Natural born entrepreneurs

Some time ago I read the 'Story of my First Business' by Joel Spolsky and it touched my heartstrings.

Young Joel worked at the university library; he loved donuts, but there were no shops around that sold them. So he asked a friend to buy some on his way to work and began to sell them to other people… whole story here

Every person who ever played a strategy game (Civilization, Settlers, Warcraft, etc) knows this feeling when you focus a lot and play hard and at one moment you raise your head, look around and ask – hey, am I a WINNER?

In real life this feeling is even stronger, because the 'war' never ends and that's this state of constant pleasure of winning little battles is what makes you high. That's why, I think, people start their own companies.

When I read Joel's story I began to think about my first business. As a child I've always had ideas like making hot pies or sewing shirts and selling them. However, when I shared my ideas with parents they told me it's not gonna work. I trusted them and gave up (maybe they were wrong, who knows?).

So my nearly real first business became my web project. It doesn't bring me money, so that's why it is 'nearly real'. When I started it consumed much of my time (and again my parents wanted to persuade me leave it: 'It costs you so much effort and nobody will ever pay attention', 'Phone your friends and go to the movies, don't live this weblife, will you?'), but it became popular so quickly that they stopped.

As you look at the revenues from your business, you'll say, "gosh, it's only 3:00, and we've already had nine customers! This is going to be the best day ever!" And the next year nine customers will seem like a joke, and a couple of years later you'll realize that that intranet report listing all the sales from the last week is unmanageably large.

One day, you'll turn off the feature that emails you every time someone buys your software. That's a huge milestone.

I know.

Do you still check how many people come to your blog and where are they from? I do :)

But I haven't checked this for my project for the last three or four years.

Anyway.

If you think of becoming an entrepreneur once, then you've probably had your first business already. Want to share the story?

UPD: check this article, it's fun: Top 10 Signs You're Made to be an Entrepreneur

Re: 'Microsoft is not a monopoly'

At LBS I attended a lecture about monopolies and the case was ‘Microsoft vs U.S.Government’. Lately reading Joel on Software I came across and interesting excerpt which may help those who will present Microsoft case in future (if LBS will still use the case next year).
Briefly 'Microsoft' had to prove that they were good, that they were not a monopoly and the fact that they included Internet Explorer in their Windows System didn't mean anything.
Joel think it doesn't mean. If IE is good - it will be used. If not - nope.
Quote:
…even though Windows out of the box can play MP3 files, everyone I know uses WinAmp, not the Windows Media Player, to listen to them. Even though MSN is on the desktop, everybody uses AOL. Back when the browser integrated with Windows was crap, Netscape had 80% market share. So please stop fretting about the power of bundling.
The full article won’t help to crack the case, but the site itself is really interesting (at least for an IT person who I am).

Offtop: Google gives some money for women-students in Computer Science and related

Sorry for posting this offtop on MBA blog, but maybe this post will help any of the readers.

Summary:
* Scholarship up to $2500 to visit Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference in San Diego, California from Oct 4 -7, 2006
* Eligible women students specializing in Computer Science, Computer Engineering and the like - studying outside of US
* Deadline: Thursday, June 1, 2006
All other details and online application are here.

