Most MBA students network over coffee. I started a debating society, ran pitch nights, and shipped code. Here’s what I learned.
The Default MBA Playbook
At any top business school, the playbook is well-established: attend classes, network at events, join clubs, do a summer internship, recruit for the job you want. It works. Thousands of graduates follow this path every year.
But I wanted to do something different.
Building Communities
I founded the LBS Public Speaking and Debating Society. Within a year, we had over 120 members. We ran weekly sessions, brought in coaches, organized inter-school competitions, and created a space where people could practice the one skill that amplifies every other skill.
As VP of the Entrepreneurship Club, I organized pitch nights, brought founders to campus, and helped connect students who wanted to build with students who wanted to invest.
Shipping Code
While classmates were polishing slide decks for case competitions, I was shipping products. Not because case competitions aren’t valuable — they are. But because I believe the fastest way to learn is to build something real and put it in front of real users.
What I Learned
Building in public at business school taught me three things:
- The best networking is shared creation. Working on a project with someone tells you more about them than a hundred coffee chats.
- Speed beats perfection. The students who shipped fast learned faster than those who planned forever.
- Institutions want innovation. LBS didn’t just tolerate my projects — they actively supported them. When Scriva showed promise, Executive Education wanted to pilot it.
If you’re at business school right now, stop waiting for the “right time” to start building. The right time was yesterday.