I came across a post in the Young Entrepreneur Forums (Who has an MBA and is it worth it?) that I found interesting. The poster, molimar, is considering doing an MBA at University of Texas Austin and asked what other members thought. Is it worth it? Is it better to focus on the business?
The answers ranged from “You will learn a lot about business, and the world of business.” to “It is worth it when you want to become a loyal employee in a big company” and “People who get MBA’s don’t learn any business skills that help them run a business. Plus, MBA’s never start their own businesses.”
Ouch!
I previously did a post on Is College Worth it for Entrepreneurs? which sparked a debate but molimar’s post got me thinking what do famous entrepreneurs think of college? I pulled some comments from some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and how they viewed the college experience:
“Everyone in my family and all my parents’ friends had their own businesses. So, for me, college was just for fun because I knew I was going to have my own business. In college, I majored in business and ‘loopholes.’ I knew who all the easy teachers were.” – Paul Orfalea (Kinko’s)
“I learned a lot about discipline and about channeling my aggression into achievement. I decided that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best. Always look out for yourself.” – Donald Trump
“I had no training in business after my sophomore year of college. I didn’t take any courses outside of chemistry, math, and physics. Most of what I learned as an entrepreneur was by trial and error. I think a lot of this really could have been learned more efficiently.” – Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore (Intel)
“A lot of times, kids go to college and take a major because they do what they think they’re supposed to do. I told them I believe 90 percent of America gets up in the morning and drives to a job they hate. That could have happened to me in the hotel industry.” – Dana White (UFC)
“When I first got to college, I was very interested in the social sciences, anthropology, sociology, psychology, those kinds of things. And I was still interested in art and photography. I didn’t know that I could actually put them all together in one occupation and love it.” – George Lucas (Lucasfilm)
“It was just an adventure, and I was planning to go back to school and have a regular life. Originally the dream was about traveling and developing a job that would permit me to travel. And I decided to go into street performing because it was a traveling job; it would let me go around the world.” – Guy Laliberté (Cirque du Soleil)
“We go to school to learn to work hard for money. I write books and create products that teach people how to have money work hard for them.” – Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad)
“The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective. I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over. I like to go for cinches. I like to shoot fish in a barrel. But I like to do it after the water has run out.” - Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway)
“One of the things young people always ask me about is what is the secret to success. The secret is there is no secret. It’s the basics. Blocking and tackling. Stay in school. It’s what will give you options. You don’t want to try to do this thing the way that I did.” – Chris Gardner (Gardner Rich)
College Dropouts I’ve Profiled:
- Dov Charney (American Apparel)
- Bill Gates (Microsoft)
- George Eastman (Kodak)
- A.P. Giannini (Bank of America)
So what do you think? Should molimar go for that MBA?
