge internationally known VC firm with $4.5Bn AUM
Goldman TMT to Bain Capital to launching two separate start ups (both of which were funded) and then a summer split between a tech start up and a long/short equity fund

In addition to the other ex-McKinsey / ex-bankers who founded start ups...

You're right... these guys are total morons... Where are you getting the impression that all these were failed start ups... Almost all of them were either funded, sold, or are still operating...

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 

As an aside, I've watched rich families pay thousands of dollars to professors to have their teen "research" in their labs (aka be babysat by annoyed grad students and make some buffers) for the summer, in return for a letter of rec and line on the resume about how they did "cutting-edge research in a state of the art cancer lab".

 

you guys are fucking idiots... enroll at Princeton at 16 and then you can talk... otherwise shut the fuck up... None of you are anywhere close to as impressive as half the candidates listed so you should just stop...

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 
Louboutins and Leverage:

None of you are anywhere close to as impressive as half the candidates listed

xoxo

I agree with your previous statements, but this just makes you look stupid. How on earth would you know if of all the previous posters, not a single one is comparable to one of those students. Great, they're at HBS, so what. The Princeton kid, it must've been great to be around older people in college. How do you even measure success? Majority of the 'most successful' entrepreneurs didn't even finish/attend college... Not saying it's the way to go but it's something to think about.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 
SonnyZH:
I agree with your previous statements, but this just makes you look stupid. How on earth would you know if of all the previous posters, not a single one is comparable to one of those students. Great, they're at HBS, so what. The Princeton kid, it must've been great to be around older people in college. How do you even measure success? Majority of the 'most successful' entrepreneurs didn't even finish/attend college... Not saying it's the way to go but it's something to think about.

Pretty sure no one on WSO has sold a start up for $170mm dollars unless I overlooked something. Pretty sure it's highly unlikely that anyone on WSO has been both a physician, served their country in the military and worked as an equity research analyst all by age 26-27. Pretty sure no one on WSO has written a critically acclaimed book that has been lauded by CEOs and Partners at some of the greatest consultancies and investment banks in the world. Gonna go out on a limb and say no one who is on WSO was named Fortune's "Most Powerful Women in Business" list, and I could be wrong, but I would be shocked if anyone here launched and funded their own Venture Capital firm backed by 20 LPs or their own successful real estate investment fund. What I see is a lot of haters who think that being "an Asian kid with a 4.0 and a 750 GMAT" is more credible and worthwhile to Harvard than being an innovator, having a divergent background, and producing a product or providing a service that people need.

Don't worry, I'll go call the leg store and get your argument something to stand on...

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 
Louboutins and Leverage:

you guys are fucking idiots... enroll at Princeton at 16 and then you can talk... otherwise shut the fuck up... None of you are anywhere close to as impressive as half the candidates listed so you should just stop...

xoxo

I get what you're saying, but I'm not a fan of these types of arguments. i.e. So I can't criticize Obama because he went to Harvard and I didn't...I can't criticize Carmelo Anthony for ball-hogging because he's better at basketball?

That said, I'm a huge loser so maybe I shouldn't criticize anybody ever again.

 

Wow, this is turning into a flame war. Jesus, no one is saying that the people in the article don't deserve to go to HBS. The skepticism is over the fact that these people represent the "Top 27 profiles" at HBS.

Please don't quote Patrick Bateman.
 
DBCooper:
Jesus, no one is saying that the people in the article don't deserve to go to HBS. The skepticism is over the fact that these people represent the "Top 27 profiles" at HBS.

Clearly it is, simply look at the statements below, including yours which contradicts your statement above... My point of contention was with people that don't think they deserve to go to HBS. Also, their absurd claims that these are all failed businesses with horrible return potential, despite the fact that one was sold for multiple millions.

DCDepository:
Really? These are some pretty mediocre resumes. It looks like HBS is taking on every failed entrepreneur they can find who has a high GPA and GMAT score. That's not to say that these students are failures or will be failures in their futures, but there's nothing that impressive here with regard to career. Most of the business ideas are mediocre-to-bad ideas that have clearly not produced much return.
mbavsmfin:
Not gonna hate on HBS; I got dinged there. But seriously, very few of these profiles are genuinely impressive.
Statements like these are what is at issue. I would love to hear one legitimate, cogent argument that the vast majority of these candidates are unimpressive. One using logic and facts rather than hyperbole and fallacy (my female brain gets confused sometimes so I need these things explained simply).
DBCooper:
First few people were really impressive, but I feel like there is A LOT of application fluff going on for some of them.
krauser:
OK, seriously? THESE are the people at HBS? A few of them are pretty good, but the others basically got in because great undergrad + failed entrepreneur + fluff NGO work = HBS these days.

