Fictional character Tony Stark (Iron Man) is a graduate of the MIT class of '87. He is also an entrepreneur of sorts, having taken over running Stark Enterprises, the company founded by his father. Of course, the problem often cited with MIT is that it doesn't teach you about girls social skills.
There is no denying the fact that MIT's entrepreneurial strengths are legendary. In some quarters, MIT's 100K Business Plan competition is known as the 'mother of all business plan competitions'. The competition has spawned companies like Akamai, with over $600 million in annual revenue. The admissions team at the Sloan school state that the business school inherits the entrepreneurial spirit from its parent institution. A post by a Sloan Phd student notes that "many aspiring entrepreneurs have said they selected MIT Sloan because of its special commitment to Entrepreneurship and Innovation through the E&I Program". I got a taste of MIT's entrepreneurial resources at a MIT Entreprise Forum event last week.
Of the 70 or so people at the event, there were only 10 MIT grads. Everyone else was either from a VC or a start-up. Talking to these 70-or-so people, the event opened my eyes to the mini entreprenurial dot com community in my city. Of the 10 MIT grads, there was perhaps one Sloan grad - but he was from the class of 1989! I've been in touch with him during the week; he wants a job at my company. I'm trying to help him as much as I can. Even though he can't help my application, I may end up in the same alumni network as him - better to get into the habit of helping now rather than later! However, to my surprise, my goodwill is already paying dividends: he has invited me to an MIT alumni event on Friday. I think I may well go. I guess this is what networking is all about - people rubbing each others' backs.
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