Stu Wall began working at a bootstrapped start-up after graduating from Harvard Business School, so he feels qualified to explain why MBAs fail at entrepreneurship:
Group Think – Figure out what’s popular, then do the opposite
MBAs idealize jobs and ideas that used to offer outstanding returns. Private Equity and Hedge Funds offered outstanding salaries to HBS students from 06-08 and thus attracted “top” HBS students. As more talented students pursued these options it became conventional wisdom that everyone should be doing the same.
It turns out we’re good at picking sectors to avoid. The Harvard MBA Index has rightly predicted shorting the stock market when over 30% of HBS students go into finance. In 2008 the index hit an all-time high of 41%. Students aren’t the only ones showing up late to parties — in June of 2000 HBS initiated an ill-fated Silicon Valley Campus.
Howard Aiken has a great quote: “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” Have the courage to take a path that may not be obvious to your peers.
I’ve mentioned the Harvard indicator before.