Why are MBAs looked down upon in the Silicon Valley? July 07, 2014 Its no secret that MBA grads are looked down upon in certain circles in the Silicon Valley - especially as early employees at technology startup companies. Paul Graham wrote a now famous essay on How to Start a Startup, which argues that youd be better off learning how to hack than getting an MBA. As an MBA grad, and the co-founder of a venture-backed company, I wanted to share my observations as to why MBAs are generally looked down upon in the tech business. 1. The MBA Curriculum is way Outdated: Anderson (where I went to school), HBS, GSB, Wharton, Ross, etc, were designed to produce folks who work for top tier consulting firms, investment banks, and corporations. None of the aforementioned schools, Stanford included, were designed to produce entrepreneurs. The root of the problem is the curriculum - its not refreshed often enough to produce top-tier Valley entrepreneurs. The intro marketing class at all of these schools still teaches the 4Cs and the 3Ps when they should be teaching Google Analytics, marketing automation, A/B testing, etc. 2. MBAs have to get over the perception that they are useless middle management: At this point, the value of the MBA credential has been questioned by so many investors and entrepreneurs that you will likely be discriminated against if you are an MBA and you decide to start a technology company in the Valley. The only way to prove that is through action - for my company it was an uphill battle, but we got there. Build a real technology business with a great product and meaningful traction and you will earn the respect of investors, and more important, your fellow entrepreneurs. If youre joining an early stage company, roll up your sleeves and do literally everything it takes to make the company successful. 3. MBAs are thought of as talkers, not doers: When it comes time to actually act, not plan, MBAs tend to score low. I experienced this first hand during my MBA years at UCLA - if I had a dollar for every good idea I heard that came from one of my classmates (or a fellow MBA from another program) that turned into nothing, Id be on a beach somewhere. The problem is that MBA students tend to be extremely bright and analytical, which can lead to paralysis by analysis. So what can I do if Im an MBA and I want to start a company, or join an early-stage startup? Teach yourself a skill that startups value and learn it inside and out. In my co-founders case, he taught himself PHP and Python and built the very first version of Scripted. In my case, I learned about SEO, SEM and all things at the intersection of quant/marketing. We also immersed ourselves in every aspect of building a startup - even if we werent great at a particular skill (for a good laugh, Ill sometimes look at the first wireframes I built for Scripted). Both Ryan and I came from highly quantitative backgrounds and learned how to program in SQL, SAS and Visual Basic during our careers pre-startup which helped us in the early days of Scripted. If youre an MBA starting a company, add great advisors in the early days of your company. The thing I love about the Silicon Valley is that I find that people are generally very helpful. Find people that could add value to your company, and find a way to get them formally affiliated with your product/vision. If youre looking for a job at an early stage startup, be targeted with your search. I cant tell you how many calls Ive taken from MBA grads who want to join startups for the cool factor. What many folks dont realize is that joining a startup at 5 people is a very different experience than joining a company thats 10 folks, and 100 and so on. Spend some time being honest and introspective about the stage of company youre interested in, assess what your risk tolerance is, and target companies that youre actually passionate about. As an MBA grad myself I personally think the MBA degree adds a ton of value and I wouldnt trade my experience at UCLA in for anything. MBAs are smart folks who can add a lot of value to early stage companies in the right roles. My message to early stage founders is to get over the perception of MBAs in the Valley and focus on hiring great people. Youll find that youll open yourself up to a great talent pool if youre willing to take a flyer out on a great MBA grad.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 05:15:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015