What B-School Do Not Teach Entrepreneurs

Bangalore: B-School degree is a valuable piece of paper when you are searching for a job, but when it comes to applying for being an entrepreneur, this valuable paper does not prove to be of much substance . There are several lessons that these b-schools do not teach the would-be-entrepreneurs that will prove to be a solid foundation for every entrepreneur. Several entrepreneurs feel that if you want to build something of your own, spending upwards of $200,000 and two years without pay is just about the worst way to go about it. In a candid conversation with siliconindia, few entrepreneurs share their ‘Not Learned Lessons from B-School’.

Ambarish Gupta, CEO & Co-Founder, Knowlarity Communications

When Gupta started his first venture, Inventica, he was advised to pursue MBA to get a better understanding about the business and market. But, he landed nowhere. “Doing MBA was like pursuing a PhD. degree where in there is a lot of theory knowledge. Once you enter the real world, apply it as you can. The b-schools dramatically underestimate the effort needed to start a company. They do not teach us to be an emotional person,” says Ambarish Gupta, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University – Tepper School of Business.

Gupta feels that one of the major efforts that any startup entrepreneur needs to be strong in while building an organization is the emotional side of him. He should be capable enough to handle the employees, the clients, the investors and others related to the business. “B-schools will teach you how business is done, organizational management, rules for employees, lots of advice for selling and buying, leadership and all. But they do not teach empathy. The theory part of it fails to infuse the passion to start one venture. They fail to teach them to bounce back from the hard times, and get things done from people who are not willing to listen to you,” adds Gupta.

He feels that the ecosystem in India is emerging and the current phase is an awesome time to start business, as the environment is less risky as it used to be. Gupta wishes that the b-schools should provide an opportunity to intern with the startups to get a clear and profound idea about what is needed to be done when one steps in the shoes of an entrepreneur.

Ambarish Gupta is the CEO & Founder of Knowlarity Communications, a Cloud Telephony product company.