To MBA or to not MBA | Hacker News Reader

To MBA or to not MBA

3 pointsflacon6 comments

I apologize in advance if this has been asked before or gets asked a lot.

The question at hand is, whether as an entrepreneur, going out and getting an MBA makes sense?

A little background. I have an engineering background and have already started 2 separate companies, one of which is a software company. Things are going well but I feel like I am lacking some core business background if I want to take things to the next level such as: 1. Start a bigger company, 2. Defend against huge competitors, 3. Understand deeper intricacies international business (current have the opportunity to enter into a global partnership with another company). 4. To be able to rely less on Lawyers, accountants and other business professionals.

I am totally down with the idea of DIYing it. Have read a bunch of books, etc but really want to arm myself with all the knowledge possible to help my current companies and future companies succeed.

Oh, I have a BA in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and would only go to MBA school if I got into a top school.

Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

4. To be able to rely less on Lawyers, accountants and other business professionals.

Why, that is their area of expertise and unless you are going to bring yourself to their level of education in their field of expertise then you should rely on them. Especially accounting and major legal situations. Missing a detail on either of those could cost you far more than it is worth. Law and accounting are the two disciplines I specifically advise people to cover first when getting out on their own.

As for the MBA, if you are on your own then numbers don't add up. You can get the education for free so why would you pay for it if a piece of paper is not going to affect you bottom line. As well, there are serious concerns that formal documented education outside of some specific disciplines may have past it's golden age (in relation to job qualifications). The market is hyper inflated due to lending practices so the numbers are really bad on a degree for a degrees sake.

Agree that nothing can replace good counsel in a sticky situation. I just want a greater comfort level on the topics.

If you can do it part time, I say go for it. I did an undergrad in CS and then did my MBA after working for a few years. At the same time, I started my first company and the knowledge from the MBA really helps. Little things like basic accounting principles to big things like contracts and corporate finance really do help out.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is becoming more comfortable with working in groups where not everyone is an engineer, which is very challenging. Engineers have a certain way of thinking and it's easier to deal with those who think like you.

Thanks for the advice. Yeah I would definitely be doing it part-time. Yeah I too want a better comfort level with accounting, finance, contracts esp and hopefully topics like big acquisitions ;)

Most people that I know that get mbas are trying to move up in a big company. It seems like to me a lot of the information is theoretical... like Porter's five forces. I would research the curriculum and see if it matches up to what you want to know. where are you thinking about going?

I live near Chicago so I am thinking either the part-time program at Northwestern or UChicago. Definitely considering the Berkeley-Columbia program also.

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