Some of the brightest people in the world don’t have distinct steps. Bill Gates founded Microsoft at 19, Mark Zuckerberg left Harvard and founded Facebook, Steve Jobs founded Apple in his garage. When prodded by the MBA question, S.Deepika examines the value of the degree through a range of lenses
“MBA doesn’t bother me. GSD will GSD = Gets Stuff Done.” -Christine Comaford-Lynch, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor in 200+ Companies
Bill Gates Early Education and Formative Years
Born and raised in Seattle, Wash., Bill Gates attended He was concerned about his behavior and that he would be at risk of bullying due to his loneliness, and Gates’ parents enrolled him in Lakeside Private School at the age of 13. The elite college preparatory school for students in grades 5-12 did not become co-educational until 1971, four a year after Gates began attending it. )
As a new student at Cois Locha, Gates wrote his first software that allowed users to play tic-tac-toe against the computer. It was also at school that he met Paul Allen, the future co-founder of Microsoft.
Other billionaires without an MBA
Other examples of famous entrepreneurs who are successful in their fields but do not achieve academic excellence include Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft), Steve Ballmer (former CEO of Microsoft), Jan Koum (co-founder of WhatsApp), Matt Mullenweg (creator of WordPress) and Richard Branson (Virgo).
Branson has also had a business career since he was 16 when he left school.
Tim Cook, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, b.1988:
Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple Inc.
and before that he was COO under co-founder Steve Jobs. Under Cook, Apple has gone from being named one of the least environmentally friendly companies by Greenpeace to one that is constantly fighting for sustainability. That included hiring Lisa Peterson, a former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, as Apple’s chief environmental adviser. They have also ensured that all their facilities are powered by 100% renewable energy sources. In 2014, he was named Person of the Year by the Financial Times. Apart from the business world, he also contributed to the welfare of the society. He remains a strong supporter of LGBT rights around the world.
Sheryl Sandberg is COO at Facebook. In June 2012, she was elected to Facebook’s board of directors, becoming the first woman to serve on the board. Since Zuckerberg snapped it up from Google in 2008, Facebook has made a net loss and profit of $22 billion. However, she is a highly respected woman in the business world. In 2013 she published her first book Lean In. Note the lack of women in leadership. In March 2014, Sandberg sponsored the Ban Bossy campaign, a television and social media campaign aimed at discouraging the frequent use of the word “bossy” due to its harmful effects on girls and women.