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I am an entrepreneur, a hacker, and an MBA. I am intelligent enough not to apply big-company processes to a start-up and vice versa.

An MBA is an education in business. That can't be a bad thing if you operate a business, large or small.

discuss

plinkplonk|15 years ago

"An MBA is an education in business."

So some people claim. Other people think it isn't that clear cut. On another discussion (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1330878), someone asked

"I presume you get an MBA to give you a better understanding about business. And startups are in essence businesses. Then how come having a better understanding not impact your startup?"

pg replied,

"The cause of the apparent paradox is that "business" spans a huge range. MBAs train you to be junior officers in the armies of managerial capitalism. But there is almost zero overlap between that sort of work and what startups do."

and later

"Actually I would say it's a slight net minus to have an MBA when doing a startup. You learn nothing of use to you, but investors discriminate against you slightly.

Almost all investors are looking for founders who match past stars. So what they're looking for at this point is hackers.

I have to say I agree with them. I can't imagine Bill Gates or Larry & Sergey enduring B School."

So there are intelligent people with differing viewpoints on whether "An MBA is an education in business." is a valid premise.

snowbird122|15 years ago

I have upvoted you for a very insightful and resourcful reply. The term "business" is big, kind of like the term "engineering" is big. Would you also say that studying engineering is harmful to a startup?

It is one thing to say that an MBA won't help you much with your start-up, but it is another to say it is detrimental. Other than the prejudice of investors, I just don't understand why education of any kind is harmful as long as it isn't filling your head with lies.

So suffice it to say that I disagree with my hero, pg, about the value of an MBA. I can tell you that I personally have gained greatly from the experience, and that I'm better at all facets of business (even startups) because of it.