15 Successful Entrepreneurs Give Us Their Thoughts On the MBA Program
Considering doing an MBA? Whether it be for entrepreneurial ventures or for corporate success, you will want to put some serious thought into this decision. After all, the potential costs go up to $300,00 and more. MBA institutions tout career advancement & return on investment in favour of getting an MBA degree. But then again, they are biased in the matter. So let’s take a look at what 15 leaders of our generation have to say about MBAs and the MBA program.
“As much as possible, avoid hiring MBA’s. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies … our position is that we hire someone in spite of an MBA, not because of one”
- Elon Musk (Business Magnate, Investor, Inventor) Source
“While I got great value from my experience, MBAs are not necessary at Facebook, and I don’t believe they are important for working in the tech industry,”
-Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook, Founder of Leanin.org) Source
“For every full-time engineer, add $500,000 [in company value]. For every full-time MBA, subtract $250,000.”
-Guy Kawasaki (Venture Capitalist, Entrepreneur & Author ) Source
“I think an MBA is a complete waste of money. If you have a hole in your knowledge base, there is a ton of online courses you can take. I don’t give any advantage to someone in hiring because they have an MBA”
-Mark Cuban (Entrepreneur & Investor) Source
“MBA graduating classes are actually a reliable contrary indicator: If they all want to go into investment banking, there’s going to be a financial crisis. If they want to go into tech, that means a bubble is forming.”
-Marc Andreessen (Entrepreneur, Investor and Software Engineer) Source
“If you intend to found a tech startup I believe that an MBA is a complete waste of money.”
-David Cancel (CEO at Drift, Entrepreneur and Investor) Source
“MBAs used to be something that really helped you stand out. Now that elite clique is more like a crowd. Instead of burdening yourself with a $100,000 debt, why not try an internship or start your own business?”
-Ryan Holmes (CEO of Hootsuite, Entrepreneur and Programmer) Source
“When MBA’s come to us, we have to fundamentally retrain them — nothing they learned will help them succeed at innovation.”
-Scott Cook (Co-founder of Intuit, Director of eBay and Proctor & Gamble) Source
“Never ever hire an MBA; they will ruin your company.”
-Peter Thiel (Entrepreneur, Hedge Fund Manager, Venture Capitalist and Author) Source
“An MBA has become a two-part time machine. First, the students are taught everything they need to know to manage a company from 1990, and second, they are taken out of the real world for two years while the rest of us race as fast as we possibly can.”
-Seth Godin (Author, Entrepreneur, Marketer, and Public Speaker) Source
“The first piece of advice I would give anyone starting a new business is to forget everything they learned in business school. Or better yet, don’t go to business school”
-Tien Tzu0 (Co-Founder & CEO of Zuora) Source
“When it comes to success in business, an MBA degree is optional. But a GSD, which is only earned by Getting Stuff Done, is required”
-Christine Comaford (Businesswoman, Author and Serial Entrepreneur) Source
“Traditional business school education teaches students how to manage big companies not how to found start-ups. Some programmes do now try to teach entrepreneurial skills but most are struggling to adapt fast enough to meet changing circumstances and demand.”
-Brent Hoberman (Chairman of Founders Forum, Made.com and Smartup.io) Source
“For an entrepreneur, most of the things taught in an MBA program are meaningless. Let’s be honest, you can learn how to read a balance sheet on your own in one week by reading a finance book.”
Jay Bhatti (Co-founder of Spock.com)
“You don’t see a lot of MBA’s as CEO’s. The MBA’s tend to get hired by the CEO’s.”
Michael Ellsberg (Author, Blogger, and Public Speaker) Source