Things that we shall learn at school, not business school

Today I was able to attend an event, organized by Chicago GSB Alumni Club and Ernst&Young. It was a lecture by professor Marvin Zonis. He was supposed to talk about transformation of companies in an uncertain world, and he indeed gave us some interesting statistics, but the main point of his speech, which I took home, was the following one. He was asked what his mission was and he said:
‘While I was at high school, I worked at a clothing factory. The work was so hard that I promised myself I would never work again – and I became an academic… *audience laughs*… Yes, I’m joking. In fact, I’m in education, because education can reduce the level of pain people suffer before they change their behavior. Let me explain what change I mean… No one who has lung cancer smokes. Why did they make themselves suffer so much to stop smoking? Why didn’t they stop while being healthy?’
I come to such events for those little things of wisdom. They are obvious when they are pronounced, but it takes a genius to formulate them on your own. So, education is the tool that people can use to learn from other’s experience and mistakes, but not to suffer themselves. On the other note, I believe, that this is the ultimate answer to the Divine Miss N question: why does Entrepreneurship club brings people who are not MBAs - aren’t MBAs make successful entrepreneurs? First, the club does bring just a very small amount of all entrepreneurs – namely – the successful ones (and how many of ‘not MBAs’ are unsuccessful? A lot more than unsuccessful ‘MBAs’, I think). Second, maybe when you know all the statistics, all the constraints and problems – you’re not that eager to try it yourself?
I wish you didn’t have to pay huge sums of money to learn ‘why you need to learn’. I wish more people would hear about it while at school, not business school.
It’s hard to stop doing what you do, even if you know that it may have bad results. That is why it so hard to change companies, even successful ones (especially successful ones!). That is why from the 500 biggest companies in 1947, only 74 of them remained in 1997. That’s why it took Lou Gerstner to take IBM out of crisis. That’s why Jack Welch travels around the world and reads lots of lectures.

Other interesting facts:
* Largest world consumer of gasoline per person… you’ll never guess… It’s Luxembourg!.. The gas is cheaper there than in Germany and France, so many Germans and French go there, buy gas and drive away. So, in fact, the largest consumer is, of course, USA – the first guess you probably had :)
* We will soon reach an oil peak (optimistic estimates – in year 2025), at which half of the oil in the world would be already produced and consumed. So from that point on the prices will go up and the world supplies will go down. Hmmm, maybe a car is not such a nice purchase after all? (No, that’s not the thing that can make me hesitate if I want to buy a car!)
* Bad fact for Russia: easy money (from oil, of course) haven’t helped any country in the world to build a market economy. Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, u-name-it – didn’t have and don’t have a market economy.

Women in business schools

Tidying up my bookcase yesterday I came across a year old copy of 'Insead Quarterly' I have collected somewhere. I didn't have time to read it during the application process, so I decided eliminate this defect.

There was an article 'How business schools can bring more women into business', a part of which I want to share with all the readers of this blog:

Get 'em when they're young

One of the most obvious challenges that women face at top business schools is the age at which you are supposed to attend them. Since most schools want students to acquire a few years of business experience first, the average student age is around 28. It would be hard to imagine a more difficult time for women. By the time they graduate, they will be around 30, and will be looking for a job at the same period they're thinking of - or actually starting - a family.

It would be better to accept younger women into business school, and not just a year or so younger. Women should be encouraged to apply as early as possible. Two of the authors of this article entered business school at 21 or 22 and managed to launch their careers a decade before they launched their families, giving them time to learn and travel and work, concentrating on the professional dimension, before learning to juggle and balance between family and work. (It's easier when you've gotten better at your job.)

I agree with every word written here. I just wonder - does INSEAD walk the way they are talking?

UPD: I've been linked by Stacy Blackman Consulting. They have posted a very interesting interview 'Stanford's view on the age of applicant', check this out.

Women in Business Forum - first time in Moscow

Women in Business forum will be held first time in Moscow this year - on the 26th of April.
The forum will roll from 14-00 until 17-00 on Wednesday - and the organizers believe that a lot of business women can show up. Admission is by invitation, you have to submit CV to get be considered. I have the invitation, but I'm not sure I can come since I'm busy working the day it is organised.
At the moment the program is as follows:

• Two workshops: "Women Entrepreneurs, Myth vs Reality", "The Importance of Relationship Building"
• Panel Debate: "Having It All, Is It Really Possible?"
• Company presentations by GE, Shell, L'Oreal, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It will be a pity if I cannot come, because the event seems to be interesting. Anyway, there will be another Forum - in London on the 22 of September and... who knows?

