Career Vision - Entrepreneurship

Well, I'll share my perspective. No idea if this is a good one, though it's been enough to get me interviews so far (with limited work experience to boot). I absolutely talked more about mindset than specifics. I think if you don't have a specific business in mind, problem to solve, mission to complete, being overly specific can come back to bite you. You never know when you're going to be talking to someone who is an expert in that field and may read indifference into your relative inexperience. Also, I would caution against saying you will start a business in an industry you have worked in before (simply because it "makes sense" from a career flow perspective.) Be honest. If you're interested in learning more about certain fields, say it and say why. Adcoms like drive and curiosity, so don't be afraid to say you're hungry to learn more.

I have a current company and a very vague idea for a company that I want to start in the future. For my current company, I talk about specific steps I want to take post-MBA. For my future company, I talk more about broad skills, exposure, perspective, that sort of thing. It makes for a good mix in essays, but I know that this approach doesn't suit everyone. I think it is important to distinguish what skills your past experience has given you that have prepared you well for pursuing entrepreneurship (in other words, you already have pieces of the entrepreneurial mindset. Highlight those first, then outline what you still need to build).

Although, I am not simply writing essays about how I want to "learn an entrepreneurial mindset." I have come from a non-business background into business to achieve a goal that I couldn't in my original field. So I talk a lot about motivation. For me, entrepreneurship is not an end (not a static set of skills or even a mindset) but simply an accelerated path to my goal. And my goal is a very abstract thing, akin to "I want cure as many people of malaria as possible." Not reaching absurdly high, reasonable, fairly specific, but also clearly a life-long pursuit.

Hope that helps. I would say the most important part is to be honest. Don't make up a specific short term goal if you don't have one. A lot of people are MBA career-switchers. Put yourself in that position and explain why entrepreneurship is right for you and why you need an MBA to get there.

Good luck!

To the original poster:

My concern with your goals as you've stated them is that they are not clear reasons for pursuing an MBA. As an admissions officer I might ask why you're pursuing an MBA instead of just launching into your ventures. I'm not saying that you shouldn't get an MBA, but rather that your statement as given above makes me wonder if you've really thought this through.

Why entrepreneurship? What have you done to prepare for it? What skills do you have? What might you do if your first venture doesn't pan out? And why do you need an MBA?

Good feedback and great discussion, everyone.



At this point in time, I do not have a specific venture in mind, otherwise I would probably go forth and do it. The "vision" that I had is that many many many business origins are not stemmed from long term plans or visions, but rather from ideas that "popped up" - idea during a discussion at the bar, opportunity you saw while being a tourist in a foreign country, improvement you saw to an idea already in existence, when your hobby turns into a business, your uncle asks you to work with his business, spin-off from your current employer, etc.

Not to say that after that idea popped up, there was not a lot of planning and vision work involved. There is plenty of planning, research, grunt work, to get it up and running.

I could be off, but say facebook, zipcar, etc... did those founders always have in mind they would focus on social media or on transportation? Or did that idea just come to them or they saw an opportunity and had an idea to make things better.

However, maybe that's leaving too many things to chance and waiting for something to "fall in my lap." I may never reach it...



That's why I want to get an MBA.
1. I can surround myself with other great people who will share ideas and experiences with me (help spur ideas)
2. I can share my ideas and experiences with them (help spur ideas for them)
3. Meet and network with them (future business partners, clients, etc)
4. Learn business fundamentals "hard" skills (finance, accounting, marketing, etc.) and "soft skills" (leadership, negotiations, etc.)
5. Be exposed to different industries
6. Gain invaluable experience doing all of the above... that you can't get unless you do. (reading about it only gets me so far).

And that will help provide the foundation for my future goal so when the right opportunity "pops up," I'll be ready. If that doesn't happen... I'll still be successful consulting and providing advisory services (the same "work" I would have been doing if it was my own company - though probably less intense)

You all have great points and I want to continue the discussion and explore the idea (not trying to argue I promise! )



If I demonstrate the skills and qualities essential to being an entrepreneur:
- initiative to take risks
- analytical
- effective at managing people/projects to success
- effective leadership
- creative and innovative
- passionate about entrepreneurship and value creation
within my entire app package (essays, extra curriculars, recommendations, work experience) would that be adequate? Or still need a more focused goal to tie it all together?

I think from the admissions side, I might need a more focused goal... but I don't know if I am able to "pick" an area. To me I think a good chef can be put in any restaurant and learn, adapt, and still create great dishes (even if they went from Chinese to French to Italian to Milkshakes and Burgers...) because they understand fundamentals of food and people. It won't be easy though... very difficult once they narrow down exactly what their concentration is... but do they pick their concentration or let it pick them?

- initiative to take risks
- analytical
- effective at managing people/projects to success
- effective leadership
- creative and innovative
- passionate about value creation

This list doesn’t make me think "oh he/she must be an entrepreneur." I imagine every applicant wants to demonstrate those skills and has goals that include them.
To be analytical: If you have one person with those characteristics but no idea/mention of where/how they are going to channel them, and another with those same characteristics who knows exactly what they want to do Day #1, which one is the better investment for the school? Who is going to go after their goals harder?
At some point you are going to need to sell people on your dreams (job interview, recruiting a team for a new company, getting funding, etc). The goals essay is their preview of how you are going to do that on campus.

Good feedback... now let me explore a bit. Would I need to explain, what I would like to do as an entrepreneur from the company perspective: develop processes for the company to follow, recruit and train people, lead, motivate, and teach them to be effective team players?

Or what field of business I want to do with entrepreneurship? manage a business in IT consulting, or Software Development?... or both?

I feel like entrepreneurship is "cross-cutting" and does not need to fit within an industry or specific business... much like becoming a CFO, or head of HR for a medium sized business... or does it also need to focus on a specific industry/business?

