Entrepreneurs: Unlearn your MBA!

I'm glad I didn't go to his MBA school. My background is engineering so I didn't have any business background before I joined UF's MBA program. So far I've taken two accounting classes which I knew nothing about and two marketing classes which I knew nothing about. I'm currently taking a venture finance course which is all about entrepreneurship and how to get angel or VC funding. Next semester, I'm taking a business law class which which I think any entrepreneur should have a background in. I'm also taking an international business class and get to study abroad in Japan.All these classes have been extremely educational and helpful for the new business I'm starting up. I don't use 95% of the stuff I learned in my engineering degree, but it doesn't mean I wasted my time. I can already say the same thing about the MBA degree I'm working on. Simply specialize in entrepreneurship instead of corporate business.

Interesting perspective, but he might have wanted to take some entrepreneurship courses while getting his MBA or better yet, he should have taken them while he was an undergraduate. The entrepreneurship courses I'm familiar with are heavy on practicality and light on the theory. When I am in the classroom I hear questions like “Who is your customer?” and “How are you going to reach that customer?” rather that the issues that he raised in his comments.

With all this complaining, it does not seem he received or studied for an MBA! His bio indicates went to Copenhagen Business School for his undergrad (graduated 5 years ago). He mentioned his talk reflects on all of business education, but if this information is correct, he really is unqualified to make these statements. Further, it is very difficult to say that something you previously learned didn't impact the lens through which you understand reality and make decisions.Let's get to the heart of the issue though. It is true that if you're selling a product, no one is going to care about reports about why you offered the product you did, but understanding which tools are relevant for the particular situation, and using them to decide how you are going to serve your customers in a way that adds lasting value, is important. This is still the case for a start-up. I have seen lots of start-ups that would benefit greatly by using a five forces analysis to ensure that the offerings they build will not cause them to be crushed by any of those five forces. The purpose of a five forces analysis most certainly would not be to provide it to customers.An MBA also adds so much more value after working in business for a number of years. Given that he is 30, now is a good time for him to consider it. It seems he is angry about school, so I do not imagine he would have enough of an open mind if he were to go. A business education should include entrepreneurial studies, especially for someone who wants to start something from the ground up. Entrepreneurial studies will offer tools that are sided better as he desires.Business school should give someone a host of tools to be considered among many items in making decisions. To follow these tools to make someone's decisions for them would indeed be a mistake.

what a great video post. i love how radical his ideas are. it does make a lot of sense since most of the time what we learn in school is highly theoretical. the real thing is so much different. especially in entrepreneurship. you never really know unless you've tried it yourself.

It is easy to generalize that an MBA degree does not matter. I myself have an MBA and in the beginning, there were times when it felt like restated common sense – much like sex education where you simply complicated the obvious. However, this false notion actually emanates from my own failure to immediately realize the value of management as the most important aspect of organizational success.A manager's job is all about strategy – with the end goal of making your business successful. A normal MBA would be able to equip you with all the tools you need in order to be adept with this. But it is vital that your role as a strategist be imparted early. You probably never had an MBA or if ever, went to one which failed to impart to you why you are taking each subject and how it contributes to making you a better strategist when handling your business.Regards,Edward

Any other pieces?

[...] there is this “MBAs can’t do startups” opinion, which is often quite strongly expressed. People do seem to love bashing MBAs! In fact, I was on the entrepreneurship panel for the incoming [...]