YES - from Oxford

Finally got an e-mail from Oxford, saying that I've been offered a place and they sent the letter to me by mail about a month ago. Nice :) Great. Fantastic! Wo-hoo! I have a chance to become a great Computer Science specialist :)
So I'll have to wait for the letter to come and then, I hope, I will know all the details.
I understand why they want to write the decision on paper, but why not inform people by e-mail before the letter comes? It would be great to have a letter on the 1st of May, saying, 'If you do not contact us until the end of April...'

Nothing from Oxford yet, research for B-schools and thank you note

I am still waiting to hear from Oxford. In their catalogue the decision was due on the 17th of March, in e-mail I got before the interview they hoped to inform prospective students by the end of March. Here we are in the midst of April and no answer yet. I've searched for some kind of forum (like Business Week forums) to find other applicants, but with no success. I've sent adcoms 2 e-mails already, which remained unanswered. I know I have to dare a phone call :)

Meanwhile I decided to take seriously the advice to look at US schools and started my research. Two initials on my list are Harvard and Stanford. I promised to a friend that I will apply to Harvard (nice answer to 'Why HBS' question, right?), and Stanford looks good for further career in IT.
And of course, I will reapply to LBS. On the happy note, this year LBS bloggers community seems to have expanded beyond limit :) 5 people and the term has not even started. Fantastic!
It feels a bit strange to find the links to my blog from new LBS bloggers, hear 'Yes, I've read the blog of a girl who tried, but failed to enter LBS' at the LBS2008 meeting and still see the link to my notes on the current students' diaries. Thanks a lot! This means so much to me... this means that those things I wrote turned out to be useful and interesting to many people, and it is a highest praise any blogger might dream of. And thanks for support, everyone, my journey continues :)

Me in London

That's Hyde park on the sunny Sunday

My new job includes trips to UK, and right now I'm sitting at a client's office (and since it is the open space and I don't want at least six people around me to know what I'm doing - I'm not blogging for a long time). So now the only one who didn't blog about Rusgirl beeing in London - is me. I decided that this is unfair :)
*so... blogging*

I was lucky to be in London on the same day some LBS admits decided to organize a meeting - and I was invited by Angel Angie (and she IS an angel :)). What can I say? I enjoyed the event immensely! Everyone I've met from LBS so far are very interesting people (adcoms, well done! ;))
Next morning I met DivineMissN and KV for a brunch (if anyone from KV web-fans reading this - know, in real life he is even more cute than in his blog :))
Some information from the kitchen:
* Read The McKinsey way to have a good understanding of what consulting is about (not that I wanted to jump in their shoes, just of pure interest)
* People who get an MBA but do not have enough working experience (or Bachelor degree) can face difficulties in finding a job (and all that MBA thing is about finding a good job after all). Most well-known firms from Industry ask for 5 years of postgraduate experience. They just won't look at your CV no matter how good you are and how killing you CV is! Of course, you have chances with not so well-known companies, this means networking, networking and networking. Be prepared :)

As for my Oxford note, I've had an e-mail interview with them, where they asked me to solve a few problems. Sent it back promptly and they promised to get to me at the end of March.
(at the meeting I met a girl who's finishing her Masters and has been admitted to start MBA next year, so that's an option for me too. But if I happen to be in Oxford, I'll definitely work for a few years after graduation. Now I believe that I need that.)

By the way, I have a dream to skate in Hyde park. Maybe someone knows where I can hire a couple of rollerblades? (I don't want to bring any from Russia, you know :))

My tur... no - tag! now :)

Thanks for Angie and RSR and Moe for this tag! Wow, what a tag :))

I'm still waiting for my Oxford interview and preparing for a businesss trip, why not write something?
I wanted to write a post about reapplication to LBS, but found out that I don't have anything to write about: if you reapply the following year, you have to submit again one application and the whole set of essays, but the School doesn't ask you for transcripts and recommendations. In two years time you're a brand new guy (gal) and you have to submit every single thing again. Short post that would be, isn't it? :)
But I digress! I wanted to write all those 4-letter-wor... or no, 4-things-whatever. Let's start.

