How Should Business Schools Prepare Students for Startups?

Seibel says many MBA applicants miss basic startup practices, especially around having a technical co-founder, committing to the company, and showing progress with a product. He says applicants often rely on research instead of testing ideas with a live product. Bussgang agrees the lessons apply broadly, while noting MBA students may be especially prone to over-researching.

Bussgang points to business school silos, limited technical skills among students, and too few current startup practitioners as root causes. He cites HBS’s new Coders club and suggests admitting more students with engineering or coding backgrounds. Seibel says schools can help students learn prototyping and technical architecture, and describes efforts to bring business and engineering students together.

For students outside major startup hubs, Bussgang says building a technical network takes extra effort, but local engineering programs and online tools can help. Seibel argues that founders without access to people who can build software often stay in research or try to outsource core technical work. He says some startup foundations cannot be replaced by hustle.

Seibel notes that universities prioritize learning, which can make their entrepreneurship programs more forgiving than investors are. He and Bussgang weigh the cost and long-term network of an MBA against the practical experience of working at an early-stage startup. Seibel favors the startup job for many nontechnical people outside top business schools, especially if they are not already on an unusually strong career path.

Bussgang recommends studying startup writing and books by Paul Graham, Brad Feld, Fred Wilson, Eric Ries, and Steve Blank when school advice is weak. He adds that venture investors look for large markets and transformative opportunities, not merely polished small businesses. Blue Apron is his example of a disruptive business model developed by Harvard MBA Matt Salzberg.