5 entrepreneurial lessons about building a business during an MBA

Pursuing an MBA while launching a startup can be a challenging yet rewarding path. Hear how Kellogg empowered one alumna to turn her startup vision into reality.
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“I didn’t just learn about entrepreneurship at Kellogg, I lived and breathed it,” says Sloane.

By Sloane Middleton Mann ’25 MBA

As I started my Kellogg journey in 2023, I often repeated to myself and others: “One of the riskiest things you can do is start your own business. The least risky way to do it is to build while you’re at business school.”

I had spent my career working directly with small business owners and saw firsthand the tolls entrepreneurship can take. I always knew I’d build a company of my own, so I applied to Kellogg in search of a heavy pour of concrete to fill the gaps in my skill set that I knew I needed to become a successful founder.

I’ve just graduated from the school’s Two-Year MBA Program, and I’m proud to be taking on my revenue-generating company, built from scratch during these two years, as my full-time employment: Business of Vintage, a marketing agency focused on helping vintage shop owners grow online. Along the way, I learned to put entrepreneurial frameworks into action, test ideas in real time and pivot quickly based on feedback. 

Here are five major lessons that shaped my journey:

1. Start with a hyper-niche problem — and solve it well

In the  entrepreneurial classes at Kellogg, we were often told to “fall in love with the problem, not the solution.” For me, that problem was crystal clear via my existing career in marketplace eCommerce: vintage retail lacks the playbook of marketing best practices that traditional retail shines with. Due to the one-of-a-kind nature of their inventory, these small business owners face many obstacles in a retail environment that is not optimized for them. 

I realized I could solve this pain point for the vintage industry through sharing specialized marketing knowledge online, while offering a done-for-you digital service model that generates revenue. The narrower the niche, the clearer the solution. That clarity gave my business a sharp competitive edge from its start, immediately capturing the attention of the audience it was meant for.

2. Use school as your testing ground

Kellogg provided more than just education. It gave me a live environment to experiment. I treated every group project, marketing assignment and office hour as an opportunity to test Business of Vintage. I presented pitch decks in executive presentations, built my social media strategy for my Digital & Social Media Marketing final and pressure-tested my business model with classmates, professors and Kellogg connections. 

I was also co-president of the Kellogg Founder Club, which fostered a community of builders who continue to keep  me motivated and inspired — even after graduation. Instead of waiting for “real life” post-graduation opportunities to dive into my work full-time, I built my business alongside my education and community.

3. At first, done is better than perfect

One of my biggest takeaways was the power of moving fast and fixing later. In the early days, my most meaningful decision-making came out of quick tests. I learned simple yet effective ways to test messaging and offerings: putting a small investment behind paid advertising and mock landing pages to understand customer interest and willingness to pay. My first handful of discovery interviews and the makeshift solutions I built to address their early needs came from this method. I’ve been lucky enough to convert a few into real clients as well.

4. When scaling, systems are king

While quick tests and makeshift solutions were key to defining my business model, I learned to lock-in systems and processes once I knew what my customers wanted. As I gained clients, I learned that testing only takes you so far — systems are what sustain you. With the guidance of professors and internships from fellow classmates, I began documenting workflows, using templates and outsourcing tasks I didn’t need to own. I saw my business truly soar, thanks to these Kellogg connections. 

5. Your story is a strategic asset

Kellogg emphasizes the importance of storytelling for business leaders. Now that I’ve been sharing my work on Instagram via @business.of.vintage, I’ve learned firsthand how much a clear and concise story helps your customers connect with your business. Many Kellogg courses hold game-changing storytelling workshops. I use those insights to develop a brand voice for both Business of Vintage and my clients that feel personal, approachable and strategic. Vintage shop owners don’t just hire me because I offer marketing services, they hire me because I understand how to tell their story in a way that builds a loyal following of paying customers.

A woman interviewing a man while another woman records them in a colorfully decorated room.
From classroom to creation: Sloane turned her MBA journey into a launchpad for entrepreneurship.

Building a business while earning an MBA isn’t for the faint of heart. The constant highs and lows of entrepreneurship are hard enough to balance in the real world. While in business school, they are combined with dynamic academics and an engaging social community. But if you’re driven by a mission and supported by the right community, it’s the best kind of education I could imagine for an entrepreneur. I didn’t just learn about entrepreneurship at Kellogg, I lived and breathed it.

Building from the ground up

 

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