P&Q’s Must Reads: Poets&Quants’ Most Successful MBA Startups Of 2022

Hello everyone  — Welcome back to Poets&Quants’ Must Reads, a quick, digestible recap of the top business school news, sponsored by CentreCourt, P&Q’s virtual admission events.

I’m your host, Kristy Bleizeffer, and I’ll be highlighting the most important P&Q stories you might have missed. So, let’s get to it. 

No. 1: Poets&Quants’ Most Successful MBA Startups Of 2022

As we’ve done each year since 2014, Poets&Quants solicited startups from the world’s best MBA programs to compile a list based on a single metric: how much funding a startup has raised.

This year, the top funded MBA startup is Gorillas, a company co-founded by an INSEAD MBA, with a truly eye-popping number: $1.335 billion.

It’s the second highest ever amount for an MBA startup since we’ve been compiling the list and a remarkable climb for the French business school whose highest startups last year tied at No. 42 with $15.1 million in funding apiece.

You can see the full list, no, on our homepage.

No. 2: Ten Biggest Surprises In Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2022 MBA Ranking

It’s hard to get into any discussion about the newest MBA ranking from Bloomberg Businessweek without first addressing the big elephant in the room: Is it even legit?

For the second year in a row, one of business education’s most prominent academics has found something fishy about this ranking. Yale School of Management Deputy Dean Anjani Jain believes that Businessweek incorrectly applied its stated weights to each of the five metrics the magazine uses to rank business schools.

That said, we still poured through the ranking to find its biggest surprises. Topping that list: Can Wharton’s MBA Program Really Rank 20th Best In The U.S.? 

Spoiler: Of course it can’t. 

Read why we think so, and find the other big surprises, in our rankings tab.

 No. 3: Favorite Traditions At The Top MBA Programs

So, you’ve got your MBA interview invites and you’re starting to dream about what comes next.

This story, compiled from our Best & Brightest MBA graduates, highlights some of the enduring and beloved traditions from programs like Wharton, INSEAD, Chicago Booth, and MIT Sloan. 

From leadership training on military bases to section competition, these are the traditions that alumni revere most at their business schools. Read them all in our news tab.

No. 4: Our Weekly Round Up of  News You Can Use

No matter where you are in your MBA journey, we bring several helpful stories for you this week.

First up: There’s a dirty little secret in the world of MBA Admissions coaching and that dirty little secret is this: many coaches and consultants will encourage clients to aim low. But this story from Fortuna Admissions helps candidates pursue those MBA Long Shots. You can find the full story in our admissions tab.

Next: For those looking for the right programs, we have the latest 2024 class profiles from a host of large programs this week, including Stanford GSB, Berkeley Haas, Texas McCombs, and Vanderbilt Owen, You can find these and other class profiles from the top b-schools in our admissions tab. 

Finally: If Harvard is on your MBA dream list, don’t miss the latest in our MBA Handicapping series: HBS Interview Traps For 780 GMAT Types. Our experts give the low down to a Microsoft software engineer with stellar stats on the kinds of questions that he can expect in an HBS interview. 

And, that’s it for this week’s Must Reads recap. 

I also want to alert all the school seekers out there to CentreCourt’s upcoming MBA Festival events. For those interested in online MBAs, our next backstage event is November 15-16. Register now for free.

Again, I’m Kristy Bleizeffer, and you can join me next week, right here, for a recap of what’s important in the world of business education. Thanks for listening and, as always, stay informed!