Maybe HBS is better off taking Asian kids with mind blowing stats. At least nobody can fluff a 780 GMAT and a 4.0 GPA.

What I'm curious to know, is what exactly makes any of the above an authority to weigh in on whether or not they are impressive. Or is it an issue of not understanding what quantity signifies a "few." I'm pretty sure that I listed well in excess of "a few" impressive candidates. So then, I guess what we are left with is either for the overwhelmingly negative contingent to admit that they were being superfluous in their critiques of these profiles or to demonstrate why they are unimpressive. Since it is pretty ridiculous to try to prove that these candidates, all of whom have been admitted to the most prestigious and highly regarded business program in the world, are "unimpressive" it seems that the only logical conclusion is that there are lot of people who are either delusional about the composition of the class at Harvard Business School, or who have an extremely warped perspective on what is impressive. Either way, I can't help but think that these views are likely do to an internal bias against these candidates given the fact that they have not yet achieved what the candidates have.

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 
Louboutins and Leverage:
DBCooper:

Jesus, no one is saying that the people in the article don't deserve to go to HBS. The skepticism is over the fact that these people represent the "Top 27 profiles" at HBS.

Clearly it is, simply look at the statements below, including yours which contradicts your statement above... My point of contention was with people that don't think they deserve to go to HBS. Also, their absurd claims that these are all failed businesses with horrible return potential, despite the fact that one was sold for multiple millions.

DCDepository:

Really? These are some pretty mediocre resumes. It looks like HBS is taking on every failed entrepreneur they can find who has a high GPA and GMAT score. That's not to say that these students are failures or will be failures in their futures, but there's nothing that impressive here with regard to career. Most of the business ideas are mediocre-to-bad ideas that have clearly not produced much return.

mbavsmfin:

Not gonna hate on HBS; I got dinged there. But seriously, very few of these profiles are genuinely impressive.

Statements like these are what is at issue. I would love to hear one legitimate, cogent argument that the vast majority of these candidates are unimpressive. One using logic and facts rather than hyperbole and fallacy (my female brain gets confused sometimes so I need these things explained simply).

If they were impressive businesses they probably wouldn't, for the most part, be going to business school. I work 12+ hours a day at my business--after 2 grueling years, our revenues are starting to exponentially grow. I don't have 2 years to take off to go to business school. Creating an iPad app isn't an impressive business unless you made 7+ figures. Creating yet another internet business of mediocre-to-no success and slapping it on a resume with a 3.9 GPA in Poli Sci at Princeton really isn't that impressive in the grand scheme of things.

Your female brain, as you put it, doesn't understand when to use facts and when to use logic--they aren't one in the same. Facts tells us that there are many millions of businesses in the United States, most which don't succeed. Logic tells us that the businesses that are successful don't have CEOs/founders taking 2 years off to dick around with 20-somethings from the Royal Thai Air Force. Successful businesses require constant leadership and managerial maintenance and vision.

 
Thurnis Haley:

A pub trivia app will truly change the world I'm sure. I'm really hoping the best minds in the country focus on making pub trivia apps going forward because otherwise they're wasting their talents.

No one said they were changing the world but all of the arguments presented so far are logical fallacies because they have to be. No one here can prove that they aren't impressive so they resort to reductio ad absurdum.

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 
Louboutins and Leverage:
Thurnis Haley:

A pub trivia app will truly change the world I'm sure. I'm really hoping the best minds in the country focus on making pub trivia apps going forward because otherwise they're wasting their talents.

No one said they were changing the world but all of the arguments presented so far are logical fallacies because they have to be. No one here can prove that they aren't impressive so they resort to reductio ad absurdum.

xoxo

Being impressed is subjective of course. I'm not impressed by most entrepreneurship involving apps and I don't feel I should be but if it impresses you then fine. I'm sure this guy had multiple points on his resume that got him in.
 

