When I applied to MBA programs, many of my entrepreneur friends thought I was crazy. They’re right. Why would I surrender the freedom of working for myself for two painfully expensive years in the classroom? Among the hedge-fund guys, a naval officer, a future senator, and the professional gambler in our cohort, I was the only person who had to get dressed up for class! It was a competitive, challenging, and intensely pragmatic group. I had never felt so overwhelmed and underprepared in my life.
So, is an MBA worth it for entrepreneurs? Yes, it is. Those well-intentioned naysayers (and the crowd on Reddit) missed a crucial truth: often, the sum is greater than the parts. Many of the most meaningful accomplishments in life follow this formula, including starting a business and earning a master’s degree. With that principle in mind, these three changes felt small and insignificant in the moment, but led to a significant, profound shift over time:
You Become an Agile Generalist
In his bestselling book Range, David Epstein promotes the archetype of the “agile generalist” over the “specialized expert.” While corporate executives usually advance by narrowing their focus, entrepreneurs grow their businesses by broadening their reach: within their industry (digital marketing, SaaS, e-commerce, etc.) and across disciplinary fields (e.g., finance, supply chain, analytics, etc.). Founders benefit from the interdisciplinary skills honed through an MBA program to become strategic, creative, and empathetic future CEOs.
It’s a crucial leadership principle: Wise leaders don’t need to know everything about something, but should know something about everything. This broad understanding helps entrepreneurs better relate to their employees, suppliers, and customers. Successful founders are often not the most talented workers, but are agile generalists who skillfully connect and inspire the specialized experts on their team.
You Confront Your Weaknesses
I’ve often heard the argument—from classmates and outsiders—that “I could learn all this stuff on my own.” And while maybe you could, there’s no way you actually would. No matter how driven you think you are, you wouldn’t force yourself to wake up early every Saturday morning for two years to study accounting (sorry!). Left to your habits, you’d naturally focus on the areas you feel are most important or find most interesting, which ultimately builds merely a narrow silo of skills.
The broad nature of an MBA forces you to identify, confront, and master your weaknesses. Despite outward confidence and ample intelligence, everyone in our class quietly felt deficient in some area – public speaking, statistics, or financial modeling, for example. Because we were all working professionals, we’d already learned to compensate for these shortcomings to succeed in our careers. But studying in the forgiving confines of the classroom exposes these knowledge gaps, and forces you to conquer instead of cope with them.
You Develop External Connections
Everybody mentions the relationships created with classmates, but the external connections formed through business school are often overlooked. Ideally, an MBA introduces you to corporate recruiters, experienced executives, community leaders, successful alumni, and visiting faculty, among others. Asking these people for guidance, assistance, or an introduction is encouraged and welcomed if done in the pursuit of education. Everybody loves to help a student. But after graduation, it’s just soliciting.
Entrepreneurs often struggle to build these outside connections. While there are many groups designed to introduce entrepreneurs to each other, there are few avenues to expand your professional network beyond other founders authentically. An MBA is a rare opportunity to develop genuine connections with a broad network beyond campus, which is critical to growing your business over time.
Any master’s degree can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming. But so is achieving anything worthwhile—especially starting a business. My advice? If entrepreneurship doesn’t faze you, then don’t let earning an MBA intimidate you either.
Adapted from Greg’s upcoming book, The Entrepreneur in You →
P.S. This letter from a Stanford MBA student was a valuable and reassuring guide throughout my program. I hope it inspires you too!