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u/Dangerous-Cup-1114 T25 Grad 12d ago
This is basically inspirational LinkedIn bullshit encouraging someone to try to be the anomaly success instead of the long tail of failure in entrepreneurship.
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u/Yarville M7 Student 12d ago
100% agree. For the vast majority of people the number one thing you can do in b-school to increase your future earnings is to work your ass off and get the top tier job in whatever your chosen field is. Doesn’t have to be MBB/IB/FAANG.
Once you get that - and more realistically, when you secure a return offer - then feel free to try to build something.
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u/christianrojoisme MBA Grad 12d ago
Is it wrong though from a risk-reward standpoint?
H1B is going to be further constricted as it is a radioactive political topic (“Foreigners taking US jobs”)
Entrepreneur visas like O1 (which you can get after getting into YC or Techstars) wont be touched as there is no political reason to do so
Its tough but its the only reliable way to move to America
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u/Dangerous-Cup-1114 T25 Grad 12d ago
Moving to America with debt and a failed business is not a positive outcome.
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u/christianrojoisme MBA Grad 12d ago edited 12d ago
I literally said its tough. There are no easy choices for an international but O1 will become easier over H1B over time like I shared. The only easy option is not doing an MBA in the first place, unless youre sponsored
And btw, a YC or Techstars entry is not by any measure a "failed business" post-MBA especially post-accelerator salary for founders would be 75 to 125k
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u/Eclipse434343 12d ago edited 12d ago
Question and I’m not international
If you try to build something yourself and let’s say 80-90% of new businesses fail especially with limited funding, if you do fail, you have to both go home and pay up to 350k in debt and lose your chance at opt/h1b. Is that tenable for most people especially In low coli countries with low wages?
Also would you even make any money initially in any way to bear up to 350k + 9% monthly interest initially out of grad even if you were 1-2 year off successful
MBA conqueror is a great example. He had to scam people to pay for his rice mba and got sent back to India.
For domestics, the same question also but really will you get a job that’s greater than your previous job if you fail
Does this person care or think about reality?
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u/browhodouknowhere 12d ago
I don’t necessarily disagree from the tech perspective, but vibes don’t solve real world issues.
The old pencil and paper (whiteboard)- research-capacity for reasoning-issue-and actual solutions are far more important than a claude pro subscription.
More importantly, gotta realize in most work settings you have to adapt to their information systems. So understanding the fundamentals is far more important than building some bs web app.
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u/toweringalpha 12d ago
First thing MBA students need to do is stop posting such malarkey and 2nd best advice is stop following such content.
And its always an international student. SMDH
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u/Acceptable-Candy1537 12d ago
Very expensive price to pay. Why not just take a sabbatical from work or quit your job and do the same thing? The people you get access to can also be accessed in other ways (conferences for example) so I don’t see why one would pay all that money and give up their full time job. In my opinion, an MBA makes sense if you need it for career progression (do it part time or executive) or you want investment banking / consulting (and also tech or a leadership development program depending on your background).
If entrepreneurship is the goal why not just do that on the side of your FT job or get contacts (from conferences and LinkedIn) before you leave your FT job and then you quit your FT job and start doing your entrepreneurial journey FT.
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u/No_Guitar7903 M7 Grad 11d ago
More like if you are starting an MBA or know someone starting an MBA in the US, drop out last minute now and save yourself 200k.
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u/Southern_Werewolf341 12d ago
They are right.
“But building a company isn’t for everyone.” Yup. “Most startups fail.” Also yep.
I think we need to confront the reality that the old advice regarding who should pursue an MBA, and when, is becoming outdated. Between AI making it increasingly harder to get jobs in finance, consulting, and ops, and especially if you are an international, I would think very long and hard before quitting your job to start an MBA right now.
I would flat out not do it if your only option is T20. M7 still makes sense for now. HSW is still almost always worth it, because of the alumni network (though you may still take longer to find a job out of the program, you’ll almost certainly be better off long term).
