*** DUKE FUQUA vs. UCLA ANDERSON

Question

Any recommendation is greatly appreciated.

Background: 1. International student 2. Worked in marketing research for 1 year and currently working for family business in the luxury industry - Aim to focus in marketing and entrepreneurship I'm now leaning towards Duke due to its marketing program and close-knit community/student body. But, most ppl around me root me for Anderson mostly because of its location. I'm hesitating because Anderson is known to have an outstanding entrepreneurial program/club. I don't know much about entrepreneurship at Duke.

asimov · Answer

Congrats on getting into both programs. I've never been to other schools, but I believe Fuqua has a decent entrepreneurship program that is growing. If you haven't, you should check out Fuqua's Program for Entrepreneurs (https://www.dukep4e.org/). Howie (Director) does a good job in bringing in speakers to talk about all aspect of entrepreneurship, from IP protection to raising capital. We also have start-up challenge and business plan competitions, which have a fair amount of VC in attendence. There're also a few incubator/accelerators in Durham, even a non-profit incubator. I think the only downside of entrepreneurship in Durham is that there aren't as much computer science talent for doing a startup in a web technology sector. The upside is that for biomedical type of startups, the RTP area is very strong.

When you are making your decision, think about what you want to do immediately out of school. If you want to go into industry and then transition into entrepreneurship after you've gain some experience and credibility, I would recommend to go to a school with a better connection/reputation in the target industry. If you want to start a company immediately out of school, you should go to a school/location with strong startup connections in your area of interest. Startups are a connection heavy business and VC tend to invest within its immediate area.

brownie149 · Answer

Thank you so much for the shout out! Great insight you have there. I am also aware that Fuqua is focusing more of entrepreneurship these days. It's probably been downplayed by marketing and general management Fuqua offers. (On the contrary to Anderson where they have a solid reputation in this field)

Right after graduation, I want to gain some more experience in the retail IT-based industry which is the industry i'm heading towards for a year or two. Then, i will start-up a company based on such experiences.

I know that Anderson probably suits me better regarding the future industry but i'm tempt by Duke's marketing & general management excellence, the school vibe and friendly tight-knit community.

method · Answer

If you're planning on a start-up, I think the orientation of the brand becomes less relevant. Each school is going to have students to network with that can advise/partner with you, but it'll be up to you to seek them out.

If anything, I wonder if location may seem like a more relevant factor? Are you more inclined to try tapping a specific geography first, or are you going to go the web route and criss-cross the country for installs?

Some thoughts anyway, but if you love Duke go to Duke. I don't think you'll be kicking yourself afterwards by any means.

brownie149 · Answer

Thanks for the input

Personally, I think marketing is the core of any business and because it's of my interest so I want to pay particular attention into this field. I'm going to touch base the web-related industry, retail to be specific. Then will transfer knowledge/insight to home country. I agree that I couldn't go wrong in any of these choices. I just want to be certain I consider every aspects and weight it properly.

*** DUKE FUQUA vs. UCLA ANDERSON

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