MBAs and Startups
MBA programs have the mandate to prepare future leaders with a foundation of skills necessary to execute complicated businesses.
Compared to large businesses, startups are quite simple. Startups begin with the simple mandate to build something useful and find a repeatable business model to acquire customers. You do not need business training to do those two things. If you do those two things well, you will have the resources to learn and/or bring on-board the acumen necessary to execute a more complicated business later on.
A few years ago, an MBA team from Georgia Tech was assigned a school project to analyze the AccelerEyes’ business and provide recommendations for growth. They spent some time with our numbers and with our website. They noticed we have resellers in most of the major countries of the world. What was their recommendation for growth? Answer: Expand into the BRIC nations.
It was hard to keep a straight face as they delivered their report.
As a counterexample, tonight I had dinner with a former Georgia Tech MBA student that did his degree while I was doing my PhD studies. He has built a great startup company, ContainerExchanger.com, with a needed product and a customer acquisition process that works.
There is a natural disconnect between MBA programs and startups. Those that can bridge the gap are awesome; most never do. My recommendation for the startup-inclined is to forgo the MBA program and join a startup.
Aside: Fred Wilson’s MBA Mondays are great for those like me that learn on-the-job (167 posts in that series at current count).
What are your thoughts about MBAs and startups?