Lessons Learned: Entrepreneurship with MBA

We got the chance to Interview, Julia Rakova, SKOLKOVO MBA graduate, Entrepreneur, marketer and blogger, and asked about her experience in building Businesses, advice for young Entrepreneurs and start-ups, importance of forecasting risks, value of persistence in start ups and the value of MBA programs for Entrepreneurs.


1. Could you please describe your key success in entrepreneurship?

My key success in entrepreneurship is development of 2 businesses (professional video equipment sales and rentals) from scratch to market leadership in Ukraine.
 
2. Did you make any mistakes managing your own business?

Of course, I did and who did not? My most painful mistakes were in delegation of responsibility and authority. And these are quite typical mistakes for a young entrepreneur who often thinks that it's easier to do everything by himself or herself rather than delegate.
 
3. How did you correct them?

I learned a lot and was not afraid to experiment. There are key factors that helped me to correct my mistakes. These are experience and time. Sometimes I corrected my errors and it turned out to be not a mistake but a quite wise solution. And often my experience allowed me to choose people to delegate who were not only capable to perform, but also willing to work and enthusiastic to grow as potential leaders and managers.  
 
4. Does the knowledge acquired at the MBA programme help you to minimize the number of mistakes or just to predict them in business? How can studies at the SKOLKOVO MBA programme help them?

Both, I'm sure.  My knowledge acquired at the SKOLKOVO MBA helped me a lot in analyzing and structuring information. When you can select and analyze the correct data in the right way, you are able to forecast properly. That is how you get rid of potential risks. Entrepreneurs use intuition to evaluate risks and it often works. Still, the bigger your business becomes, the more complex the risks would be. To just use intuition is certainly not enough. Besides, MBA teaches you how to think strategically and act consequentially and this, of course, minimizes the number of mistakes you might make.
 
5. What would you advise to those young entrepreneurs who started their business but after struggling for a couple of years decided to quit and take an MBA?

I would recommend them to pay more attention to corporate best practices as well as to learn the secrets of managing start-ups that you will get acquainted during SKOLKOVO MBA program. Try to make a mixture of effective corporate business model and successful start-up process of Business development. This alchemy will allow you to create sustainable and innovative business that will be both long term oriented and proactive to market and industry changes.  By the way, this is what the SKOLKOVO business school offers, extensive knowledge in start-ups and corporate best practices located in both developed and emerging markets. And this knowledge is based on your own experience when you participate in real projects for such companies.  

At the same time I'd like to advise young entrepreneurs not to give up their ideas to develop their own business. You may go to corporate world for sometime after graduation to get more knowledge and experience but probability is really high that you will return. You will again try to set up a business or work in startup because you are wired that way. It's in your DNA; you have too much energy and drive to enjoy stable and planned corporate life.
 
6. How does the SKOLKOVO MBA encourage entrepreneurs?

The SKOLKOVO MBA inspires and encourages you. You meet a lot of successful entrepreneurs and learn from them. You get acquainted to latest innovative ideas and solutions from all over the world. You find out how to start and grow businesses in both developed and emerging markets.  You will learn to network with different people from various countries. And we all know that networking is critical in for being an effective entrepreneur.