Micah is an HBS alumnus. I'm not saying he's wrong, but he brings his own biases to the table, as we all do. I also went to business school, and while I wouldn't say it was worthless as a founder, the things that are valuable are not always what people believe are valuable.<p>There are three reasons to go to business school: knowledge, network and brand. People go for many reasons, such as feeling insecure, wanting insurance and taking a break from their job. These are not good reasons. Here is my evaluation of the good reasons:<p>- Knowledge (overall grade C-)
Yes, you will learn things if you study. Could you learn these on your own? Sure. Will you? Likely not. If you weren't an accounting/economics/finance major in undergrad you may find the academics particularly valuable. Some of the classroom experience is useful for things like negotiations, management and other "soft" skills. My experience was that the greatest intellectual advancement I found was through cross registering in the engineering and statistics departments. Go to a large research university, particularly if you went to a small liberal arts school for undergrad, and make the best use of a world class institution!<p>- Network (Depends mostly on the competition to get in, B+)
This is the biggest reason and often cited as the true reason people go. Academics are a joke and going for the brand seems gross, so people default to this answer, which is cronyism, but at least it's not as superficial as branding. In my experience, this was incredibly useful. I've landed three of my seven clients through business school classmates. The alumni network is good too, although not terribly strong unless you go to a smaller program, which lowers your odds that the alumni will be usefully placed for your purposes.<p>- Brand (depends entirely on prestige, A+)
This is vastly underrated, at least in polite conversation. Nobody like a braggart, and playing the "I went to Stanford GSB" card is an ugly move, so savvy MBAs resort to more subtle signaling. It's hard to measure the value here because it makes everything easier, from pitching and starting conversations, to being taken seriously and getting access to programs and resources.<p>Finally, a word on digital vertical native brands. Developing a valuable brand is low probability event (that's why people buy a brand by going to business school!). That is not to say it's difficult, or any more difficult than winning the lottery, but it is rare. Intentionally creating a brand can be hard, but I doubt there's much correlation between effort and success. Besides brand, these digitally native vertical brands have no sustainable competitive advantage, and I fully expect their profits to get competed away. The market, however, can stay irrational long enough for many people to get rich. Best of luck to anybody starting or investing in a digital brand!