Four jobs I've had in my life:

• Ballet dancer
• Secretary
• Programmer
• Sales manager

Four movies I can watch over and over:

• Love actually
• Insterstate-60
• Die Hard (1,2,3) - will that go as one movie? ;)
• Run, Lola, run

I'd better stop right now and not mention "Italian Job", "Some Like it Hot", "Dogma", "Ocean's eleven", "Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels", "Crocodile Dundee", "Ice Age", "Matrix", "True Lies", "Hitch", otherwise you'll consider me a film fan which I am not.

Four places I have lived:

• Arhangelsk, RU
• Kaliningrad, RU
• SaintPetersburg, RU
• Moscow, RU

And these are not my home towns! ;)

Four TV shows I love to watch:

• Friends

well... I don't have a TV thus I don't watch shows. Cartoons from childhood count? Then...

• Disney series on Fridays
• Macron-I
• Star Sheriffs :)

Four places I have been on vacation:

• UK
• Czechia
• Lithuania
• Turkey

Four of my favourite dishes:

• Pasta
• Pizza
• Potatoes (fried, baked, boiled, any kind of)
• Roasted meat

Four websites I visit daily:

• My project (that's 1 website and 2 forums)
• My mail
• Forum "Rupoint in UK"
• EAtlas map

Four places I would rather be right now:

• London, UK
• Rome, Italy
• Dublin, Ireland
• somewhere on the south coast... I should have put this first if it was not for London!

Four bloggers I am tagging:

• Al - he's been tagged, but not responded ;), so one more label!
• Karibu with his new job
• Guillaume in L.A.
• Mave who has disappered in the R2 rush. Come back!

Timing your application

As for going to admission consultants, there are three situations when you should think of them:
1. You cannot spend time researching schools and their requirements. You need information right now.
2. You apply to 3+ schools in one round.
3. You need a good advice about your essays.

1. Essays
Start: ASAP
Finish: three weeks before deadline
Think about essays as soon as you decide to do an MBA. Read books, watch news, work – always thinking about your essays. Write down ideas.
Extreme schedule: finish your essays three days before deadline, give yourself a break and then one day before the deadline reread and correct them (not recommended).
Normal schedule: finish the drafts as least three weeks before the deadline and give them to someone to reread. Better it be two persons: a former (or current) MBA and a person, who knows your current affairs very well (a close friend, a beloved one, a parent). The first one can say in what way you should rewrite the essays to sell better, the second – what you have forgotten to mention about yourself.

2. GMAT
Start: ASAP
Finish: 2 months before deadline
Schedule as early as you can. Otherwise you may be prepared but there will be no seats.
Extreme schedule: Pass at least a month before deadline. Prepare for at least for two weeks. You should obtain GMAT literature beforehand. You’ll have to take a two-three week holiday at work and make yourself a crash-course on GMAT. You’ll have to be successful the very first time (not recommended).
Normal schedule: Pass at least two months before deadline, so that you will have time to redo it. Prepare for at least for two months.

3. Language test
Start: ASAP
Finish: 2 months before deadline
If you pass computer-based TOEFL, do it immediately after GMAT.
If you pass a paper test like IELTS, you’ll have to schedule it a month beforehand and wait for results 1,5 months after it.
Important note: make a copy of all your score reports and send them to schools with transcripts. Your official results arrive separately, but you don’t want to worry whether they arrive late and you’ll know about it one day before the decision due.

4. Transcript
Start: three months before deadline
Finish: 2 weeks before deadline
Ask for it as soon as possible. Your university may not make transcripts (Russian universities don’t, for example), so you’ll have to take care of it yourself.

