The Great Re-Branding: MBAs in Tech Startups

To me it depends a lot on the stage.

A fresh-minted MBA can't, by virtue of their degree, do anything useful for a small outfit. (They may have useful skills as well from a previous life, but if so they're not, for the purposes of this discussion, an MBA; they're a developer or a designer or a product manager or a VP of engineering who happens to have gone and gotten a degree.)

I can see a 30-100 person shop taking on an especially bright and unusually humble fresh-minted MBA as a junior product manager or something. Because at that size, you can afford a person who won't pull their weight for a while while they're learning. And it can be great to have somebody who doesn't have to unlearn the bad habits gained elsewhere.

This guy, though, wouldn't be at the top of my list. A 25-year-old with circa 2 years of work experience? One who's blogging about how MBAs are the new black? He doesn't really seem to have the "humility and willingness to learn" that Ben Horowitz was talking about.

"for the purposes of this discussion, an MBA" I'll disclose that I've known Adam personally for the past few years and I know you've only got this blog post to get to know him. I'd first like to say that Adam is one of the half dozen of MBAs in Boston I know quite well that do have the "humility and willingness to learn". I'm not sure how you don't get this feeling when Adam IS in fact blogging, tweeting, hustling into a VC role and early startup, connecting others in the community and learning every day (both at HBS and outside the classroom). It's rare, at least my in experience, to find an MBA so engaged in the flow of the tech community. I agree with you that the stage of the company one is entering is sometimes a strong barrier to entry though I sometimes think folks like yourself forget that it's not the MBA label or title that truly matters. For the best folks, it's simply a new skill set, network and experience they've gained. This is layered onto the respective individual's natural personality, network and skill set. Assuming the MBA title didn't go to their head (ie drive and humility remains the same), I would find a smart 25 yr old 25 yr old with an HBS degree (and all intangibles that come with it) more attractive for an early hire than the standard smart 25 yr old who simply had an extra full year of work experience. Similarly, just as many employers in the startu While I'm just a ugrad at the moment, not intent on getting an MBA, I have deep respect for many of my friends and colleagues here in town going to Sloan, HBS, etc. I'd recommend looking into the backgrounds and great things current MBA's like @besvinick, @jamesIII, @parulia, @jdraschil, @nickpatrick, @kylejudah and various others. Folks couldn't give a hoot that they're "MBAs"...