I'm the technical co-founder of http://postabon.com (the crazy guy who wrote the entire thing in Lisp ;-)).
Based on my experience over the last 6 months, I think most MBAs start out thinking that they'll be fine at doing a startup with no ___domain expertise, and can just 'throw money' at that problem. This is true whether the ___domain is manufacturing, fashion, tech, etc. However, after they've been at it for N months and have nothing done, the smart ones realize the error of their ways ;-)
Business savvy (just like technical skill) is a necessary (but not sufficient) requirement for being a successful entrepreneur. Having co-founders with disparate skill sets helps you cover all your bases.
I think just as many engineers think they can build something cool (with no thought to marketing, capital, strategy, etc), and build a start-up.
If you go to any engineer-focus start-up discussion site (JOS, RiR, Erik Sink, HN, PG, bothsidesofthetable .. you name it) that's exactly what they don't hear.
If anything, engineers are under-confidant about business things. They seem to think that selling stuff takes at least a 3 year degree (or equivalent experience) just like writing a program.
I'm the technical co-founder of http://postabon.com (the crazy guy who wrote the entire thing in Lisp ;-)).
Based on my experience over the last 6 months, I think most MBAs start out thinking that they'll be fine at doing a startup with no ___domain expertise, and can just 'throw money' at that problem. This is true whether the ___domain is manufacturing, fashion, tech, etc. However, after they've been at it for N months and have nothing done, the smart ones realize the error of their ways ;-)
Business savvy (just like technical skill) is a necessary (but not sufficient) requirement for being a successful entrepreneur. Having co-founders with disparate skill sets helps you cover all your bases.
I think just as many engineers think they can build something cool (with no thought to marketing, capital, strategy, etc), and build a start-up.