Week 54: Be a student and start a business? It can be done!

Week 54: June 7, 2025

Be a student and start a business? It can be done!

Andrea,

Over the last decade, the number of start-ups being launched by founders still in school has increased considerably. In the 10-15 years, the marketplace has greeted fashion mainstays such as Warby Parker and Birchbox, food companies like Simple Mills, and b-to-b tools like InsightSquared. These are just a tiny fraction of the number of successful businesses that were founded or cofounded by MBA students.

We wanted to share stories to inspire you this week if you're looking to dedicate yourself to entrepreneurial goals next year!

The 100 Week Sprint team

To-do's this week

Got 5 minutes? Check out some of the recommended resources, and explore our other entrepreneurship/start-up content.

Got 30 minutes? Didn't submit a business plan this year? Take 30 minutes at a coffee shop to dream up your best business idea. Check out one of our favorite resources, the 10-slide loop from Guy Kawasaki to see how much you know about an early idea.

Got an hour? Begin filling out the 10 slide loop with your business idea. Create a short plan for what you might do this summer to pursue the plan further.

Student entrepreneur profiles

The variety of MBA-student-led businesses is astounding. We have been lucky enough to interview a few of them (note, many have moved on to their next ventures, but we left their original brands in place for context):

Molly, a Stanford graduate who is disrupting the wedding industry;
Dan, a Stanford graduate who disrupted the rental housing market;
Brint, a Sloan graduate who is revolutionizing avalanche safety;
Katlin, a Booth student who developed delicious, gluten-free alternatives to traditional baking mixes

We hope their stories inspire you to find others within your class you can help, or find the courage to launch your own idea!

Getting started on your own idea(s)?

Didn't submit a business plan this year? That doesn't mean that you won't start a business in your near future.

Have an idea that you've been thinking about as you run between classes and recruiting events? There are some simple tools available for you to test out your idea. Check out the "ultimate pitch deck" or Guy Kawasaki's 10 slide loop. Both will challenge you to test your ideas, understanding the magnitude of the opportunity.

Perhaps you're not there yet! You may still want to carefully consider the entrepreneurship curriculum to determine what classes you might want to add to your schedule in case you launch a venture down the road.

Helpful tools for student entrepreneurs

Here are some pointers from our clients who successfully got their businesses up and running with the help of their MBA program:

"Read Eric Ries's book The Lean Startup and Steve Blank's 4 Steps to the Epiphany. Both provide tremendous insights into how to find product market fit and scale a business." - Dan, RentLingo

"The book Venture Deals is pretty much the bible on understanding term sheets. Its really good to understand how the other side of the table (VCs) thinks about things. Also, the How to Start a Startup class by Sam Altman is pretty invaluable." - Mitch, TransparentCareer

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