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BlueRobin
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Advice I got from a lot of alums is you are better off spending a few years working post grad...many business ventures fail and few are profitable immediately so not many grads can pull it off and those who get a lot of outside funding give up much more of their companies than they otherwise would. There are a lot of benefits to waiting several years: build up your resume w/ post mba work, continue to develop your network, save up a nest egg to get you by, pay off some school loans...an interesting one I wouldnt really have thought about that thinking about it is very good, you will find more friends/classmates willing to help in a few years (very few folks have the resources to not take a decent job when graduating) and your friends who might be potential investors whether angle or working for VC companies will be further along and in a much better position to help you.

I know a few people who want to launch businesses, and a few people who will do that as a backup plan if they dont find a job at graduation. Some friends are working on part-time ventures together, if they make headway they can then quit their job and make a go of it.
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riverripper
Advice I got from a lot of alums is you are better off spending a few years working post grad...many business ventures fail and few are profitable immediately so not many grads can pull it off and those who get a lot of outside funding give up much more of their companies than they otherwise would. There are a lot of benefits to waiting several years: build up your resume w/ post mba work, continue to develop your network, save up a nest egg to get you by, pay off some school loans...an interesting one I wouldnt really have thought about that thinking about it is very good, you will find more friends/classmates willing to help in a few years (very few folks have the resources to not take a decent job when graduating) and your friends who might be potential investors whether angle or working for VC companies will be further along and in a much better position to help you.

I know a few people who want to launch businesses, and a few people who will do that as a backup plan if they dont find a job at graduation. Some friends are working on part-time ventures together, if they make headway they can then quit their job and make a go of it.

Great perspective!
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Thanks river, i think i see your point. Thanks for the perspective.

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riverripper - Great perspective indeed.
'Waiting to pay off the debt' is the most compelling of them all. Many people do wait for a few years before starting off, and spend time preparing for the same or working part-time. Good strategy. And explains why most people do not plunge straight out of b-school.
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waiwai
riverripper - Great perspective indeed.
'Waiting to pay off the debt' is the most compelling of them all. Many people do wait for a few years before starting off, and spend time preparing for the same or working part-time. Good strategy. And explains why most people do not plunge straight out of b-school.

Well I was in 1st year at Booth when I decided to take "time off" and work on my startup. The problem is that as you advance up in your post MBA career the opportunity cost keeps getting higher.

Saying NO to six/seven figure salaries becomes very difficult. Plus if you decide to get married and start a family - then having a salary becomes even more important.

The point it that if you want to start a business - do it when you don't have as many responsibilities.
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Well I was in 1st year at Booth when I decided to take "time off" and work on my startup. The problem is that as you advance up in your post MBA career the opportunity cost keeps getting higher.

Saying NO to six/seven figure salaries becomes very difficult. Plus if you decide to get married and start a family - then having a salary becomes even more important.

The point it that if you want to start a business - do it when you don't have as many responsibilities.
Considering a lot of students are already married or engaged when they graduate, and most people have lots of debt when they graduate, salary is pretty important to most people. Outside of banking it will take a long time to get up to seven figure salaries and people with that level of income probably wont be starting a business from scratch except for maybe some partners from consutling companies...if you have that much experience you probably are going to be buying an existing company or joining a start up as a C-level executive and getting a lot of equity with very little investment. Seven figures means you are a SVP or EVP of a large company or a partner at a consulting company or are in banking.

I think the vast majority of my classmates have lots of responsbilities when they graduate...almost everyone unless they come from wealthy families who are paying for school have 100k worth of debt they need to pay off or if they are lucky maybe a few years servitude to their sponsor. Then lots of folks are married, engaged, live-in significant others and if they just supported you for two years they may not be too excited about doing it for several more.

Plus you need to support yourself beyond that. If you have 100k worth of loans and live in a city like Chicago, NYC, Boston, San Fran you are talking at least 3k+ just in rent and loans and then add things such as food and toilet paper and you see why even students with few "responsibilities" need 100k job and can't afford to work for free or for very little. Unless you live with your folks or had a fullride life is going to require a decent and guaranteed income.
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