What is strikingly clear and undeniable about this thread is that the majority of the negativity is with respect to these start ups. You have no factual data as to whether they are viable, don't know their revenues or how successful they are, but you are really upset because you have a narrow view of what should be required of an HBS admit.

Why is it that having a 4.0 and getting a GMAT is more impressive than founding a company that employs people? Clearly, the admissions committee at HBS, and therefore the only opinion that matters, felt that they were more impressive than all the other candidates that they chose not to admit. This clearly threatens your perspective, because you want to be able to go the Banking > PE > HBS track and you are viewing all these people who founded start ups as threatening that.

I will tell you right now, that if you are working in the financial services industry, your background probably isn't nearly as impressive as any of these candidates unless you have some notable achievements in athletics and academics. The intellect, leadership, and conviction necessary to found some of these startups (news flash to all you haters out there I know some of the founders of a couple of these businesses and they aren't as "stupid" of ideas as you would think - in fact unless you are a multimillionaire they are out-earning you).

It makes sense that you are butthurt about it, but it doesn't mean that you aren't wrong... What I see is a lot of risk aversion, jealousy, and a desire to make others' ideas sound stupid because otherwise the only other option is that you are wrong and they have a successful business and you are mad that they got into HBS. If you don't have any tangible proof that their businesses suck other than your stubborn belief that they do suck, you're arguments don't hold a lot of weight.

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 
Louboutins and Leverage:

What is strikingly clear and undeniable about this thread is that the majority of the negativity is with respect to these start ups. You have no factual data as to whether they are viable, don't know their revenues or how successful they are, but you are really upset because you have a narrow view of what should be required of an HBS admit.

Why is it that having a 4.0 and getting a GMAT is more impressive than founding a company that employs people? Clearly, the admissions committee at HBS, and therefore the only opinion that matters, felt that they were more impressive than all the other candidates that they chose not to admit. This clearly threatens your perspective, because you want to be able to go the Banking > PE > HBS track and you are viewing all these people who founded start ups as threatening that.

I will tell you right now, that if you are working in the financial services industry, your background probably isn't nearly as impressive as any of these candidates unless you have some notable achievements in athletics and academics. The intellect, leadership, and conviction necessary to found some of these startups (news flash to all you haters out there I know some of the founders of a couple of these businesses and they aren't as "stupid" of ideas as you would think - in fact unless you are a multimillionaire they are out-earning you).

It makes sense that you are butthurt about it, but it doesn't mean that you aren't wrong... What I see is a lot of risk aversion, jealousy, and a desire to make others' ideas sound stupid because otherwise the only other option is that you are wrong and they have a successful business and you are mad that they got into HBS. If you don't have any tangible proof that their businesses suck other than your stubborn belief that they do suck, you're arguments don't hold a lot of weight.

xoxo

True story right here, SB'd. Working in VC, I see people work on start-ups all the time. Starting a "successful" start-up is infinitely harder than your typical BB IB --> PE --> MBA route. You'd be surprised how many "stupid" ideas generate absurd amounts of revenue since the founders are smart and can execute. While some "great" ideas fail miserably cause the founders can't execute.

 

Does anyone know what % of the business the guy owned of the business that sold for ~$170 million? That's pretty impressive that he achieved that and also a little perplexing that he's going back to school. Assuming he retained a fair amount of the business when it was sold, I couldn't imagine going to b-school if I was in his shoes.

 
SirTradesaLot:

Does anyone know what % of the business the guy owned of the business that sold for ~$170 million? That's pretty impressive that he achieved that and also a little perplexing that he's going back to school. Assuming he retained a fair amount of the business, I couldn't imagine going to b-school if I was in his shoes.

If I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd still probably attend a place like HBS if given the chance.

Seems like a reasonably fun way to dick around and spend two years. You get to learn a little bit, meet some relatively interesting new people, and travel around the world a couple times each year.

 
SirTradesaLot:

Does anyone know what % of the business the guy owned of the business that sold for ~$170 million? That's pretty impressive that he achieved that and also a little perplexing that he's going back to school. Assuming he retained a fair amount of the business when it was sold, I couldn't imagine going to b-school if I was in his shoes.

