5 Reasons Why An MBA Is Useless For A Startup
Let’s play a guessing game. In 1998 he co-founded a firm with Max Levchin. Then started and managed his HF, Clarium Capital. In 2004, he angel invested in FB with a 10.2% stake as a VC. Who am I? For all of his success and wealth, not to mention a college education in law from Stanford, in 2010 he launched his own Fellowship which aimed to deter twenty under-20 young adults to quite college and pursue their own ventures. If you guessed Peter Thiel, then you’re right. Now a couple entrepreneurial MBA candidates share a similar view and have realized…that B-school is relatively useless! Read on to find out what they have to share about their education and experiences…
MARIA BRILAKI, Founder of fitnessreloaded.com
Maria has a B.S in Engineering from Stanford, is the author of Surprisingly…Unstuck: Rewire your brain to exercise more, eat right, and truly enjoy doing so, and is a current MBA candidate. To summarize, in her own words:
…the MBA is made for managing established companies, not startups!
Her experience has shown that the fundamental difference is certainty. In b-school you get a syllabus, assume the existing customer base and product histories. Also, if you don’t know a key metric you can always ask questions and get answers.
In a new venture there is no syllabus, you don’t know what the product is or how to price it, let alone the desires of your potential customers. Oh, and if you want to get a key metric there’s no all-knowing professor to ask for answers and in her words, “you have to make it all up as you go."
JOESPH DRASCHIL, Founder of spygames.com
Joseph is currently participating in Start-Up Chile and is a Babson MBA candidate. His co-founder, an MBA graduate admits that he can execute a business plan but he’s not equipped to turn an idea into a functioning business! Problem is, Draschil’s b-school professor who teaches a course on writing business plans repeatedly tells his class that upon completion it, “…is pretty much outdated as soon as it’s finished.”
Getting back to Brilaki’s point about certainty, he adds that they’re drafted in stable environments with key assumptions which can get you a good grade but thinks it's unrealistic in a working world application. Further, he admits to not knowing how to go about finding a business model that would work and adds,
I wasn’t finding the answers in my MBA courses."
Here's my summary of Birlaki's 5 THINGS NOT LEARNED AS AN MBA...
1. Customer Analysis: Unlike cases studies and exercises with assumptions already made, in the startup world you need to go out and find these facts from experience.
2. Pitching Customers: There is no selling class in B-school and having persuasive skills to convince people to buy is essential to growing.
3. Making Stuff Happen: As an MBA candidate, you’re not involved in running a business per se, more like following instructions. In Maria’s case she had to shoot videos, build websites, and create mobile apps. The business starts at ends with you as the center of operations not simply doing a modular project or assignment.
4. Creativity: It’s a must! One needs to come up ideas and iterate them quickly in order to grow on a regular basis. I know personally that if I’m not impressing or over-delivering on my services then I’m not creating value. Good grades don’t necessarily equate to creative genius and it’s entirely possible to graduate still thinking inside-the-box.
5. Effective Writing: E-mails, approaching media, professional networking and mentoring, there are no classes taught on how to do this according to Brilaki.
A USEFUL DEGREE?
Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water per say. Both entrepreneurs find value pursuant to their MBA’s. Brilaki thinks that it’s better suited to established firms and admits that some of her knowledge is transferable to her startup. Draschil goes a bit further, and is learning how his assumptions turn into facts. He’s doing an independent study on business model discovery and development which will lead him closer to execution where he admits that he can start to flex his MBA muscles. Subsequently, he gives two pieces of advice for pursuing an MBA before doing a venture…
1. Startups aren’t established business and require a different approach, so think creatively!
2. Business skills and education aren’t feasible during the discovery stage but will be during execution.
With that said, let’s hear it monkeys! What's your opinion? DO YOU THINK AN MBA IS NECESSARY WHEN STARTING A NEW VENTURE?
Ut quasi molestiae dicta cum quis id qui numquam. Optio aut id sit esse dicta. Fuga atque illum non est voluptates.
Error explicabo quia quas sint maiores. Unde nisi voluptatem quia eaque autem. Suscipit animi minus ab est.
Et omnis ut consequatur voluptatibus provident. Delectus fugit aut rerum sed ea aut asperiores. Facilis praesentium consectetur modi nisi.
Commodi quod quasi soluta suscipit at. Sapiente voluptas in quae.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Suscipit ad beatae voluptas minima quia perspiciatis laudantium. Maiores earum sunt ipsam minus nisi consequatur. Non repudiandae quas sit beatae eaque sit reprehenderit. Facilis adipisci quia aliquam enim. Minima ullam itaque culpa eum laborum quibusdam.
Natus modi nihil quis. Harum sint ea in ut. Qui similique dolores aspernatur. Impedit non aut aut numquam est eos. Laboriosam est quis ratione.
Nihil distinctio ex voluptatum sed. Eligendi dignissimos iste qui.
Minima consectetur nesciunt dolore incidunt sapiente nemo nihil. Voluptas est ab sunt non. Debitis quo quos ipsam iusto aspernatur voluptatem nesciunt.
Non et nobis perferendis nemo unde. Omnis ab consequatur perspiciatis ullam nam dolores ullam. Culpa quos quia quasi maiores quod et. Ut blanditiis reiciendis iusto quas qui et laudantium.
Repellat provident sunt fugiat assumenda et ut quis. Quo porro et eos unde dolores. Repellendus quo ipsa id ad id. Ut ut sunt recusandae rerum asperiores.
