Startup Success Without The MBA

Nate Levine OpenGov“ENTREPRENEURSHIP WORKS BEST WHEN IT HAPPENS ORGANICALLY”

OpenGov founder Nate Levine, who grew up in the town that Steve Jobs called home,  had long thought about starting a company. “It’s hard not to when you grow up in this area,” he says. “It’s like growing up in a small fishing village where everybody does the same thing.” Levine attended the same Palo Alto high school as Swart.

Levine founded OpenGov by way of a nonprofit. As an undergraduate at Stanford, he and some fellow students started California Common Sense (CACS), an organization that focuses on government transparency. “I worked on it all summer, and by the end, we had built up significant influence in Sacramento and had a lot of press coverage,” he says. “I didn’t want to lose that momentum.”

The experience didn’t make school look all that appealing to him. “I think I learned more in six months building CACS than I had in two years at Stanford,” Levine concedes. So, he did what made sense: he took a break.

That break became much longer when he co-founded OpenGov with Joe Lonsdale, an entrepreneur who has made Forbes’ 30 Under 30: Technology list. Their company creates software that makes government budgets accessible to both public officials and ordinary citizens.

Like Kapler, Parthasarathi and Swart, Levine expanded his skill set on the job. “I came in with a technical background and some leadership experience, and I had also helped build an organization from scratch before,” Levine said. “But truthfully, I probably needed to learn 75% of what I needed on the fly. One of the most important skills I’ve learned is how to say no. In the startup world, you’re constantly tempted by new ideas and opportunities, but if you keep chasing them you never get anywhere.”

Would he get an MBA? Levine answers with a resounding maybe. “I haven’t felt that I need it since I have access to a great network of mentors,” Levine says. “I’m not necessarily opposed to it, but I haven’t heard a compelling case for why I should do it, either.”

Plus, his work hasn’t made him eager to become a student again. “I think it would be fun and interesting to do all sorts of graduate programs, but realistically, I doubt I will,” Levine adds. “I don’t think I have the patience to be in school for another five years.”

There’s no formula for a successful startup. If it existed, entrepreneurship wouldn’t be so risky. But all four founders have something in common: a sense of urgency. They didn’t wait too long before implementing their ideas. They pounced on the opportunity to make them real.

If you don’t have an idea that keeps you awake at night, an MBA probably makes sense. If you do, though, it might be time for a cost-benefit analysis. Just make sure to do it quickly.

DON’T MISS: So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur? or Wharton Hits Record High in Startup MBAs or MBA Startups: From Carnegie Mellon To A Winning Idea

 

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