

Seth Godin's MBA Program Candidates & the Startups they're launching - cwan
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/learning-from-the-mba-program.html

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omouse
Godin's MBA is pure marketing stuff. It's nice that these people are learning
how to be better marketers and salespeople, but to call it an MBA is
misleading.

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callmeed
So, (1) a free ebook, (2) a niche social network, (3) a social network
consultancy, (4) another ebook (I think), and (5) a conference.

I know this isn't exactly the same model, but these aren't exactly YC or
TechStars type startups. I don't see much in the way of products with growth
potential–just hourly service type work at best.

It would be interesting to have some real MBA profs review and critique these
business plans.

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Alex3917
So the first thing we did in the program was to spend a full week talking
about our goals. The reason I'm doing the conference is that it's a good way
to pick up some of the skills I'm missing, earn enough money to give myself a
runway, create a platform to help me later, build a personal brand, etc. I am
going to do a startup after this. And at the end of the day you need to ask
yourself whether the goal is to spend six months working on something Mike
Arrington thinks is cool, or whether the goal is to be successful in the long
term.

The reason two people made the ebook is because they wanted a quick way to
learn how to sell $50,000 dollar sponsorships and they needed a product they
could make in a couple weeks to do that. The ebook is cool but it's not the
point, just a tiny piece of the puzzle.

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callmeed
Fair enough ... but ... if you guys are just doing stuff to prepare for your
"real" startups, how is that an _alternative_ to a real MBA (other than not
spending the money or extra time).

Why not just dive into the startup you really want to do?

Oh, and I never said anything about M Arrington.

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Alex3917
"Why not just dive into the startup you really want to do?"

Right now being a freelancer is the best way for me to fulfill my current
goals. There are a few things I'd love to do as venture backed startups one
day, but those projects aren't as good a match for building the assets I'm
trying to build right now.

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brk
More Godin overhype.

Neat experiment, but most people would not consider this troupe on-par with
any MBA program after hanging out for 6 months.

Maybe if this was an 18 month program, or maybe if Godin could better
articulate how this is more "MBA" than "self-study" the "students" might have
some merits.

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Alex3917
Spending time in the classroom is bullshit. Merit comes from shipping.

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dschobel
Let me ask you this, did anyone not pass these MBA classes or fail to get the
certificate or whatever he gives you at the end? (I assume you'll all be
putting this on your resumes in some form).

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Alex3917
We're all doing this because we want to learn from Seth. I don't understand
how you could frame that in any sort of pass/fail context. Seth might print
out some sort of diploma at the end, he might not, I don't think anyone really
cares.

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dschobel
The piece of paper wasn't my point but rather if there was any standard of
performance to be met.

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Alex3917
Part of the deal is that all of our goals have to be falsifiable. That is, you
have to be able to point to a goal six months later and be able to say, "I
didn't meet my goal." So an example of a falsifiable goal would be to get 1000
RSS subscribers. A non-falsifiable goal would be organizing the world's
information. Because there's no way you can be held accountable if you don't
succeed.

So in general we each set our own falsifiable goals, and we're responsible for
helping each other succeed. So in the sense that there's a performance
standard to be met, your punishment for not meeting that standard is not
accomplishing your goals.

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dschobel
Fair enough, thanks for the clarification.

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ryanwaggoner
Interesting, but let's review in ten years, shall we? Specifically, let's
compare the average accomplishments of these "graduates" with graduates from
the top 20 MBA programs.

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cwan
Seth Godin takes a pretty radical approach to developing his "unaccredited,
residential and free" MBA program. Godin's obviously a marketing guy, so I
have to wonder whether or not he glosses over the importance of at least
understanding the basics of accounting and finance. While I don't know that
these areas are critical, I think as a business develops they're pretty
important assets to have. That said, a few of those startups seem pretty
interesting.

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Alex3917
We spent a couple days on accounting and finance, but not much. I think the
general feeling is that while these skills are important to have, it's also
possible to learn them from a book in a few days. Whereas there are lots of
other skills that are really important but that no one has ever written a book
about.

(Also, I took corporate finance as an undergrad so I don't feel too left out.)

I'll write a post on what I got out of the program at one point, but my
website actually just launched today so I'm busy working on that. If you want
to see the project I'm doing check out swagapalooza.com. I don't know of any
traditional MBA programs that don't let their students graduate until their
own business is up and running, so that in and of itself is pretty cool.

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brk
So you are going to be in this program for a couple of years?

 _I don't know of any traditional MBA programs that don't let their students
graduate until their own business is up and running_

I would consider a business to be "up and running" when it has proven to be at
least semi-viable. Putting up a website and organizing a meeting is not
exactly an up and running business, but it is a good start and one of several
necessary steps.

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dawie
I think what Seth did was great. I deeply regret not applying. I think real
MBAs is a crock of S#$%&% and they are in any case sooo 90s.

The personal MBA has had more value for me personally that most of University
(<http://personalmba.com/>)

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dschobel
Depends on your motivation for the degree.

I'd wager a majority of people who apply to MBA programs (or any degree
granting program) are more interested in the doors they open vs the knowledge
they'll gain.

Knowledge is cheap these days, thanks to that whole blasted internet thing.

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abossy
It would be great if MBA programs both credentials and skills for the future.

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dschobel
There are plenty of those around but unfortunately the entrance qualifications
are slightly more rigorous than "out-schmooze everyone else at a cocktail
party".

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wattersjames
Godin wonder's why people pay for MBA's but he doesn't shrink from having his
Stanford MBA on his resume. In a sea of ambition noise people use pedigree as
a filter; perhaps having been chosen for this MBA alone will be the real
resume and career boost.

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diN0bot
"Another lesson: I kept an oversized (perhaps giant is a better word)
Moleskine by the door, and we wrote down great moments and quotes as the days
wore on. We’ve already worked our way through it frontwards, and now we’ve
turned it over and are working back the other way."

I don't get it. Then what? Does it ever get read, or by writing things down do
people remember the quotes and moments better?

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raffi
My comment is off-topic but related. Different people have different learning
senses. Visual, audio, and kinesthetic among them. I'm a kinesthetic learner
and the act of writing something helps me internalize it in a way the other
modes don't. I wouldn't be surprised if Seth Godin was doing different visual
and audio things as well. Whoever commented on the Moleskine is probably
kinesthetic and that stuck out to them. Just a thought.

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blasdel
Ooh -- I found out about one of these clowns earlier today:
<http://www.metafilter.com/82187/Susan-Hires-A-Boss>

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jzachary
Here is her LinkedIn profile: <http://www.linkedin.com/in/susanvlewis>

