This is a story from the CBS blog (published March 16, 2011), by Eric J. Garcia, an American from the 2010 Full-Time MBA.
One of the lines that made me think a lot during the MBA program was simply:
“You are not an entrepreneur until you have a proven concept…you are not an entrepreneur until you have a proven concept…you are NOT an entrepreneur until you have a proven concept!”
While this may hold some truth behind it, there are a lot of things that happen way before you even consider calling yourself an entrepreneur. My name is Eric Garcia, former MBA student, CBS class of 2010 and I am an entrepreneur – regardless of how some may define it.
Before starting my MBA journey, I was simply like most students who considered an MBA as a way of changing what’s present (career wise that is), with the hope of a better tomorrow within an organization of prestige. Having already worked for the UN and some private sector companies, I desired something different and a place that could give me the flexibility I wanted to be as creative as possible. Turns out, that the CBS MBA program does give you different perspectives, and it will make you think of many other alternatives you might have missed out on.
At CBS, the Full-time MBA will present you with the leadership and entrepreneurial perspectives to business, and while you may already have had your plan all sorted out before starting the program, you will have the opportunity to re-evaluate it, maybe make it better, or even start a whole new plan with a better grasp of how to do it right as you move through the MBA year.
I asked myself: Can I manage a company? Could I start something from scratch and make it my own? Well…why not think about it and build a plan while you cover all the different topics around the business during the MBA? And while I’m at it, I could start the business and if it fails, then at least I tried it before I graduate. And you know what? – That’s exactly what I did! I started a company under the name NightView Media , with an initial focus on building 360° tours for businesses but with the vision of potentially creating an interactive media company that could one day offer numerous high quality solutions within reasonable prices.
I remember going to my first potential client meeting right after one of the MBA courses (with a 1.5 hr commute), and kept telling myself on the way there…”if I can make money for companies, why wouldn’t I be able to make money for myself?”.
The meeting was with the manager of a Shopping Center in Sweden, and after talking for 15 minutes, her response was, “I love it, I want it, when can we have it?”…the amount of excitement I felt at that moment is inexplicable, to simply hear words that only reassure that you are doing something right, and not only that, I would even make some money in the process while still in school made the feeling even sweeter. I walked away with a smile and realized something…. that’s was the day I became an entrepreneur.
Unlike most MBA’s who finish the program to search for a new job or go back to their old companies, I took a different approach. I decided to work on what I had, and thought of different ways to making it even better. Since I wanted to be associated with creativity, I called myself “Creative Director” and continue to be as creative as can be (figured if you can call yourself anything, why not a title that is associated with what you like to do). It’s been 7 months since graduation, and now I ask myself, what do I have to show for it? Turns out, in those 7 months, I got 7 more clients (with many client seeds planted), and above all, I’ve built a new social network platform (with my best friend) for the whole world to see and experience (www.nightview.se) . Although it may still be considered a young company when compared to other social networks out there (pre-launched on March 1st, 2011), I could only say that it will become everything I want it to become, and what’s even more important is the fact that it will forever be part of me, just like my CBS MBA experience.