Having now completed the ThePowerMBA, I decided to write about my experience so that others considering the course can stumble across this blog and gain insight.
So what is an MBA? đ¤
As youâve found this post, you likely already know what an MBA is, and you can happily skip over this part of the write-up. For the rest of youâŚ
An MBA refers to a Master of Business Administration; these are typically postgraduate programmes specialised in the management and administration of businesses (funnily enough). This means that youâll be learning about Strategy, Innovation, Finance, Leadership, HR and Marketing in broad brush strokes as well as some specialisations of your choosing. It will give you the tools to excel in your current position, know how to start your own business or even change your profession.
Although education as an industry has seen a recent change in direction thanks to the pandemic (not that I want to remind anyone), these programmes are typically rather traditional and costly.
How is ThePowerMBA different?
ThePowerMBA is an online programme provided by ThePower Business School, an institution that focuses on democratising quality education to make education available to all. They achieve this by making their content available online in bite-sized chunks (microlearning) with videos ranging from five to 20 minutes. You can watch a lesson whenever you have the time to - they understand that life can sometimes be hectic, and balancing it with a full or even part-time course can be challenging.
ThePowerMBA has also made an astonishing leap forward regarding case studies and real-world scenarios. They have invited world-renowned business leaders and entrepreneurs to share their honest experiences for you to learn from. This includes learning about the Lean Startup strategy directly from the author Eric Reiss, engines of growth and business model analysis with the legendary Uri Levine, and many others. đ¤Ż
And finally, ThePowerMBA has built the largest business community allowing you to network with other students and alumni from across the globe to discuss business ideas with the concepts, micro-learnings and so on. Ambassadors even organise regular face-to-face meetups in cities near you.
What are the advantages of doing an MBA?
It goes without saying that having an MBA increases your chances of getting hired - but remember, itâs not a âgolden ticketâ đď¸. An MBA provides you with business knowledge that would otherwise take you a long time to obtain if you were to attempt to get it through experience - let alone the difficulties of gathering these leanings across multiple business functions. It also gives you credibility and shows that you have the innate need to learn, the skills for the role and the competence to learn and excel.
Besides how potential employers perceive an MBA, we need to discuss the advantages that undergoing an MBA will have on your knowledge and the tools it will provide you with. However, I can only go by what I have learned from my experience with ThePowerMBA. Although you can find the syllabus for the course of the course here or here, I will cover some of the things that I really valued in the âMy Experienceâ section which you can find below.
How much does an MBA cost? đ¸
To date (31/05/2023), the ThePowerMBA is $999, and the ThePowerMBA Advanced comes in at $1499; these sums can be paid in monthly instalments. Now this might seem like a lot of money for an unaccredited course. Still, you need to remember that it is an unaccredited MBA taught to you by world-renowned business leaders with the convenience of being online micro-learnings.
An accredited MBA at a similar weighting from an accredited institution will cost you far more and wonât likely be as flexible or engaging.
And unlike your traditional programmes, ThePower MBA also provides several free micro-learnings you can watch to get a feel for things before purchasing.
See the link here.
Why I decided to take ThePowerMBA
I went down ThePowerMBA Advanced programme, which combines ThePower business schoolâs ThePowerMBA and Digital Marketing programmes, for a $499 saving. I decided to take this course over the standalone MBA program not only for the savings but because I truly believe that to be an effective C-suite executive or business owner, you must understand sales and marketing. But that is just my take - I am still an advocate for those of you considering the standalone MBA program.
Sadly, I have had experience working in start-ups where nobody (not even the marketing director) truly understood marketing. I saw the business waste thousands of investor-injected pounds on campaigns that werenât appropriately planned or measured. 𤎠Sad story! But hopefully, you understand why I decided to take the advanced programme.
Back to my reasons as to whyâŚ
- đ§ Knowledge and growth - As a fairly young CTO with a highly technical background and little business knowledge, I wanted to understand more about business and start-ups to be a better CTO and provide more value to the company I was working at.
- â° Time and convenience - As a CTO, I had very little time. In the world of start-up CTOs, itâs pretty common to receive calls during evenings and weekends, even being asked how fast you can get to your laptop while enjoying a day at the beach a hundred miles from your home. So, I needed a course that was as flexible to my lifestyle.
- â Second opinion - As with every decision (I am probably more prone to this than most - and my wife can attest), we can be apprehensive, frozen by the decision, or think, âOh, I can just do it laterâ. So, I used LinkedIn to find and reach out to students and alumni of the programme. These individuals gave me some great advice and insights.
In the end, ThePowerMBA ticked all my boxes, and boy am I glad I made the decision to take it.
My Experience
From start to finish, I revelled in the entire experience. I was excited to kick my days off with some learnings from the programme, eager to meet, learn and hear these extraordinary stories from world-class professionals in their fields from products that many of us use daily. This gave the programme much more authority and credibility despite being unaccredited.
I found the content and its format really engaging and flexible, but thatâs not to say it was all sunshine and rainbows and that I flew through the program with a subtle breeze behind my back. There were some modules, subjects and concepts that I struggled to grasp at first. Still, thanks to the programme being online and pre-recorded, I could go back over them, ask questions in the community forums, and read the provided resource packs to drill those concepts home.
And as promised, here are some of the key learnings that I highly valued from the course:
- Learning how to perform a business model analysis and identify its value proposition and engines of growth.
- How to test business ideas and identify when you have found product market fit.
- Understanding the Blue Ocean and Blitzscaling strategies.
- The importance of self-leading.
- The what and the how of Fundraising.
- How to design and optimise marketing funnels.
- How to perform cohort analysis.
- The basic concept of business accounting and optimisation.
Is ThePowerMBA right for you?
I didnât want to do this because 99% of the reviews I read online say this, but⌠âIt dependsâ. It depends on your circumstances and your needs.
If you want an extensive accredited MBA, then ThePowerMBA probably isnât what you are looking for. Still, it might give you that taste you need, the stepping stone before you jump to something that requires a much more significant commitment.
However, if you are a working professional like me, a youthful C-Suite member, or youâre simply thinking about starting your own business, you will likely find this programme helpful.
If you are thinking about starting your own business and kicking off the next unicorn start-up, donât hesitate. This programme will help you avoid more than one or two common mistakes and give you the tools to manage the other problems you might encounter along your journey. And donât forget about the fantastic community you will always have access to as a student or alumni with whom you can network.
Now what? đą
If you are still unsure or things are unclear, I refer you back to the reasons for my final decision - reach out and ask someone! Reach out to a student or alumni of the programme on LinkedIn, and feel free to contact me if you have any more questions. I hope my write-up was helpful to you, and good luck, no matter your decision!
And donât forget to check out those free classes!