5. Letters of recommendation
Start: two months before deadline
Finish: three days before deadline
Ask your future recommenders at least two months before the deadline. Find out whether they’ll have any business or holiday trips at that time.
You should provide a draft for them at least a month before the deadline.
If you write the whole recommendation yourself, give them at least a week before the deadline to read and correct it.
If they have to print recommendations, sign and give back to you, make sure, you know how to mend the broken printers. Don’t forget to buy envelopes.
If you have online recommendations, offer your recommenders help in submitting it. They may not be accustomed to the interface.
Thank them afterwards.

6. CV
Finish: a week before deadline
I must be ready at least a week before the deadline. This is one of the easiest things to do. You can even start with it: put a tick in your list and feel that part of the task is accomplished. If you’re not sure it is good: send it for some good vacancy – if they reply, you know it is good.

7. Application
Start: two weeks before deadline
Finish: a day before deadline
You’ll need at least a week to make an application. Many schools (including LBS) ask for additional mini-essays in the application form – this may come as an unpleasant surprise. And you’d better spend a day on familiarizing with the interface of the application. And better submit it a day or two before the deadline.

8. Send written application
Finish: two days before deadline
If you send on a holiday (or weekend) DHL will charge you 10 dollars more. So better send on weekday. I’ve heard that in US there is such thing as ‘University express’, e.g. you send documents to universities they take a half of their normal charge. Alas, no such thing in Russia.

Once, when my mother’s friend was waiting for a baby – tired of 8 months of nausea, immobility and all other things that accompany this happy process – she said: ‘Oh, how good it will soon be all over!’. And my mother, who already had me by that time, replied: ‘No, dear, IT is just the beginning’.
The application process is also just the beginning :)
Good luck!

Quick note about myself

I've sent the application to Oxford. It was a ton easier to get everything together, since I was so much more experienced with the whole application process, but still really difficult. I don't know how you guys manage to write 30 essays while applying to 4+ schools ;)
However, there happened two things that made me less sure that I will actually go there even if I'm accepted.
First, Angies's story (see the link to her blog in my previous post) made me think that I do have chances if I reapply next year to LBS. To my opinion selling yourself to a B-School is the same as selling yourself to an employer. Just a bit harder. That leads me to my second reason: my new job. I'm not sure that I'll be allowed to leave so soon and that I'll want to leave :) I've found my dream job :) I know that I'm exaggerating, but 1) it will give me an international experience and working in a international team 2) I'll learn a new technology and discover a completely new (to myself) industry. Have I mentioned that my former CEO agreed to give a future reference for MBA while I was leaving?

Links: Clearadmit wiki and new LBS Blogger

Clearadmit decided to make a Wiki and let all applicants participate in it and share their experiences. I think it's a fabulous idea, because most of such communitites need external stimuli - they usually die when applicants become students, stop marketing the community and no new blood comes in.
And another link I wanted to post today: Angie, next year LBS student, admitted in R1! Welcome to the blogging world! :)

My next steps

I got a good feedback from LBS (the lady which I met at the information session in Moscow was most helpful and provided me that feedback).

Admissions Committee felt that you clearly expressed your intelligence and ambition, but
(1) they were concerned about the lack of full-time post-graduate work experience that you've had
(2) they were also unsure how your work experience to date fits in with your short and long term career aims

What can I say?
I knew that (1) will be the weak point of my application. In UK you can get a bachelor in three years, but in Russia you have to study at least 5 years to get a degree (in my case – 6). And doctors study even longer. But any education, even from a top university is not considered enough to get a job afterwards. In many respects it happens because our universities do not provide specialist that business wants. So many students begin working while studying. This is not easy, because professors want to see you full-time at their lectures, or you will receive bad marks at the end of term. And employers know that you will need a study leave every January and June to pass your exams. Nevertheless, most Russian employers consider it as a good full-time working experience (most of 30-year-olds did the same, so they know). Business-schools consider it as part-time, as I know now.
I knew that (2) is the most difficult point to state if you want to change careers. And I was astonished to find so many clueless about their future work (I mean, among the blogging students). And I put a lot of effort in my application to show how I will prepare ground for myself (and have already prepared). But in this LBS Chat (5 December 2005) I found that if you want to switch, don’t change industry and position at the same time. For instance, if you worked in IT and want to go to marketing, find a marketing position in IT company. And that was what I did wrong: I didn't draw a linw between my current position and future one.

