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Engineers create products. MBAs create processes.

Startups need the former. Established companies need the latter.

I personally like, and agree with, Guy Kawasaki's formula for pre-money valuation of new companies:

pre-money valuation = ($1M * n_engineers) - ($500k * n_MBAs)




>> Engineers create products. MBAs create processes.

Generalize much?

Most MBAs have undergrads from a wide array of backgrounds, from liberal arts to engineering. Most MBA programs provide some useful education in areas like finance, business law and entrepreneurship, but you don't become a process geek from the curriculum unless you're already a process geek and choose to focus on process oriented courses.

The MBA is usually there to augment existing work experience and education. Most grads just go back to whatever profession they were in armed with a better business context for how things work in whatever industry they're in.

If your experience with MBAs is all about process creation, it says more about the people who hired the MBAs in those companies than it does about MBAs in general.


I would be happy if someone offered me the advice in that formula. Because they would have told me clearly that their judgment is not to be trusted, and that is good information to have about someone.


so it's just that simple then?


Well Guy has an MBA from UCLA afaik so what does he know :P




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