Ditto. A guy like that should be teaching (not attending) b-school. I suspect he is going to HBS for one of two (maybe both) reasons: 1) he is insecure and feels he needs a "brand name" on his resume, or 2) he doesn't have a business background and wants to gain some management education. Most likely 2 is the case.

Man made money, money never made the man
 

"Eric graduated with a triple major in economics, marketing, and psychology, and as the valedictorian of all three schools. After graduating, Eric lived abroad in India studying intensive computer science working for a local outsourcing company, Infosys. With a 1 percent acceptance rate, landing a spot working in Infosys is harder than getting into Harvard. "

I REALLY hope there is more to his story. 1 percent acceptance rate? Ádcoms at HBS must be clueless, because Infosys is another run of the mill IT firm in India. Infy, TCS, Wipro, and HCL are the 4 big IT sweatshops of India. They pay horribly, the work is menial bitch-work and attrition rates are very high. Getting into Infosys harder than Harvard....I sent the link to my friend who works there and he can't stop laughing, he's sharing this with his team as I type this.

This guy's only credential is academic smarts. Might as well take in everyone with 780/790 on gmat.

But seriously, I do hope there is more to his story.

 
krauser:
This guy's only credential is academic smarts. Might as well take in everyone with 780/790 on gmat. But seriously, I do hope there is more to his story.
Were you the top of your class in three separate majors? Did you get a 790 on GMAT? If not, then you can't say shit. If you did then by all means continue to talk shit about this guy learning Computer Science in a foreign country at a selective company that "your friend who works there" says is easy to get into, ignoring for a fact that this is your friend and not you and that even if he does work there he is probably pretty intelligent. God you're a moron...

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 

The amount of effort being put into these arguments is pretty amusing.

Look, don't be a hater. If you can run a sub-3:00 marathon, be proud, don't hate on the fucking Kenyan for coming in 30-40 minutes quicker.

 
SirTradesaLot:
holla_back:

So much butthurt over a silly Business Insider article...

Insanely high levels of butthurt.

indeed

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 

The only important question people are missing is why the fuck was an article from that shit website, Business Insider, posted?

And all of these people are accomplished. Add to that they all probably have great UG grades as well as EC's and top GMAT scores. Are the impressive like Mother Teresa or Bill Gates? No. Are the B School impressive? Yes.

 

I thought all the profiles were impressive. No question, I'm definitely jealous and butthurt.

My only concern (and it is 100% speculative) is that most of the candidates seem to come from some level of privelege. I'm personally a fan of seeing the underdog/scrapper rise to riches and glory.

 
Ipso facto:

I thought all the profiles were impressive. No question, I'm definitely jealous and butthurt.

My only concern (and it is 100% speculative) is that most of the candidates seem to come from some level of privelege. I'm personally a fan of seeing the underdog/scrapper rise to riches and glory.

Those stories as so few and far between, even at top tier undergrad schools, that they'll never get a list on Business Insider.

 

I think people are fixating a bit too much on the fact that the article is titled, "The 27 Most Impressive Students At Harvard Business School". Business Insider probably just randomly selected a batch of interesting students and then added the hyperbolic just to get views. Which title do you think is going to sell more magazines to the masses; "27 Future Harvard Business School Attendees" or the one that was given to the article?

I don't believe there is any quantifiable way to assess what "most impressive" means and the comments on this thread lends credence to this. Some claim that the start-ups are all fluff and quantifiable data (GPA, GMAT, etc.) is a more reliable measure of one's qualifications while others are more drawn to the soft factors that one demonstrates by starting a company. If posters are truly concerned only with the fact that these are supposedly the "27 most impressive" candidates or whatever, I think all the bickering is just a wasted effort. It's dubious that BI actually made a conscious effort to select the finest candidates and even if they did, it's not something that one could really prove or disprove beyond an educated guess IMO.

In the end, I honestly think Business Insider is the winner from all this because they're laughing all the way to the bank with all the increased web traffic enraged users are giving them by sharing this article to their friends.

 
Best Response

What I got out of reading these comments:

1) IB -> PE -> B-School people are over-rated 2) Entrepreneurs are over-rated 3) People who do research at Ivies are over-rated 4) People who come from privileged backgrounds are over-rated

My conclusion: people are over-rated. Everyone on this list is a human being. They probably aren't that much different than anyone who has had success in a selective field. The amount of weight people put on how different "experiences" are perceived by other is ludicrous. No matter how successful someone is, you're likely to be underwhelmed when you meet them - in fact, you're probably more likely to be underwhelmed, since you have the expectation that they will be awe-inspiring / insightful / sharp.

