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Well...my point was simply that there is no silver bullet other than a dogged will to get it done. There are many brilliant programmers who will never build a

Well...my point was simply that there is no silver bullet other than a dogged will to get it done. There are many brilliant programmers who will never build a sustainable business because they just don't have the will to get it done. Likewise, there are many MBAs that will be middle management in LargeCo. all their lives for the same reason. It has become Valley lore that u need to be a geek to build a successful business - when it is patently clear that is false. None of the AirBnB guys are geeks - they are designers!

ThomPete 14y ago
I think it has become the lore that you need to be a geek to build a successful software business. There are always exceptions. With regards to MBA's is there any evidence that getting one makes people more sucessful in their careers? I know it helps if you already have a job to climb the ladder, but I don't think there is much in an MBA that isn't covered in a book like "The Personal MBA" and isn't much you will learn the hard way that isn't covered by starting your own company or joining a startup. But each to their own.
- marcamillion 14y ago
  So...I guess I disagree with the premise. There is no single educational achievement that anyone can get that will single-handedly assure success in their career. Have there been many success stories of people with MBAs? Yes. Have there been many success stories of people with law /medicine/accounting degrees? Yes. Do each of those guarantee success. Hells no. Does an education guarantee success? No. The only thing that guarantees success is determination to be successful. For me...my MBA taught me how the world works. It is surprising how few people understand how it truly works - yet they speak as if they know. For that single achievement alone, I would encourage everyone to get an MBA. That being said, does that mean that everyone that gets an MBA understands the world? No. I think it was more my finance/economics slant that did that. Even still...does everybody with those slants achieve the results I did? Absolutely not. So as I said.....it's not about the single data point that will make you a success - it's more than that. Survivor's bias (not sure if that is the correct term here) does lead people to link the two - i.e. the people that are more likely to be successful are the ones that are more likely to get a degree like that. That being said...all people who get those degrees won't be "successful" and all successful people won't have those degrees.
  - cygwin98 14y ago
    For me...my MBA taught me how the world works. It is surprising how few people understand how it truly works - yet they speak as if they know. For that single achievement alone, I would encourage everyone to get an MBA. That sounds like quite a claim. Can you shed some lights on how the world works from an MBA's perspective?
    - marcamillion 14y ago
      Well...I can't speak from an "MBA's" perspective, because there isn't 1 MBA perspective. In terms of the way the world works, I can say that politicians are not in the business of running the world the way it should be run - they are in the business of politicking. It has become fanciful in the last decade or so, to blame bankers, wall street, the 1%, capitalism, etc. for all the worlds ills - but that's just not the case. Politicians (many who I support also) are just as guilty. Here is 1 truism that no politician of a heavily indebted country will say - bond markets are dead right. If they demand a higher yield on a country's debt - it isn't because there are some "nefarious speculators" trying to make bank off of the demise of the poor people in that country. It's because the stupid policymakers and politician s have fleeced the country, the affairs are not in order and in order for them (bond market investors) to lend to your country in the crappy state it is in, they charge more than they will charge to lend to the US Treasury, Germany, etc. Likewise, if the bond markets are showing very low yields to America despite all the rhetoric of America's economy in shambles and the debt-to-GDP ratio being too high at 90% - clearly something else is at work and the situation is not as bad as it seems. Financial markets are forward looking indicators - and by all indications, as a general rule, when it comes to properly (and easily) communicating what is TRULY happening with the state's finances, they tend to be spot on. The issue is that politicians hate it because bond markets show up their lies and untruths. So they blame 'wreckless speculators' and tax bankers. When half of the time, the investors that are wrecking their bond yields are not even BANKERS! But...it sounds good in a newsbyte because people like to believe conspiracy stories about the wealthy bankers that are enslaving the masses with interest on debt. The fact is, debt, equity financing & capitalism in general have been the best mechanisms for growth, poverty reduction and standard of living increases over the past few centuries. Most things you hear politicians blame things on, are just simply scapegoats that people accept because they know no better.
- dkrich 14y ago
  Do you have an MBA? I'm not trying to sound like a dick- that's an honest question. I do have an MBA and while I definitely think it was overpriced, the relationships with top faculty, in-depth case studies, and lasting friendships that I got out of it is definitely beyond what you will get from a book. That said, experience is and always will be the best teacher. There is only so much you can get from relationships, classrooms, and personal accounts described on blogs. At some point you have to find out for yourself by doing. Doing is the hardest part and it constitutes about 99% of success, which is why so few people ever succeed or even try. I know people who are not at all "technical" or "businessy" who run wildly successful small businesses because they just did and didn't know any better. Of course there were other things they had going for them- they were personable, had large networks of friends, etc., but my point is that there isn't a formula for success, but you do have to get shit done.
  - ThomPete 14y ago
    No I don't have an MBA and I wouldn't want one even if it was given to me. But I did start a design agency built it to 60 people and ran it successfully for 6 years working for client all around the world of all different kind of sizes. I have more case studies than I care for. I also build friendships and a great great network of connections. And I made money while doing it. Business is simple (not easy)
    - dkrich 14y ago
      That's all well and good but you sound a bit defensive. No need to be so touchy. I'm just wondering how you can speak to the value of something you've never experienced. Your opinion on this matter is about as useful as mine about building a design agency with a 60-person headcount.

