How to go for entrepreneurship but be employable

Question

I think this is my first post, so Hi, great forum thanks for everything...

I am going to apply to a few top-10 programs in a month and am just now starting my essays.

Ive read that AdComs can see a really good applicant, and then read his or her essays and feel like the applicant is unemployable because he or she is dreaming, drifting, lost, and/or hasnt really researched post-MBA goals - subsequently "dinging" the applicant.

I would like to be honest and indicate that I am primarily interested in the school's entrepreneurial management curriculum (Wharton, NYU to name a couple). I have a ho-hum start up business at the moment, and military background.

I plan on writing (the truth) that I am interested in the EM and *also* some other management curriculum, and that post-MBA I am primarily interested in management in startups (the school region's VC portfolio startups), but as a backup if this area is dried up/unattractive in 2 years to join an established management team or MC firm, capitalizing on skills and networks gained in "the other mgmt curriculum".

Basically my questions are:

how much more specificity should I provide here?
does this appear like a solid approach, or will I likely be labeled an unemployable drifter?
what kind of employment outside of a consulting firm do management tracks lead MBA candidates?
what is a good research platform for looking into where MBA grads are getting jobs given specific curriculums?

thank you!

MDF · Answer

I personally think that this sounds risky to put in your essay. If you want to enter into VC post-MBA, then you should explicitly say that. If you want to enter into consulting, then you should say that instead. Not both/either/or.

You need to convince the adcom that you know exactly what you want to do post-MBA. Recruiting for internships start just a few months after classes do and you need to start prepping to secure that internship from day one.

You can definitely focus on entrepreneurship during your MBA and then enter a related field, such as consulting, post-MBA. You don't have to join a startup or launch your own thing just because that was your concentration.

blg529 · Answer

Are you interested in starting your own company or working for a startup? Working for a startup is not really entrepreneurship

thisguy310 · Answer

I'd pick an angle and stick with it (at least for the essays). Again, a lot of people coming into b-school don't know what they want to do after, but at least on the essays they do

I'd try to spell out the story about how your start-up, even if you feel it's dull, has opened doors for you and inspired you to learn more about entrepreneurship... then tie it back to how the school is the perfect fit for you to make it happen with the school's contacts, network and education. Feel free to pm me. One of my essays was very similar in that I wrote about how from starting my own company has inspired me to start something post MBA.

How to go for entrepreneurship but be employable

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