{"id":7433,"date":"2011-06-17T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2011-06-17T17:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=7433"},"modified":"2013-04-01T15:14:02","modified_gmt":"2013-04-01T22:14:02","slug":"should-you-get-an-mba-if-you-want-to-be-an-entrepreneur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/should-you-get-an-mba-if-you-want-to-be-an-entrepreneur\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Get an MBA If You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"fresh by eren | thisvintagechica, on Flickr\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/vintagechica\/4913145896\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4096\/4913145896_cbca461e68.jpg\" alt=\"fresh\" width=\"323\" height=\"211\" \/><\/a>Do you really need an MBA? It's an age-old business question, and that every expert has weighed in on at least once. The debate over whether an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.knewton.com\/gmat\/mba\/worth-it\/\">MBA is worth the investment<\/a> becomes even more heated when the question becomes more specific: do you need an MBA if you want to be an entrepreneur?<\/p>\n<p>The  most accurate answer is: it depends. Here are some of  the pros and cons of getting an MBA before you start a company. At the bottom of each consideration, you can see if the \u201cpro\u201d or \u201ccon\u201d applies specifically to your case.<\/p>\n<h3>PROS:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>1. Networking opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whether  you\u2019re looking for investors, partners, or mentors to help you start  your venture, schools like MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB, and Chicago Booth  will offer enormous student, alumni, and faculty networks. In business,  success often comes down to execution, and your network can help you  perfect it. The right kind of insight or partnership could put you  ahead of your competitors and help you avoid mistakes along the way.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Disregard this \u201cpro\u201d if<\/em>: you\u2019re a powerhouse networker or have already built an outstanding network from previous employment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>2. Legitimacy and shared vocabulary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If  you don\u2019t know how to communicate with other business people, you'll have trouble engaging potential partners and investors. \u201cVocabulary\u201d  isn\u2019t just a superficial matter; having the right language to express an  idea may help you clarify your thoughts (which  translates into more productive decisions). Also know that some people consider the pedigree of the founders when  evaluating the potential of certain business plans.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Disregard this \u201cpro\u201d if<\/em>: you  are skilled at self-directed study and have built up such a record of  achievement that an MBA wouldn\u2019t confer any additional prestige.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>3. Range of skills developed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes,  you can always partner with someone who excels in areas in which you  are more deficient, but you should have something to offer,  too. Business school will give you time to develop your skills in your  area of interest, as well as provide you with an understanding of basic business  principles. Also,  the depth and range of a business education may give you ideas you  simply would not have had otherwise.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Disregard this \u201cpro\u201d if<\/em>: you  have built a deep understanding of accounting, finance, operations,  strategy, and marketing in addition to whatever you ultimately  specialize in.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>4. Access to job opportunities that offer good apprenticeships.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As serial entrepreneur Steve Blank <a href=\"https:\/\/steveblank.com\/2011\/04\/26\/the-apprentice-entrepreneur-version\/\">points out<\/a>,  one of Silicon Valley's most pervasive myth is that \u201call winning  startups are founded straight out of school by 20 year olds from  Stanford or Harvard.\u201d Sure, the media loves to talk about young  entrepreneurs, but in truth, most successful entrepreneurs are older,  with at least a few years experience as apprentices at established  companies under their belts. An MBA can help increase your chances of  securing a job that will provide you  with the experience, skills, and mentors you need to start your own  successful company someday.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Disregard this \u201cpro\u201d if<\/em>: your resume is already studded with powerful brands and you are ready to break out of apprenticeship mode.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>5. Venture\/business plan contests.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>HBS  offers prizes that total $170,000 in their annual Business Plan Contest  and Wharton offers $10,000 to \u201cVenture Award\u201d Winners. Though you  certainly shouldn\u2019t go to business school expecting to win a contest,  know that many successful businesses have been launched with the cash won in b-school contests and the  momentum that the win provided. Plus, even if you don\u2019t win a contest,  you may receive valuable feedback from the judges that helps refine your  idea and make it more attractive to potential VCs.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Disregard this \u201cpro\u201d if<\/em>: you already have access to a large amount of cash.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>CONS:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>1. Cost and forgone salary.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Business  school is expensive. And while going to school early may put you on the  fast-track to success, it can also pressure you to take the highest  paying position out of school instead of exploring other options (check  out what our CEO Jose Ferreira has to say on the matter). So, if you haven\u2019t saved up a good deal from previous  employment and value your short-term financial freedom, you might want to hold off on pursuing an MBA.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Disregard this \u201ccon\u201d if<\/em>: money isn\u2019t an issue, or you don\u2019t mind waiting a few years post-MBA to start your own company.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>2. Less hands-on experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What  comes to mind when you think of entrepreneurs? People who solve  problems, capitalize on opportunities, and recognize the needs of  consumers and move quickly to fulfill those needs. Hands-on experience  is essential to developing these skills.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Disregard this \u201ccon\u201d if<\/em>: you already have experience and want to refine your skills with a formal business education before starting your own venture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>3. You won\u2019t necessarily be surrounded by like-minded classmates.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is a point John Warrilow brings up in his article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bnet.com\/blog\/build-business\/4-reasons-an-mba-is-bad-for-entrepreneurs\/379?pg=3&amp;tag=content;drawer-container\">4 Reasons an MBA is Bad for Entrepreneurs<\/a>.  He argues that most students in top-tier MBA programs will have gotten  to that program \u201cby answering the questions correctly, not by examining  the efficacy of the question itself\u201d -- in other words, they\u2019re more  concerned with being right than with being creative. It's certainly true that more b-school grads go into consulting and banking than become entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Disregard this \u201ccon\u201d if<\/em>: you don\u2019t mind seeking out a niche of like-minded peers, or if you\u2019re  looking at b-schools with dedicated entrepreneurship programs. These  places are almost certain to attract like-minded peers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Bottom line:<\/strong> Salesmanship  is a necessary part of being an entrepreneur. Be confident that you can  sell yourself and your business idea to potential partners, investors,  and customers whether you choose to pursue an MBA or not.<\/p>\n<p><em>This post was written by Christina Yu. For more GMAT tips, check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.knewton.com\/blog\/gmat\/\">Knewton GMAT blog<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you really need an MBA? It&#8217;s an age-old business question, and that every expert has weighed in on at least once. The debate over whether an MBA is worth&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,4,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-mba","category-career-reviews","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7433"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17717,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7433\/revisions\/17717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}