Are these people successful? Yes. Are they impressive? Yes. Did they get accepted to HBS? Yes. Best of luck to them in the future. I'll now go on living my life. How about the rest of you do the same, instead of frantically comparing yourself / people you know to a few profiles of HBS incomings?

Our obsession with comparing ourselves to others explains the success of Facebook a hell of a lot more than Mark Zuckerberg's intellect / skills.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 
Ryan Allis sold a startup he co-founded at age 18 for more than $100 million.

Andrei Brasoveanu worked in high-frequency trading and venture capital before founding a retail analytics startup at HBS.

Very Impressive.

Abhishek Agrawal went to Princeton at age 16, and he's developed an app with HBS classmates that brings pub trivia to the App Store... (revolutionary research at 16 ---> pub trivia app at 24)

Jessica Matthews and Julia Silverman created a soccer ball that can be used as a portable power source. (thank god something for 3rd world kids to plug their laptops into! Brilliant ..oh)

Onusa Chantanapongwanij was a physician in the Royal Thai Air Force before coming to HBS and working with Harvard's endowment fund. (29 y/o with medical degree from 3rd world country and no military experience in her "military" job, aka treating cuts and scrapes)

Stephanie Frias and Shereen Khanuja spent successful years at Google and Intel before joining together to empower artists. (soooo they...had jobs before business school?)

Michael Trejo spent a summer at The White House, worked at Merrill Lynch, then founded Harvard's Latino Student Alliance while pursuing a joint degree at Harvard's Kennedy School. (mmmm smell that affirmative action)

Prita Kumar left Morgan Stanley and private equity for HBS, and to launch an online platform for fitness videos. (Left MS PE to...start the millionth online workout guide AKA got canned from MS)

Former Ingersoll Rand engineer Joe Blair started chillbaby to be the Netflix for baby clothes. (there are no words)

Kristen Jones is blogging at Bloomberg Businessweek as she creates a new version of Pad Mapper for students looking to sublet. (a revolutionary new...apartment locator lol - thanks affirmative action)

Stephen Miller's son inspired him to create the first iPad toy for toddlers. (no words)

Yasi Baiani launched her first business in Iran and is now working on a platform that connects people to local sports and fitness activities. (bahahahahahaha)

Andrew Haller, former McKinsey consultant and Teach For America strategist, developed Ripple Concerts, a platform for bands to book performances at untraditional venues. (top 27?)

Landon Dickey is another Teach For America alum who now manages a foundation with a $1.2 million endowment. (mmm you smell that? I love the smell of "diversity"/AA in the morning)

Todd Rudnianyn and Rebecca Greene are using experience from Amazon and a startup to revolutionize self-storage. (Yes. REVOLUTIONIZING self-storage.)

Kunal Modi used experience from a career in public service to co-found a program that connects students to local non-profits. (A CAREER in public service? The guy's 28...)

Surely this is a tongue-in-cheek article...Only accomplishments were the $169 million company founder and the Knight Trader guy. Besides the McKinsey guys, this is obviously just a big combo of Harvard trying pathetically to get into the West Coast tech scene while trying to maintain URM spots. I like how the most qualified Asian at HBS was a "doctor" (who would have a 29 y/o Thai military doctor with no experience treat them? wtf?).

What a joke of an institution.

All we need to do is show a little class, a little sophistication, and we’re in like a dirty shirt.
 
Grouse:

What a joke of an institution.

Were you expecting 900 Zuckerbergs per class?

Most of the school's student body: conscientious, hard working, well pedigreed, intelligent individuals. Honestly, what do you expect?

 
holla_back:
Grouse:

What a joke of an institution.

Were you expecting 900 Zuckerbergs per class?

Most of the school's student body: conscientious, hard working, well pedigreed, intelligent individuals. Honestly, what do you expect?

I expected SOME semblance of legitimately impressive backgrounds. An ex navy seal/CIA case worker who served in a diplomatic post in Russa; a glencore-type physical trader; people that have done cool shit I guess. These are just not interesting people.