For the most part, your history must support your skills. For example, I take risks. However, where in your history is that evident? Do you have a history of playing it safe? In other words, you need evidence.

I've started a few businesses and have many that failed. The ones that have succeeded are in areas that I have a great/specific/detailed knowledge of. The ones that have failed are the ones where I was not well versed in that industry/idea/field.

At least for your application, have a specific industry/idea. Don't stray too far from what you already know. Don't say you might open an Italian restaurant if you don't know the first thing about how to make a spaghetti.

Good point, I agree. For all the skills that I claim to have I try to back it up and demonstrate it through my essays, work history, extra curriculars, and hopefully my recommendation letters. The more important ones I demonstrate through examples in my essays.

Here are a few short example summaries without the specific details on taking risks
I identified a market opportunity and invested money to buy goods... and sold those goods at a higher price. Moderately risky due to the fact the product may not sell... I ran into a lot of obstacles but tweaked my approach each time until I got it right.

another example, I had a new idea/approach I wanted to implement at the organization that I consult to. Way out of this world to them, but I did it anyway because I believe it would help make things better. I made sure to engage the right people, train the staff, and coach them through the new process. Rocky start but eventually it got done and improvements were made.

These aren't necessarily "entrepreneurial" in themselves, but they have the qualities of entrepreneurship... when all of these qualities are put together + the business knowledge foundation + experience + network + new insight gained from business school, I think you have a good make up of a potential future entrepreneur.

You're right I agree it's probably best to stick with what you know.

(for purposes outside of my MBA application...)
Unfortunately, my stubbornness may get me burned (common trait of entrepreneurship? double sided sword that is good and bad). One of my life goals is to run a successful restaurant. Probably the hardest business to run. I've never worked in a restaurant or been involved in that industry. But I am willing to do what it takes to make it happen. I have friends and family in the business that own a restaurant and another that runs a restaurant supply company. I always wanted to work as a busboy/waiter on the side to learn and gain experience to see how it works... work at a few different restaurants to understand different approaches. I would do a lot of research and study into the industry... and I believe I will gain/have the "general management" skills to run a business that can help with the restaurant. I'll probably be burned... but I'm willing to fail and give it a go again and try again... however that's just a "long shot dream of mine" and something I probably won't mention in my application.

The industry that I work in is "cross-cutting" which is why perhaps I am having trouble narrowing down. I am a Project Management consultant which provides process, planning, and structure to any type of project work - building a bridge, developing software, creating a tradeshow etc... it's the over arching project management + the technical knowledge that makes a project successful.

I specifically work in IT project management. I am good at IT Project Management and it pays very well. I could readily start an IT consulting company and make a solid living doing so, but that is not my passion. It usually results in a product that is not tangible but more virtual. I want something I can physically see and say, I made that happen. I want to see and interact with my customers... see the smiles on their faces when I deliver my product/service to them (see restaurant dream above).

I want to take these same skills from my IT Project Management consulting and apply it to "some sort of business out there somewhere which I have not found yet" ... but the consensus here says I need to figure out what that is.. at least for the short term because I can always change my plan in the future.

Wow kfire!!! if u were a girl i would take u out on a date!! we got so much in common man. . even the part "wanting to open a restaurant sometime in the distant future!!!"

This definitely sounds better

It's not a bad goal. But, as you know, for the purposes of an MBA, stick with what you know. You can always become a restaurateur in the future.

If that is your goal how does an MBA fit into all this? I guess I just need help connecting the IT consultant to the restaurant owner that needs an MBA. If this is your dream, have you done anything to move closer to it?
"I always wanted to work as a busboy/waiter on the side to learn and gain experience to see how it works... work at a few different restaurants to understand different approaches"
Did you? How will an MBA get you closer to this? What is your gameplan in school?

Good questions... however that wasn't my "goal-goal". It's just a "wild shot" goal of mine.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread what I want out of MBA is to share experiences with others, learn from others' experiences, be exposed to new perspectives/ideas, learn business fundamental knowledge and skills, gain experience, and network.

I think there is a specific type of entrepreneur that wants to dabble in everything and implement innovation when the right opportunity hits (there's probably an underlying theme that won't be noticed until they happen.) It's a sort of passion/obsession to create value in things other people may not see and that is not specific to any industry. (This is different from just "starting" and "running" a business which is entrepreneurial but a different type of entrepreneurship.) I think I'm the former type - an an passionate/obsessed entrepreneur-in-the-making. An MBA will prepare me to be ready when the opportunity comes.

However, that's probably not what MBA's ad-com's want to hear, because they want more directed/focused people... in a sense less risk for the school. The only school different is MIT, which does not ask the career vision question, because they know it will change by the time you finish MBA and likely again multiple times throughout your career. (I did apply to MIT).

However for the other more traditional schools, they would want a more focused vision... and I'm working on that... and receiving great help and lot's of good feedback from everyone here.

Great thanks. I didn't intend that I would only provide my goal without anything backing it up... just wanted to check with everyone if my goal (being how broad it was) would go well with ad-coms. Whatever goal I portray, it will definitely be supported with substantial evidence and demonstration through my essays, work history, recommendations, etc.

I'm applying to bschools with entrepreneurship in mind and here's my 2cents.

i left my corporate fin position to begin a startup. our vc funding materialized and we took our product to market. well, drawbacks to vc funding, you have to give in, not only % ownership but also overall mgmt focus.

so i'm looking to go to bschool to pursue a new startup, and in my essays I was quite specific on what i wanted to do (gist of my business plan), how with my past experience plus bschool can help me achieve em. from what I heard from bschool alumni (including my partner in my current startup), you basically have to be very specific on your goals. but also, it has to be reachable and reasonable.