

The Ultimate 6-Week Startup Crash Course (MBA alternative) - gsiener
http://blog.profitably.com/post/7134922299/the-ultimate-6-week-startup-crash-course

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localhost3000
question: how are you learning to code and building a prototype when you have
25 meetings + 10 meetups to go to + 100 (wildly) repetitive blog posts to read
every week? The blatant exaggeration hurts your argument. By trying to make it
sound so easy and straightforward you actually make it sound much harder and
intimidating than it is. Get one meeting with an influencer in your market. Go
from there.

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asanwal
No better way to learn than to do so great advice and post about strategies to
do just this. Although I do wonder if this all can be realistically achieved
in 6 weeks.

The only thing I'd disagree with esp given the finite time available is that
you should focus on meeting (or getting meetings) with potential customers and
partners exclusively.

Sure Meetups are great but the signal:noise ratio for content is generally
low. Lots of startup platitudes like "build something people want" with little
useful, credible, actionable insight. And then the ratio of quality people to
wantrapreneurs and service providers often leaves much to be desired and makes
the networking goal difficult.

With regards to reading blogs, there is lots of great insight out there (many
that you highlighted) but you can chew up your day reading through lots of
entreporn as well which talks about the vagueries of the VC industry and other
non-useful content which while interesting (and sometimes dramatic) doesn't
really help you build or validate an idea/real biz.

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known
I disagree with the author. When
[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_World_Is_...](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_World_Is_Flat)
it is better to have a MBA before doing a startup.

"You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long
enough to make them all yourself." --Sam Levenson

~~~
wpietri
An MBA is a degree in business administration. Entrepreneurship is something
radically different.

To learn why, I'd recommend this talk from Steve Blank:
<http://www.justin.tv/startuplessonslearned/b/262670582>
[http://www.slideshare.net/sblank/why-accountants-dont-run-
st...](http://www.slideshare.net/sblank/why-accountants-dont-run-startups-
sllc)

He's a serial entrepreneur turned business school professor, and he knows his
stuff.

~~~
mcoder
Really. Really? Running a business has nothing to do with...um...running a
business? No, no it's not radically different. Only in the minds of those who
have no idea what's involved with business, MBA programs, or what the
definition of entrepreneur is outside of these articles begging you to buy
books, and web services, and promising that if you sit in your mommy's
basement long enough putting up $10 web sites you will be a billionaire. Only
with people who can't take ideas and education and use them as the springboard
for something great, but instead can only get by regurgitating the thoughts of
those who have actually been there and taken the time to know WHY things are
the way they are and WHY those things have to change and WHAT has to change
because of it.

First, there are many many things wrong with Mr. Blank's deck at slideshare.
Not the least of which is that only start ups are scalable and agile. That
b-plans are static. Maybe in the "old days" when he was cutting his teeth.
When education was unobtainable. When companies ran by the rules of companies
like GM and Chrysler. I assure you, whatever you know of a company externally,
or from some grunt, is not what is going on internally in the C-Suite.

Second, there is such a diluted idea of what entrepreneurship is. As I said,
it's not sitting in mommy's basement knocking out crappy, templated websites
hoping one hits. To be an entrepreneur you have to have skin in the game.
Entrepreneurship's definition includes the word "risk". Registering an $8
domain and putting up an app using the free service level Google App Engine
doesn't carry any inherent risk. Putting your house up to grab a loan, hiring
staff and remembering that if you fail, these people have no jobs. People with
families to feed. Having nothing much to fall back on. This involves RISK. It
might be stupid to do, but it can force you to make more calculated decisions.

And finally remember that people like Mr. Blank and the older
VC/Startup/Entrepreneur set usually cut their teeth at larger companies, or in
the presence of those with degrees in business, accounting, finance. This is
mostly where they learned the trade second hand. As many old timers did. This
is where they learned how to balance books, the basics of marketing, the rules
of finance, that they used to forge paths in their futures.

And as some background to me, I started a company with a friend 17 years ago,
grew that company into a multi-million dollar firm with several divisions. I
ran one division of the company with around 25 ftes. I ran that place for 12
years before finally going for my MBA, and then moving on to work at a large
healthcare organization.

~~~
wpietri
His point, with which I still agree, is that _running_ a business is different
than _starting_ a business.

More specifically, running a business with a known, stable business model is a
very different activity than starting from scratch and discovering a new
business. MBAs prepare you for the former, but generally not the latter.

A point that your history seems to match: you started and ran a business just
fine without an MBA. And now that you have one, you've turned from
entrepreneurship to working at large company.

~~~
bahman2000
There are MBA programs that are specifically tailored for entrepreneurship,
such as the Babson College program (disclaimer: I am an alum).

For instance, there are specific tools and frameworks that, when used
properly, help you identify the opportunities worth pursuing.

Further, you can be an entrepreneur in both cases: when starting your own
business, or working for a large company. It's true the other way too: you can
start/have your own business and that wouldn't make you an entrepreneur.

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kleiba
+1 for the Karate Kid metaphor.

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aorshan
that was really interesting. lots of good advice here

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Mz
I really enjoyed seeing this today. It's very good timing for me. I just wish
I knew how to translate the software specific parts of it into more general
advice or where to go for similar information on other products/business
models. I did go ahead and start a posterous group and invited a friend who
was enthusing about starting a business with me earlier today. And also
started a wordpress site. I have no idea where I am going to go with this but
my health has been the big thing holding me back and I worked 17 hours of
overtime this past week (a lot more overtime than I have ever worked before)
without having to go home sick some time during the week due to pushing
myself. This has been a watershed week for me and I want to go ahead and start
getting on with life. I'm not ready to run flat out, so to speak, but I think
I can stop sitting on the sidelines of life and wishing I had one (a life,
that is).

Peace.