I guess the take away is that successful people doing interesting work don't stop to go to business school.

All we need to do is show a little class, a little sophistication, and we’re in like a dirty shirt.
 

IMO, I have no problem with start ups per say, but some of these are soooo stupid that I really question their integrity. Customized baby clothing online? Is there a market? Apparently. Does there need to be one? Unfortunately.

I guess the people have spoken though.

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
 
streetwannabe:

Just to reiterate, subject A helps launch Katrina disaster relief fund. Then creates an iPad app for toddlers.

I guess I just don't see the issue... All these guys are going to be laughing when they are making millions off the idea... Or is it just frustration that the ideas are so stupid.

DBCooper was raving about Wurkin Stiffs collar stays... That was an idea that was pitched on the show Shark Tank that a lot of people thought was stupid, and now it's carried by Nordstroms. Facebook probably seemed like it was duplicitous given that Myspace already existed and now it has a ~$70bn valuation (not advocating that it is worth this much but it was certainly a game changer). At one point people thought 640k of memory was all anyone would ever need. Think about the first person who said "we should charge people for water." The other guy was probably like "Charge for fucking water? It's one of the most abundant resources on the planet..." What about the slinky... that is probably the dumbest invention ever it and it made $250 million. Snuggie made the same amount.

Am I saying that these products are all necessary or brilliant ideas? No. What I'm saying is that a lot of the people on this thread are probably going to be eating crow because the ideas that people laugh at the most are typically the ones that are most revolutionary... Again, I'm not saying that trendy baby clothes are going to be revolutionary, but if I had an iPad and a kid and I heard about it from a friend, I would probably use the site. It has a pretty catchy name and at the end of the day, I bet that site will do well.

http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2013/04/return-and-ridicule.html

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 

"DBCooper was raving about Wurkin Stiffs collar stays... That was an idea that was pitched on the show Shark Tank that a lot of people thought was stupid, and now it's carried by Nordstroms."

I wrote one sentence about them - stating that I used them. Not exactly raving...but whatever...they were an awesome idea! That dude was already set up w/ Nordstrom before he went on the show...and he killed it because it was a good niche product.

You're way too high strung. I'll admit Dirk Dirkenson's response was a little of line.

That aside...honestly, you don't think some of those some of the ideas in the article seemed like resume pads?

Please don't quote Patrick Bateman.
 
State of Trance:

HBS is trying to match SGB in its tech prowess and the start up world. Therefore, so many admits from start up backgrounds. Not a surprise to me at all.

(Most of them had relatively cookie-cutter pre-MBA experiences. The start-up stuff was post-MBA.)

 
holla_back:
State of Trance:

HBS is trying to match SGB in its tech prowess and the start up world. Therefore, so many admits from start up backgrounds. Not a surprise to me at all.

(Most of them had relatively cookie-cutter pre-MBA experiences. The start-up stuff was post-MBA.)

That still does not change the fact that HBS wants to take on SGB in the start up world.

 

I honestly expected better from WSO. I get the feeling that if all the article did was list previous work experience in bullet point form, people wouldn't be up in arms. Something like:

Candidate A Bain Consulting Bain Capital

Candidate B GS Bain Capital

Candidate C MS AM / IA

But God forbid someone takes a stab at entrepreneurship and veers off the prestige track...

 

At 1st blush, what sticks out to me is how many of these guys/gals have attempted - successfully and unsuccessfully, I am sure - to start new ventures. It feels like a trend in HBS admissions, they're hot for entrepreneurial character. I wonder, will this be a lasting trend or is this indicative of a start-up bubble? Time will tell.

IMO, I am sure there is some "resume padding" going on in b-school admissions - shocking! Still, those HBS d-smokers are all accomplished, good for them.

Man made money, money never made the man
 

LL: not arguing about the money, intellect or anything. Great thing that these people can make a company that employs people and I'm sure even the dumbest person at HBS is way smarter than I am. It's just confusing to me I guess because if I were to start a business, it'd be something I was actually passionate about creating for the people and not profiting off them for.

Of course, maybe these people are passionate about what they are creating, but some of it just seems a little outlandish and too "business savvy", rather than something that is very sustainable, creative, or "value adding".