ThomPete 14y ago

I think it has become the lore that you need to be a geek to build a successful software business. There are always exceptions. With regards to MBA's is there any evidence that getting one makes people more sucessful in their careers? I know it helps if you already have a job to climb the ladder, but I don't think there is much in an MBA that isn't covered in a book like "The Personal MBA" and isn't much you will learn the hard way that isn't covered by starting your own company or joining a startup. But each to their own.

marcamillion 14y ago
So...I guess I disagree with the premise. There is no single educational achievement that anyone can get that will single-handedly assure success in their career. Have there been many success stories of people with MBAs? Yes. Have there been many success stories of people with law /medicine/accounting degrees? Yes. Do each of those guarantee success. Hells no. Does an education guarantee success? No. The only thing that guarantees success is determination to be successful. For me...my MBA taught me how the world works. It is surprising how few people understand how it truly works - yet they speak as if they know. For that single achievement alone, I would encourage everyone to get an MBA. That being said, does that mean that everyone that gets an MBA understands the world? No. I think it was more my finance/economics slant that did that. Even still...does everybody with those slants achieve the results I did? Absolutely not. So as I said.....it's not about the single data point that will make you a success - it's more than that. Survivor's bias (not sure if that is the correct term here) does lead people to link the two - i.e. the people that are more likely to be successful are the ones that are more likely to get a degree like that. That being said...all people who get those degrees won't be "successful" and all successful people won't have those degrees.
- cygwin98 14y ago
  For me...my MBA taught me how the world works. It is surprising how few people understand how it truly works - yet they speak as if they know. For that single achievement alone, I would encourage everyone to get an MBA. That sounds like quite a claim. Can you shed some lights on how the world works from an MBA's perspective?
  - marcamillion 14y ago
    Well...I can't speak from an "MBA's" perspective, because there isn't 1 MBA perspective. In terms of the way the world works, I can say that politicians are not in the business of running the world the way it should be run - they are in the business of politicking. It has become fanciful in the last decade or so, to blame bankers, wall street, the 1%, capitalism, etc. for all the worlds ills - but that's just not the case. Politicians (many who I support also) are just as guilty. Here is 1 truism that no politician of a heavily indebted country will say - bond markets are dead right. If they demand a higher yield on a country's debt - it isn't because there are some "nefarious speculators" trying to make bank off of the demise of the poor people in that country. It's because the stupid policymakers and politician s have fleeced the country, the affairs are not in order and in order for them (bond market investors) to lend to your country in the crappy state it is in, they charge more than they will charge to lend to the US Treasury, Germany, etc. Likewise, if the bond markets are showing very low yields to America despite all the rhetoric of America's economy in shambles and the debt-to-GDP ratio being too high at 90% - clearly something else is at work and the situation is not as bad as it seems. Financial markets are forward looking indicators - and by all indications, as a general rule, when it comes to properly (and easily) communicating what is TRULY happening with the state's finances, they tend to be spot on. The issue is that politicians hate it because bond markets show up their lies and untruths. So they blame 'wreckless speculators' and tax bankers. When half of the time, the investors that are wrecking their bond yields are not even BANKERS! But...it sounds good in a newsbyte because people like to believe conspiracy stories about the wealthy bankers that are enslaving the masses with interest on debt. The fact is, debt, equity financing & capitalism in general have been the best mechanisms for growth, poverty reduction and standard of living increases over the past few centuries. Most things you hear politicians blame things on, are just simply scapegoats that people accept because they know no better.
dkrich 14y ago
Do you have an MBA? I'm not trying to sound like a dick- that's an honest question. I do have an MBA and while I definitely think it was overpriced, the relationships with top faculty, in-depth case studies, and lasting friendships that I got out of it is definitely beyond what you will get from a book. That said, experience is and always will be the best teacher. There is only so much you can get from relationships, classrooms, and personal accounts described on blogs. At some point you have to find out for yourself by doing. Doing is the hardest part and it constitutes about 99% of success, which is why so few people ever succeed or even try. I know people who are not at all "technical" or "businessy" who run wildly successful small businesses because they just did and didn't know any better. Of course there were other things they had going for them- they were personable, had large networks of friends, etc., but my point is that there isn't a formula for success, but you do have to get shit done.
- ThomPete 14y ago
  No I don't have an MBA and I wouldn't want one even if it was given to me. But I did start a design agency built it to 60 people and ran it successfully for 6 years working for client all around the world of all different kind of sizes. I have more case studies than I care for. I also build friendships and a great great network of connections. And I made money while doing it. Business is simple (not easy)
  - dkrich 14y ago
    That's all well and good but you sound a bit defensive. No need to be so touchy. I'm just wondering how you can speak to the value of something you've never experienced. Your opinion on this matter is about as useful as mine about building a design agency with a 60-person headcount.