The Business School Plan, Version 1  

Now that I am admitted to Kellogg, I'm focusing on how I can realize my ambitions. I'm spending a lot of time thinking about this. I have summarized where I am with this thinking....

By August 2009, just before matriculation, I want to have:

• Drafted business plans for a couple of ideas that could be commercialized.
• Got some kind of agreement with my current employer to fund some part of at least one of the plans, perhaps the development of a prototype. This is ambitious, but worth trying for.
  

By graduation at business school (2011), I want to have:

• Established a much improved and refined business plan.
• Built an initial team to realize and operate the venture.
  
• Won funding from angel investors or venture capitalists.
• Won a first customer (a company) for taking the product/service.
• Put in place the suppliers necessary for the venture to work.

In essence, my plan is to go into business school with some fleshed out ideas and to leave it with a business ready for launch. I think this is realistic and achievable.

I am acutely aware of the pressures at business school: keeping up with studies, activities such as business plan competitions, networking and other opportunities. While two years to launch a business might seem like a long time, getting a business operational during the MBA would be a huge strain. Instead, the MBA can be an opportunity to gather the resources and experiment in readiness. Perhaps I will be able to tempt the computing department / engineering school to issue a project / dissertation opportunity for an undergrad to prototype my ideas? The PE/VC conferences over the two years will allow me to develop relationships with potential investors. The alumni network must surely have decision makers at companies that could be customers.

I expect I will not be able to get too actively involved in some parts of business school life, such as running student clubs. I might disappoint Kellogg in this respect :-/. I did too much of the clubs thing at undergraduate level; for the MBA to be a valuable experience for me, I really need to do things that will reach out beyond the school. Perhaps this will be of value to some at Kellogg.