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
 

What has my GMAT studying taught me? Patterns

The common theme among the profiles is entrepreneurship. There are some obvious successes with many failures, but another common theme: execution. While many here will chuckle at the "dumb" ideas, those same people will never start a business.

The desire for more entrepreneurial bodies in B school doesn't surprise me; the willingness of these entrepreneurs to go to business school does. The latter puts me in profile "fluff", but maybe there is a case for different strokes for different folks...

The secondary theme is professional mobility. M7 school is no good for a cookie cutter finance guy. Those types would be successful without a MBA and I think B schools acknowledge it.

In conclusion, the model for admission into M7 schools has changed.

 
IvyLeagueVet:

What has my GMAT studying taught me? Patterns

The common theme among the profiles is entrepreneurship. There are some obvious successes with many failures, but another common theme: execution. While many here will chuckle at the "dumb" ideas, those same people will never start a business.

The desire for more entrepreneurial bodies in B school doesn't surprise me; the willingness of these entrepreneurs to go to business school does. The latter makes me leery of these "profiles". Different strokes for different folks...

The secondary theme is professional mobility. M7 school is no good for a cookie cutter finance guy. Those types would be successful without a MBA and I think B schools acknowledge it.

In conclusion, the model for admission into M7 schools has changed.

Or maybe the person who wrote this article for Business Insider is the one with a hard-on for entrepreneurs...

All of the people I know at HBS (or who've attended HBS) went to a top tier school, had good GPA/GMAT, and worked in a finance/consulting/other tracked field.

 
holla_back:
IvyLeagueVet:

What has my GMAT studying taught me? Patterns

The common theme among the profiles is entrepreneurship. There are some obvious successes with many failures, but another common theme: execution. While many here will chuckle at the "dumb" ideas, those same people will never start a business.

The desire for more entrepreneurial bodies in B school doesn't surprise me; the willingness of these entrepreneurs to go to business school does. The latter makes me leery of these "profiles". Different strokes for different folks...

The secondary theme is professional mobility. M7 school is no good for a cookie cutter finance guy. Those types would be successful without a MBA and I think B schools acknowledge it.

In conclusion, the model for admission into M7 schools has changed.

Or maybe the person who wrote this article for Business Insider is the one with a hard-on for entrepreneurs...

All of the people I know at HBS (or who've attended HBS) went to a top tier school, had good GPA/GMAT, and worked in a finance/consulting/other tracked field.

Completely agree and quite honestly, I was surprised to see even 25 "entrepreneurs" at HBS. All of my HBS, CBS and Wharton friends come from "cookie cutter" backgrounds.

It would be very interesting to see a "sector" breakdown of M7 attendees.

 

HBS has always liked young go getter leaders which entails starting your own venture. Wharton likes pedigree and name brands. Booth likes sparkle. Tuck likes solid quasi blue blood community types.

Tons of Wharton kids in Sao Paulo startup scene not mny HBS kids although those are the two schools represented - hbs friend told me that they are a risk averse group so maybe EM startup too risky

 
shorttheworld:

HBS has always liked young go getter leaders which entails starting your own venture.

Absolutely. Harvard: the champion of the scrappy go getter trying to build something from nothing and challenge the stranglehold of elites. errr something like that.
All we need to do is show a little class, a little sophistication, and we’re in like a dirty shirt.
 

Agree with some of the posters here. I work in tech (this doesn't make me an authority on all things start up related by any means) but a lot of these 'startups' seem devoid of any real substance.

 

Anyone notice that more and more of these fuckers start companies that add very little actual value to society? Sure they make money and are successful and what not, but it's all music startups and social sharing startups and blah blah blah... nobody wants to try and develop something truly earth-shattering because it's not as sexy as being the celebrity entrepreneur behind the newest cool music sharing website or something. These kids are no better than the ones whose similar startups failed.

I hate victims who respect their executioners
 
BlackHat:

Anyone notice that more and more of these fuckers start companies that add very little actual value to society? Sure they make money and are successful and what not, but it's all music startups and social sharing startups and blah blah blah... nobody wants to try and develop something truly earth-shattering because it's not as sexy as being the celebrity entrepreneur behind the newest cool music sharing website or something. These kids are no better than the ones whose similar startups failed.

