Is B-School next?

I'll try to make this as short as possible.

I work in biz-dev for a mid-size online retailer in which I'm also a minority partner. Started the job while still in school and grew the company by a lot over the past 6 or so years. I feel like the company has reached its peak now that we've expanded into several other countries and there's limited room for growth ahead. I'm getting really bored and don't find the work intellectually stimulating anymore, in fact it's getting to be more frustrating than anything due to issues outside our control. I'm also not sure how much longer the company will be around but the pay is good while it lasts.

About 2.5 years ago I co-founded an online startup which showed a lot of potential, we were able to raise enough $$ through angel investors to run operations for about 2 years, but in the end it was still unprofitable and we weren't able to secure funds even after several meetings with VCs

I'm not really sure I want to keep pursuing the entrepreneur path for now. I've always wanted to apply to B-school for a sense of self fulfillment, to build up a network of friends/contacts and to possibly work for an established Consulting/F-500/ VC/IB firm. In School I've had internships at some NYC BB's and enjoyed the work and the 'prestige'.

I spoke to some of my most successful friends who happen to be entrepreneurs and they all advised me against that, saying that I should just use the time and tuition fees to start up a new venture instead. However, at this point in life I'm not really up for that challenge

I think my best option right now would be to apply to a 2nd/3rd tier B-school like Duke/UNC/UVA/Cornell as I'm not sure I have the right pedigree for the M7 and I'm not bright enough to crack 700+ on the Gmat.. I've also lived in nyc most of my life and would love to get away for a bit.

Does this seem like a reasonable plan given that I'm turning 27 soon and I may be running out of time to go to B-school or switch careers?

Thx for reading!

 
Best Response

not tldr at all actually.

keep in mind this is coming form someone completely unqualified to give you advice (i'm 25, working in f500 finance, have not been to bschool)... but if i were you i'd go for it. there are a lot of pros and cons to bschool... the prestige, the networking, and the recruiting must be weighed against the price tag, foregone salary, and foregone experience. the deciding factor is a personal one... at the end of the day, does the idea of going to bschool excite and motivate you? from your post, it sounds like it does.

just my humble opinion.

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 

I wouldn't completely discount the M7 - even if you have below average stats, your entrepreneur profile is somewhat rare, at least when compared to the masses coming from MBB and big name banks. I mean, you can't roll in with a 2.5 and a 550 GMAT, but if you have a decent UG GPA (3.5ish) and can approach 700 GMAT, you might have a shot.

 

Thanks all! Yeah the idea does excite me a lot and keeps me motivated for sure. I think my opportunity cost might be slightly lower because I would still be getting some profit share from the company if it's still operating.

As for applying to the M7, i think it would be a bit of a stretch with my 3.54 GPA and possibly mid 600s gmat. I looked at resume books from these schools and these people had some real impressive experience and academic achievements.

BTW as far as the 3rd tier comment, i meant it in the context of a top 20 B-school ranking.

As taken from another post: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton -gap- Booth, Columbia, Sloan, Kellog, Stern, Tuck -gap- Darden, Haas, McCombs, Ross, Yale SOM, Fuqua - gap- Keenan-Flagler, Anderson -gap-

 

if B School isn't for entreprenuers like yourself then who is it for? Just try to get the 700+ and you are way different than your average banker, I'd think one of the M7 wouldn't mind taking a student w. a 3.5, 700+ gmat that took an active role in growing a company to the point where it is international. Don't short your experience, you are competing against excel jockeys and powerpoint rock-stars(for the most part)...

 

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