MBA in Entrepreneurship

[pradeep.manoor]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am an IT Professional with around 7 years of work experience. In the past, I've worked for large scale enterprise projects in the United States. But, I am very passionate about starting new ventures and entrepreneurship. So, I was thinking to pursue an MBA in Entrepreneurship as the main concentration. I have a couple of queries regarding the same:

1. Along with entrepreneurship courses, what other courses might be helpful or add value? (like Marketing, Finance etc.,)
2. Would the degree also help to get a job in the industry? I mean, is there any job demand for entrepreneurs in the industry?
3. What might be the advantage for entrepreneurs with an MBA compared to people without an MBA. Would it help with better venture funding?

Appreciate your help!

Regards,
Pradeep

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi Pradeep,

Thanks for posting. I think in essence you are trying to determine whether an entrepreneur needs an MBA and how it would benefit. That's a tough personal decision, but certainly there is a percentage of MBA grads who go into setting up their own businesses right out of b-school, as well as a larger percentage who eventually become entrepreneurs. Either way they are often bolstered by all of the course work and experiences they gained in b-school, including finance, marketing, operations, strategy, you name it.

Certainly there are successful entrepreneurs who create businesses without an MBA too. You have to think about what and why you want the degree, what you'll gain from it, how important that is to you. I once heard someone describe business school as the equivalent of taking 5-10 years of business, management, and leadership experience in various industries and roles, and condensing it into a 1-2 year timeframe.... and I feel that is fairly accurate, in that you come out of the MBA having been exposed to a wide variety of functions, skill sets, industries and experiences that you would not likely have had in your professional career without a longer and varied career path. The exposure is both from the curriculum and real-world consulting and projects, and also from learning from your CLASSMATES who all bring different and interesting backgrounds to the class.

The MBA is a general management degree, and some programs offer specializations, some require it, and for some it's optional. You can focus on entrepreneurship, but no matter what you'll be exposed to a variety of business and management skills and have that MBA degree that you can utilize to apply for various jobs as well.

I encourage you to keep researching online and among colleagues... read perspectives of those who have done the MBA and became successful entrepreneurs, and about b-school, and potential post-b-school paths. Good luck on your decisions!