Entrepreneurship and Start Ups

Our son likes his pay and benefits, but this is unquestionably the biggest benefit he fell into. He’s working directly with multiple world class powerhouses.

1 Like

At the time I applied, they all did. Can’t speak to today although others have posted examples of current programs that do. Without business experience, it would be hard for programs that admit based on demonstrated business acumen to evaluate candidates. Business schools are not about academic scholarship. The top programs are looking to bring together a pool of proven business talent to enrich the existing networks so valuable to alums. A student straight out of undergrad, even with an honors business degree, doesn’t bring much to these tables.

3 Likes

Thank you but he is a friend’s son, not mine so can’t disclose any details. I only got interested as my kid may come to same fork soon.

1 Like

All of the M7 with extremely rare exceptions for exceptional students. I would not recommend getting an MBA right after undergrad. It rarely pays off.

5 Likes

I am a little out of date but of the schools that I know, I believe only Stanford and MIT Sloan do not have a minimum work requirement. I think Stanford realized that they were losing out on some of its potential entrepreneurial tech stars who were taking jobs/starting companies and and never coming back after two years.

I can’t speak to MIT, but Stanford accepts less than a handful each year direct from undergrad. Deferred enrollment is a far more common path than BA/BS-GSB.

@itsgettingreal21, I agree that it is not common. I thought the question was whether any of the top schools did not have min work requirements. Stanford does not. The kids who are accepted with less than two years of experience are no doubt very strong.

As a Stanford GSB grad of yore, there were 2 people in my class straight from undergrad - both with highly unusual circumstances (i.e., woman from repressive country with impressive experience garnered concurrently with undergrad.) And fwiw, both have achieved remarkable things in their professional lives, so that confidence was well placed. Because Stanford values experiences so much - not just having them but how you processed them - , applying directly out of school is likely a poor strategy.

Remember that at the top schools, the idea is to have peers who are bringing experience to the classroom. They evaluate as much on what you’ll bring to the program as get out of it.

If you want to power through directly to professional school, choose law school. Different model altogether.

5 Likes

Deleted this post.

My D is working at a startup where the co-founder is alumni at her university. Most of employees are young and are making a very good salary and all kinds of perks. There was talk about company going public but then covid hit. Now they’ve been bought by a couple of VC groups. Not sure how it’s going to affect the company. I’m sure VC groups want to be sure they get a return of their investment. Employees were offered big increases in salary to stay. Right now its business as usual but I’m sure that could change.

4 Likes

Working at a startup offers a lot of autonomy and learning opportunities. You’re exposed to all aspects of the business

I’m out in the Bay Area with my kids and their friends (most of whom are at startups). One was just telling me that his startup was acquired by a unicorn startup (hence much bigger). He is waiting for his options to vest. He said it was great to work for a bigger company in the pandemic so he could attend to other parts of his life as he does not have to work nearly as hard, but he does not like the politics that come with larger companies. I suspect he will return to smaller startups later on. Another is working for a startup that was acquired by a Fortune 500 company. She just learned that her project is being discontinued probably by the end of Q1. Not surprising – it was more surprising that they made the acquisition. She heard on a Friday and had nine initial job interview calls on Wednesday. She had worked for a startup earlier in her career that was acquired by a tech giant. She is being courted by some of the tech giants but would prefer to be at a smaller company.

1 Like

Currently, there are three “startup” employees in my family: my husband, little kid, and little kid’s fiancé. Two of the employers are Series A co’s and one is a true seed startup funded by a major seed-funding powerhouse. Thank goodness at least some of us have sanity to work for academia or established employers! :wink:

My husband always tells his younger group members that they only need one successful startup to be able to enjoy freedom later in life. And that the smaller the company, the more impact they can make.

One of my friends has been working very hard at her stable job with benefits so her H can do a lot of other things like night vision goggles for military, harnessing methane from cows to create usable power, anti-mosquito products to help combat malaria and other mosquito-borne conditions, fuel cells and more. I give them credit and know it must be somewhat nerve-wracking for her to be supporting all of his ventures.