With Money Comes Freedom: Business and government can work together. You can come from business, and move into government ie. Mitt Romney, or work in government and transition into business ie. Japanese civil servant system. In order to be successful in business/government ventures, David Rubenstein believes that you should be:
a) reasonably intelligent; b) have a strong work ethic; c) the ability to get along with others; d) desire to build something important; and e) the ability to keep one’s ego in check. People who mix government and business like Rubenstein have power over the most important aspect of the human experience: they control their time.
Work/Life Balance: Gandhi said that you should “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
When Pitching To A VC: it is vital to “get them juiced in the first five minutes. Get them captured and fully engaged quickly.” Do not start the pitch with Macro conditions. Aim high, solicit big players for input and advice. Sell with personal passion, make a personal connection. As venture capitals have become institutionalized, the people in it have become less and less venturesome. Those who visited campus were overwhelmingly male and white or Asian. VCs like to think of themselves as rule breakers but are frequently uniform.
Choosing Your Electives In Your MBA: You will need to rank your choices in order of preference. The challenge of picking the right courses was time consuming. You could choose to deepen your knowledge of one specific area. Or you could work on your weaknesses. Or finally, you could take the easier courses to free up time.
Entrepreneurs: to be a successful entrepreneur you must be a strong sales rep. Sometimes it is about solving the customers’ problem so efficiently that competitors come to join the company. The difference between success and failure as an entrepreneur is very fine.
[This is a synopsis of several books on the MBA experience including What They Teach You At Harvard Business School by P.D. Broughton]
MBAs Inter-Semester Travel: Go to Brazil, India, China, or Russia, which is now the standard inter-semester trip for MBA students. MBAs have an arrogance to them. Do not go to these places with hand sanitizer in your wallet or purse. These trips are liable to be dominated by booze, clubs, shops, and corporate entertainment. These places are where all the venture capitalists are going. Being a Venture Capitalist is easier than climbing the corporate ladder, all you need is one major success, then you will have 100s of entrepreneurs pitching their ideas, and you get to pick the best ones. Although, it is very risky, and many VCs fail.
