Why I'm Turning Down Stanford Business School

And why I think you probably should too.

In May 2021, I was accepted into Stanford’s Graduate School of Business for their deferred enrollment program.

After pushing back enrollment for four years, 2025 was my final year to make a decision.

Here are some of my raw thoughts, and I hope this can be helpful to other people in tech considering getting their MBA.

I’ll never forget getting the acceptance call to Stanford. I was overjoyed, especially as I had taken a renewed interest in tech / entrepreneurship and wanted to do another startup. I couldn’t think of a better place to be for my MBA.

Since 2021, the world has drastically changed.

Elite institutions used to be the gatekeepers of opportunity. If you wanted to be in tech, going to Stanford would give you an unfair advantage in fundraising, building a network, finding a cofounder, and learning how to do a startup.

Then November 2022 happened. ChatGPT launched, and everything shifted.

AI has shattered the barriers to education and creation. Today, you can get a free, Harvard-level education from your living room. A 16-year-old can build a fully functional app faster than I could during my four years in undergrad studying Computer Science.

So how does Stanford still justify $270K for its MBA?

The network & name brand.
This is the biggest draw of the program imo. I’d go as far to say that if you’re not going to a top 5 business school, you’re wasting your time & money. The Stanford network is especially valuable for those without Ivy League or Silicon Valley backgrounds. I've personally experienced how these credentials open doors; however, this is a declining trend.

In the age of AI, the best candidates are skipping out on MBAs.

The most talented founders and operators today are jumping straight into high-performance roles, diluting the actual network and prestige you get from an MBA. If I’m sourcing two candidates for a role, I’ll likely have a stronger preference for the one who has more direct operating experience over one that learned it in the classroom.

There has literally never been a better time to do or join a startup, and the window to build a generational company is extremely narrow. Why spend two years in a classroom when I’m devoting 110% of my time building Avelis Health?

And if you want to get into VC, the best path forward is still building and scaling something great. Founders are not taking advice from some young MBA grad who’s never built anything before because they spent 2 years learning “growth” in a classroom. We have ChatGPT for that.

MBA programs in 2025 are useful for a very narrow set of reasons:

• You've been working for years and genuinely want a break to travel and explore

• You want to completely switch career paths and don't know where to start

• You're already wealthy and $270K doesn't create a liability for you
  

For everyone else, the opportunity cost is too high. Most of my MBA friends are still job hunting with limited flexibility because they need to pay back $270K+ of debt.

Here’s an MBA alternative stack that actually makes sense for the modern day techie:

• Learning:

  • Perplexity + Youlearn. Generate research reports on any topic, then create a personalized AI tutor for interactive learning

  • Substack: Direct access to insights from top builders and investors. My favorites: Digital Native, The Rundown AI, Elad Blog, The Generalist, Lenny's Newsletter

• Building a network:

  • Apply to tech accelerators: Y Combinator, a16z Speedrun, HF0, Neo, South Park Commons, Z Fellows, Pear VC, Techstars, Antler. They give you money AND connect you with 20-200 brilliant founders for life.

  • Use LinkedIn for cold DMs. Don’t be afraid to message people you think are cool.

  • If you’re in undergrad, hop on Series. The first AI social network. I would’ve been a power user if this was at Harvard in 2017.

• Fundraising:

  • Build something that people want and investors will give you money. There’s no stronger hack than having up & to the right metrics. Investors are definitely very biased, but I don’t know a single one who won’t invest in a startup that’s making money. Look at Cluely for example.

  • You do NOT need funding or permission to launch your idea. The cost of building software is racing towards zero, and you don’t need to know how to code. There’s literally zero excuses outside of being lazy.

• Launching a company:

  • Prototyping: Lovable, Replit, Cursor, Vercel—if you can type, you can build an app in a weekend

  • AI Agents: n8n, Make.com, Zapier. Watch a few YouTube videos on how to build AI agents with these software tools and it will transform your life. You can even download templates already built for you. Do things like make a personal assistant, auto-reply to emails, manage your finances.

  • Distribution: TikTok, X, IG, LinkedIn, and YouTube are the strongest distribution engines ever created. You can get 1M signups before you even build a product.

• Job Recruiting:

  • Leland: Hire a coach with your dream job for personalized interview prep. Much cheaper than $270K and you get the same outcome (the job)

  • Simplify: AI agents that find and apply for jobs for you automatically
    

If you're qualified for a top business school, you're probably qualified to build something incredible instead. For me, the question wasn't whether I should go to Stanford MBA, it was whether I was brave enough to bet on myself without it.

Happy to hear from anybody who has differing thoughts, these are 100% my opinions.