The Application Process

My business partner and I have made the decision to sell our equity in pursuit of new opportunities. I have always wanted to attend B-School and saw this as the right time to do so. Are there any other entrepreneurs out there who have successfully enrolled at a top 15 B-school?

We were able to grow our business to $1.2M in yearly rev. Unfortunately, we are in a very niche market and the prospects of further growth are slim. It was either get out now or stick to our company for the rest of our lives as the opportunity cost of leaving would increase.

dennisn, we've had lots of clients over the years who have a similar profile - based on just this brief info on your background, we're betting that *ALL* the bschools will be interested in getting an app from you!!!

Many many people apply to bschool saying that they want to be entrepreneurs... but far fewer apply with stories about how they have already been entrepreneurs! You will stand out from the crowd based on this experience.

Of course, there's lots of moving parts to a successful MBA application, so this alone does not mean it's a slam dunk - but our bet is that it has provided you with a wealth of material to draw from for your essays, which is always an advantage.

You should absolutely pursue this. It sounds like you would be of great value to your future classmates based on your in-the-trenches experience.

Let us know if we can help with further questions!!

EssaySnark

Dennisn,

Sure there are. You will have some great essay stories to choose from no doubt. Recommendations can be more of a challenge but there are options----clients, outside partners, and yes even your business partner.

So there is no problem with your background, as long as you are age appropriate and have some solid MBA vitals---gmat, gpa...

Alex

Hi Dennisn,

I am also currently applying to business schools, so I am not speaking from the wealth of experience that many on this site may have. However, I work at a VC-backed startup and I can tell you I have now met many people who were entrepreneurs first before going to b-school.

As far as what to focus on to make your application stand out, I'll leave that to the experts.

-Hunter

your advantage is that your particular pool of comparison is small. it's not like you're a consultant or engg applying to school, which are categories with over representation. as long as your vital stats indicate you can handle the coursework, you should have a strong advantage.

the challenge for entrep applicants, however, is that many of the well-known entreps of our time do not have MBAs. rather, there is a belief (even among the adcom) that you don't really need an MBA to be a successful entrep and if that's what you really wanted to do career-wise, you'd just go do it, rather than spend 2 years in a classroom. the challenge, therefore, becomes one of credibility and convincing the adcom that there are specific things you will obtain from your MBA experience that will help accelerate your path toward entrepreneurship.

you def have an advantage b/c of your app pool, but in my experience this is where i've seen entrep candds meet resistance.

hope that's helpful,
-james young

Thank you for all the replies!

My situation is a little different in that my purpose of going to B-school is to further develop my expertise in ecommerce, network with like-minded individuals, and ultimately secure a position in the ecommerce division of a large corporation.

I spent 2 years at a large company before returning to my start-up company. I value my time in the large company and credit it with helping me grow my business very quickly. Likewise, I believe there is much to gain by pursuing a corporate position for several years before launching a new idea sometime far in the future.

I hope my career decision doesn't get dinged by the adcom?

youngjames wrote:the challenge for entrep applicants, however, is that many of the well-known entreps of our time do not have MBAs. rather, there is a belief (even among the adcom) that you don't really need an MBA to be a successful entrep and if that's what you really wanted to do career-wise, you'd just go do it, rather than spend 2 years in a classroom.

Agree with the general statement but absolutely do NOT agree with the parenthetical that we've offset in bold.

If the schools think that an MBA is not necessary to be a successful entrepreneur, why in heck do all of them have entrepreneurship programs?

Heck, Babson is an entire business school devoted to entreprenuership.

The other point is that there are GAZILLIONS of entrepreneurs out there who maybe aren't "well known" but who have put their MBAs to good use.

No, you don't need an MBA to be successful with your own venture, of course not - but saying that the adcoms feel you don't need one is misguided.

@rhunter, appreciate your first-hand comments!

EssaySnark

Hey guys, interesting discussion going on here. An example of someone who started a business before heading to bschool is one of the cofounders of LuminAID labs. LuminAID Lab is a company co-founded by Chicago Booth MBA Andrea Sreshta and Anna Stork who make incredible solar-powered, floatable and waterproof lanterns.

Their product idea came while they were studying Architecture at Columbia University. They were given an assignment to design a relief product for survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Andrea's motive for heading to bschool is different from yours. Her focus is on building the company by expanding her network and tapping in the resources that come with being a Booth MBA-they got their classmates to intern for them in return for course credits!

My point is that spend time researching schools especially looking into the values that resonate with you, you will find that you aren't the only one.

Experts, what would you say would the key values that an existing or budding entrepreneur would gain from and getting an MBA, considering that arguably most entrepreneurs would say that you don't NEED an MBA to be a successful entrepreneur?

Very good question westsidah408.

We've talked about exactly this topic at various times on our blahg - here's one recent post: https://essaysnark.com/2012/08/so-you-wa ... siness-eh/

EssaySnark

Hey! I guess for a person to start his own business venture, it is indispensable to complete his graduation along with an MBA in order to hold theoretical as well as practical knowledge which would help in smoother execution of the business. An MBA will allow you to be more prone to the technicality of business. You need to have enough knowledge to set up the business. Only a creative idea cannot help you with the setting up of business and its execution. An MBA gives you enough theoretical, practical and on field experience to further to set up your own business comfortably without any glitches...

No! Why do you need an MBA when you have a creative idea for a business in mind? Why waste years studying when you ultimately want to be an entrepreneur. It's a sheer waste of time, you must go ahead and gather investors for your idea. You are only a step away. Why do you want to increase the length of your journey by opting for an MBA it doesn't even make sense especially when it can be done right away.

But isn't it extremely difficult to get investors. How can I work on that?

See a lot of companies are wanting to invest in new business ideas. Recently Sandeep Maheshwari, well known for his spiritual and life changing seminars has picked up students from NMIMS University and invested in few of the students b-plans. If your idea is good enough, it will surely attract a fair number of investors! You just need to know the right approach. Usually an MBA from a well reputed institute also gets you investors quicker as a good credential on your resume is generally respected by investors. The top schools have great alumni networks too which increases the scope of investors and in turn investments.