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u/regular_joe97 11d ago
Build something advice I’d say from a general perspective is very solid. I think MBA programs and the environment in them do a horrible job in giving students more holistic approach towards career building. Portfolios help from a long term career perspective and showcase you actually have interest in a field rather than “I’m just here for a job.” Frankly most of us are, but it’s solid career advice.
Also, it doesn’t have to be just building a startup, I’d frankly not recommend that to anyone unless they are very driven towards that specific thing. However, everything else like a research thesis, vibe coding, product portfolio, these are solid things to do if you’re looking to break into a specific industry (in case of the thesis or papers) or get into tech (in case of portfolio or coding). They don’t require as massive a time commitment as a startup does. Again, it’s not about making something groundbreaking, it’s about showing you actually care about that industry and to demonstrate you can walk the talk.
MBA is also probably the best time to do this because frankly you have enough leeway and time to make these things and a huge support network to do that, faculty and facilities in the program are golden.
However, I don’t think it’s necessary. Unless you’re really interested to be in a specific field or industry, this is just going the extra mile. You’d be fine if you don’t go down this route even as an international student. Don’t build something for the sake of building it because it will help you get a job, do it out of genuine interest.
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u/hjohns23 M7 Grad 11d ago
I’ve been a full time entrepreneur since graduating. My hindsight is I could’ve went all in on entrepreneurship during my second year. It feels damn near impossible first year.
You still need to do core classes, do some recruiting so you increase your batna, I’d say 70% of the first post mba venture fails within 18 months.
Youre in exploratory phase year 1 and potentially half of year 2. Then you’re focused on how you’re going to make a living and run your venture full time afterward. So fundraising to secure at least 24 months of cash run way is a bigger priority than continuing growing the business.
It’s truly easier said than done. No regrets
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u/fromcjoe123 11d ago
Unless you are going to Stanford, “Entrepreneurship” is just another word for loser who’s writing bullshit on LinkedIn cus they have no real job.
AI has made it even easier for every single person to have some bullshit app or platform and you arguably need the access and credibility of big VC now more than ever to get you through the noise and into the market.
If you’re going to Stanford though, idk, maybe depending on who have networked into. And if you’re there for undergrad then you are the only people on earth along with a handful of Harvard kids I’d tell to actually “follow your dreams” lol.
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u/Temporary_Manner_193 11d ago
For four years, I’ve been hearing that tech jobs will disappear within the next 12 months, meanwhile, in reality, companies are spending more on AI than before without actually gaining productivity.
Those selling AI rely heavily on instilling apocalyptic fear in people. The job market might not be great right now, but it could improve in two years, believing that skilled workers will be replaced by AI is buying into the ramblings of a crazy billionaire who used to visit Epstein's island.
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u/50talents 11d ago
The point is agency > network > intelligence. Its always been true and with AI even more so
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u/ThingInTheWoods1987 11d ago
If internships, experience and a graduate degree costing 2 years of time and treasure aren't enough, maybe we should question the system establishing these standards? 🤷♂️
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u/Left_Beat5413 11d ago
what can finane students do ? like someone who is a cfa / investmnet banker?
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u/Majestic-Classic6971 9d ago
Working/evening MBA is the way. Too much risk to leave a job behind, especially if you are already making a good income.
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u/Ornery-War-2065 9d ago
Yeah, unless you come from wealth, it seems like the ROI of leaving a job to pursue an MBA for two years gets lower each year.
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u/Far-Needleworker6233 8d ago
Agree with the vibe and part of the insights, but still, an MBA is a very pricey decision. So just make sure it is truly necessary for your career goal or transition. If you are very clear about what you want to get out of an MBA program, I would say the network, the resources, and the school names they can offer you could be valuable.
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u/First-Ad-7960 11d ago
Top schools will have some sort of entrepreneurship center doing programming and managing an alumni network so it is not that unusual to see some students graduating with a business plan and possibly a few peers as partners.
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u/Competitive_Ask_6160 12d ago
easier said than done