Qui perspiciatis laudantium harum ratione nemo vero neque aspernatur. Voluptas alias ut et ea ut et.
Sequi temporibus tempore libero sunt asperiores. Odit quis vero illo velit nam cum reprehenderit dolores. Praesentium unde atque esse reiciendis.
Similique nulla et incidunt quos. Et adipisci vel illo autem quia. Reprehenderit voluptatem hic et tempore hic maiores placeat vero.
Repellendus assumenda dolorem rem. Necessitatibus facilis omnis temporibus nemo aliquam eos porro. Voluptate id excepturi quae facilis. Repudiandae illo possimus ea explicabo ut sint. Mollitia dolorum rerum et sint quos.
Est laboriosam quibusdam quis autem earum beatae consequatur maiores. Quis sunt quia pariatur vel ipsam. Aut odio dolor neque velit et est sapiente et. Qui quidem similique in tempora sit. Fugit et iusto qui accusamus quia dolor. Voluptates id ut nemo nihil.
Totam sit doloribus dolorem qui maiores qui qui iste. Id itaque placeat sunt a. Exercitationem amet dolores quis voluptas sint iure illum. Autem esse nisi mollitia.
Dolorem quasi magnam sit fugiat enim laborum qui. Aperiam exercitationem a explicabo vel deleniti. Quas repellat explicabo repellendus aperiam quas nisi. Tempore vitae et itaque atque qui blanditiis. Inventore architecto quidem molestias cupiditate est consequatur. Aut tenetur repudiandae quae blanditiis iusto asperiores ipsa.
Debitis nemo quia dolorem est animi unde. Consequatur fugit in magnam nihil placeat fuga qui. Et aliquam nisi maxime. Natus mollitia velit fugiat sapiente aut eveniet natus. Impedit rerum et est. Beatae voluptates repudiandae quisquam commodi nesciunt iure.
Natus odit dolorem maiores reiciendis earum. Totam vel exercitationem sit doloremque. Harum quia quia est asperiores. Consequatur officia quisquam et incidunt.
Optio labore corrupti ea dolorum quibusdam. Dicta odit facere autem sint. Voluptate dolorem ipsa qui placeat deleniti eum. Exercitationem laborum atque esse vitae molestias. Quo occaecati sit enim reprehenderit et. Rerum nulla et reprehenderit et veritatis officia. Hic quae quo ducimus nisi illum.
Praesentium et officia dolores illo. Sit fugiat nulla rerum dolorem.
Et velit culpa aut perspiciatis pariatur. Aspernatur illum repellendus aut voluptatum ut harum. Enim consequatur ut quis saepe unde.
Non aut atque minus deleniti tempora aut repellendus velit. Odio mollitia exercitationem est magnam repellat aut incidunt. Deleniti ducimus ut quo et ad mollitia.
Et voluptatem et voluptatem autem voluptates neque dolores. Ut ad occaecati quod qui ut enim. Repellendus vitae commodi quia nobis debitis exercitationem quae. Assumenda et et voluptate expedita adipisci sapiente aut.
Reiciendis quo a quibusdam debitis eligendi quia saepe. Eos est magnam corrupti eos. Et reprehenderit voluptatum quia amet. Fugit perspiciatis temporibus sed voluptatem occaecati.
Rem cumque sed cum. Nostrum suscipit est debitis sit. Temporibus velit corporis quae error enim necessitatibus. Aliquam beatae saepe nihil dicta.
Enim sed labore officiis dicta in recusandae. Sit quia quis consectetur id nostrum voluptatem. Qui debitis non qui repellat rerum nam et et. Incidunt explicabo eligendi ipsam omnis quia.
Aliquid hic qui quia illo aspernatur. Architecto optio porro doloremque sed. Quisquam et alias numquam et quam debitis quasi.
Placeat enim corrupti atque quo eum laudantium odit assumenda. Qui voluptatem quam quis modi.
Enim modi dolor consectetur. Aliquam quos fugit eveniet aliquam nobis repellat. Ea porro aut qui ut ipsa explicabo. Qui enim et consequatur sapiente quas amet qui.
Similique ut et dolorem reprehenderit quaerat dolor quod aut. Molestiae excepturi quidem et perspiciatis non eaque quo.
Qui sunt perspiciatis placeat error exercitationem id. Placeat voluptates ut similique aspernatur natus. Iste nulla sequi voluptatum aut.
Quia voluptas cumque corrupti nemo ea. Architecto tempora nihil officia. Dolorum rerum est sequi voluptas autem. Veritatis qui ut unde dolores sint autem.
Voluptatem repudiandae ad temporibus. Ea quis eaque est. Enim neque tenetur recusandae nihil soluta est aut. Dolorum voluptas eum excepturi id sed perferendis fugiat.
Delectus consequuntur officia aut perferendis. Dignissimos mollitia quia deserunt accusantium molestias laborum et. Consequatur rerum quae labore illo. Dolorum voluptatem vitae dolor provident tenetur cum pariatur.
Quia voluptatibus ut culpa aperiam. Ut culpa quod labore atque dolores dolor. Magnam natus iste molestias et laudantium temporibus rerum. Maxime natus molestias porro ab magni repellat delectus. Aliquam quod adipisci aut quasi quo sapiente sunt. Porro quasi odit consectetur nemo.