Running a company before med school...

[SaintJude]

I recognize the foolishness of running a company while in med school. But I'm considering, doing it anyway.

There are so many business competitions in which I see med school students participating & starting a company. How's balancing the workload? I would love to hear from ppl who've actually done or are currently in the thick of it. I'm considering being part of the management team, but not the CEO obvi.

Thanks!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[1stmeds]

I think it would depend on the school, clearly, but also your position in the company. you're right that you shouldn't be CEO but maybe chairperson, in which you would still need to rep the company but not take such a heavy acting/managing role in it, necessarily. yet the prudent action would be to wait until you start med school to see how the work load would be and then make the appropriate decision, again because of the school's work expectations of you and your own abilities will be a couple of the primary factors. I say all this from being in a top leadership position of an NGO

 

[Planes2Doc]

I recognize the foolishness of running a company while in med school. But I'm considering, doing it anyway.

There are so many business competitions in which I see med school students participating & starting a company. How's balancing the workload? I would love to hear from ppl who've actually done or are currently in the thick of it. I'm considering being part of the management team, but not the CEO obvi.

Thanks!!

I took an entrepreneurship class and was in an entrepreneurship club in undergrad. The people who were serious about it opened companies because that was one of the only things they were focused on. One guy I know actually founded multiple companies and is doing verybwell in Silicon Valley.

Unless you are extremely committed to a business, you might run into trouble. A majority of businesses fail (over 90% or something like that) in their first year. If this isn't where you have your heart set in this, then you are bound to fail. That will end up being a big waste of time, money, and will probably not look good for medical school admissions.

Asj yourself, why do you want to start a company in the first place? Do you want to be a businessman because you are passionate about business, do you want to have a killer EC for medical schools, or both? If you want to pursue business, you can look into a joint MD/MBA program or get an MBA later. This is probably not the time to make the ridiculous sacrifices that entrepreneurs make. I doubt you will have time to do much as a medical student either.

If your goal is to have an awesome EC, then a better route might be starting a non-profit. Those seem to be in-style right now for medical school admissions. They also kill two birds with one being a "unique" EC, and the second showing altruism. They also can technically end up being way less work depending on your intentions.

 

[silleme]

Like they said above me....depends on the company and your role. I own one, am a minority partner in another, and am starting up a third before medical school. All three are VERY different and will be in different states. Only one requires somewhat of an active time commitment from me, and will look to be my biggest income generator through med school. None are even remotely related to med school, but all fit different things I'm interested in.

If you can find a management company to help lessen the load on your time while in medical school or someone you trust to take over the reins while your time is not yours....then by all means, go for it.

***One caveat I have to mention is this must involve money you'll never stress about. It's bad enough you're taking on loans for medical school. You shouldn't stress about money you're using to start a business right before taking out all these loans too.