Maybe so, but I wish I could start a company that added no benefit to society but added a lot of value to me. (oh wait, I did do that: a hedge fund)
 
SirTradesaLot:
BlackHat:

Anyone notice that more and more of these fuckers start companies that add very little actual value to society? Sure they make money and are successful and what not, but it's all music startups and social sharing startups and blah blah blah... nobody wants to try and develop something truly earth-shattering because it's not as sexy as being the celebrity entrepreneur behind the newest cool music sharing website or something. These kids are no better than the ones whose similar startups failed.

Maybe so, but I wish I could start a company that added no benefit to society but added a lot of value to me. (oh wait, I did do that: a hedge fund)

Haha well played.

 
BlackHat:

Anyone notice that more and more of these fuckers start companies that add very little actual value to society? Sure they make money and are successful and what not, but it's all music startups and social sharing startups and blah blah blah... nobody wants to try and develop something truly earth-shattering because it's not as sexy as being the celebrity entrepreneur behind the newest cool music sharing website or something. These kids are no better than the ones whose similar startups failed.

This is all people are trying to say but some people have Harvard's balls in their mouth on this board. It's not impressive to develop a free pub trivia app. I don't understand how anybody is impressed by that. It's like that fucker Bill Nguyen.
 
BlackHat:

Anyone notice that more and more of these fuckers start companies that add very little actual value to society? Sure they make money and are successful and what not, but it's all music startups and social sharing startups and blah blah blah... nobody wants to try and develop something truly earth-shattering because it's not as sexy as being the celebrity entrepreneur behind the newest cool music sharing website or something. These kids are no better than the ones whose similar startups failed.

Always thought the cool hedgie won't give a damn about MBA, so it's suprising to see you get THIS upset...

The Auto Show
 
DCDepository:
DoubleBottomLine:

it's always amusing to watch nobodies hating on serial winners.

what a joke.

Case in point.

lol...as if anyone would confuse you with a winner. we know you would cower in shame if your middling resume were to get posted here. do you think any of those HBS kids on that list would?
 
DoubleBottomLine:

it's always amusing to watch nobodies hating on serial winners.

what a joke.

I agree

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 

You would think on a place like WSO people would realize that this is Business Insider's list of the 27 "most impressive" people at HBS

"We found the most impressive students currently getting their MBAs"

Getting all butthurt about the article is like getting butthurt about not agreeing with Food Network Magazine's top 10 pizza places in NYC.

Who the hell cares. Yes they are all impressive. No they are probably not the 27 "most impressive" people at HBS. Who comes up with a list of 27 people anyway? Probably the only 27 profiles BI could get their hands on.

 

This thread needs to die. But I still want to add two things:

1) it's okay not to copy the entire goddamn quote of the person you're responding to. I only have so much iPhone time in the John and don't want to spend it scrolling.

2) I cannot distinguish between the haters and the hater-haters in terms of tone, etc., but the hater-haters are a little too self-righteous.

If you guys are going to carry on, I want more people whipping it out to show why they're more qualified/successful, etc.

 

This is typical BI BS. The Class of 2014 profile isn't that different from past years. Yeah, you might see a few very impressive entrepreneurs (when wasn't that true for HBS?), but a huge chunk of the class still comes from consulting, PE, and banking (i.e. cookie cutter b-school profiles). It's hilarious how they take 27 people out of 920 and try to argue there's a general trend in admission.

 

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Rerum unde sed reprehenderit necessitatibus. Numquam cumque sed et sed ex doloribus recusandae. Quam possimus dolorem provident et ut. Ipsum in accusamus ea non id blanditiis. Voluptas asperiores dolores dolorem ut non perspiciatis. In assumenda doloribus inventore nesciunt nisi cumque in.

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Deleniti est dignissimos odio temporibus labore voluptatem officia quisquam. Sapiente ducimus possimus eaque dolorum odio. Atque sit et cupiditate consequuntur amet. Minus vitae velit praesentium ut natus doloribus maiores. Ab ipsam quae est similique officiis quae. Expedita omnis ut blanditiis placeat ut.

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Ipsum dolor sapiente ut ratione. Modi qui temporibus architecto consequuntur repudiandae officiis voluptas assumenda. Fuga ad delectus blanditiis aperiam quis ab commodi.

 

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Autem aliquam nisi quos amet ratione debitis. Voluptatem amet voluptate quae nobis. Laudantium ut libero sed id.

 

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