Failed at your startup venture? MBA colleges like Wharton and Harvard are happy to have you!

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Reality bites! If you have burnt your fingers at a startup venture, probably it is time to go back to the drawing board. You may not realize it, but the lessons you learn through a failed venture are probably better than any management lessons.

Many aspiring MBA candidates want to know whether an experience of starting one’s own venture amounts to valuable work experience. Does the failure of setting up a business look bad on their CV?

With the spurt of startups in the Indian ecosystem, there are many entrepreneurs who have tasted failure even before they could fully embark into the cut-throat competitive market. Entrepreneurs, especially young graduates who have had little or no managerial experience are the first to fall. Some business aspirants who come from the traditional family mold, looking to break the patriarchal model of business face unique challenges while transforming an old business model to meet the needs of the new age businesses.

The good news here is that candidates who have failed (or succeeded) in their entrepreneurial venture and are training their sights abroad to study at a top business school have a good chance of making the cut to top B-schools abroad. Think Harvard, Wharton, Stanford and MIT.

Most of the top schools around the world would rather admit a failed entrepreneur who was willing to stand at the edge of the cliff than take in a recent graduate or a young corporate employee with some work experience.

Why Startup Founders Are So Attractive to Top B-Schools Abroad?

Remember the adage, failure is the stepping stone to success? Well, AdComs of top schools subscribe to this saying. They don’t write off a person based on his unsuccessful attempts. Rather, they’d like to evaluate how deep and insightful your lessons have been. Here are top 10 reasons why startup founders are so liked by MBA schools abroad:

1. You have the Appetite for Risk Taking.

2. You Hunger for Success.

3. You are Self-Initiated.

4. You Demonstrate Leadership Skills

5. You Able to See the Wood from the Trees.

6. You Have the Ability to Be Flexible.

7. You Have Valuable Insights to Share.

8. You Will Be Able to Draw Parallels From the Lessons Learned in School.

9. Your Class Can Gain Tremendously From Your Experience.

10. Once an Entrepreneur, Always an Entrepreneur.