So what will I do now?
I am considering an application to MSc in Computer Science in Oxford. I know what I’m doing. This is all I need to apply to HSMP visa (well, it depends on how they will count my working experience, but it’s a minor point). And there is also a 12-month-work permit for Engineering Graduates in UK. I quitted the idea of switching careers for now. So enhancement (Oxford degree) will make me more competitive as professional. After all, applying to Oxford is easier than applying to B-School ;)
And if I’m successful (I have chances, I think) then I will postpone my idea of MBA for some two or three years.
If I’m not successful I will reapply to LBS next year. And maybe Harvard ;) And maybe some other American school (I’ll see, I still have time).

I won’t stop writing my blog. For instance, I want to write my next post about timing an application (I wanted to write it long ago, but didn’t have time ;) ).

How does is feel to be rejected

I feel good!
© James Brown

(I believe that this post will be useful to many people, because through your application process you usually receive at least one rejection.)

Unsuccessful? Disappointed? Misunderstood?
Nope. (Ah, well, yes, misunderstood – yes :))
Then – how?
* Prepared, because a week before the rejections from b-schools came, I went for a job interview (just an interesting vacancy, I planned it as some kind of ‘interview practice’). Which disappointed me a lot. They needed absolutely another person, not the one they described in their vacancy. A ‘rainmaker’: some 30+ year-old-man with connections to bring clients out of nothing. Not me. And, of course, rejection followed: ‘If only you were some 5 years older…’ (yes, I would have a husband and two kids and no more work experience than I have now). Maybe my CV was too good? ;)
* Flattered, because from the school answers I could judge that I’m ‘too young’. And show me a girl that doesn’t like being told she is young!
* Philosophical. My grandfather used to say: ‘If you miss this bus, it was not yours. The next will come and it will be yours’. That’s a great thought that saved me much nerve in life.

I started the whole MBA-thing for a following number of reasons.
1. Discover what route I want to take in life.
2. Challenge myself.
3. To go and live abroad (and this was the most fast and obvious opportunity concerning job search and visa, imho).
4. Give myself an immense present of studying in UK.

I cannot put a tick near every point of that list. But I got a lot of what I haven’t asked for.
For instance, I found that one of my recommenders thought about getting an MBA himself, so we had a lot to speak about.
I talked to my degree supervisor and found out that he now teaches parallel programming and grid computing. I envy those students who have his course now: they practice all that things – our professor made us write our programs on paper…
I came to UK and visited the School, and I felt at home there. No matter what adcoms think and how they choose, I know that I would have survived there and fit in ;)
I’ve done some research and I’ve immensely widened my reading list.
I’ve passed tests, and discovered that I do tests well! (‘Do you play the piano?’ – ‘Don’t know, I’ve never tried’)
I gathered everything on time, despite of bureaucracy at my University, broken printers of my recommenders, and all other obstacles that were on my way. I really enjoyed the process, though I cannot yet think of redoing it next year ;)
I found out that it’s OK to tell people about the rejections!
And finally, I would never forgive myself if I hadn’t tried.

About LBS Information Session in Moscow

I was at the information session in Moscow this Saturday, but I didn't have time to write about it :)
I came to Ararat Hotel wearing a jeans jacket and at first felt out of place in this 'cool' place... some guys were in suits despite of Saturday! But then on the table near registration stand I found a booklet named MBA class 2007... and there were all photos, names and countries of all this year students... and I instantly I felt at home. This feeling stayed while I listen to presentations and talked to alumni. Its nice to know so much about the School ;)
We were showed new LBS film, and then admission ladies talked about all the programs at school. I thought, maybe I should enter a PhD course and write cases for all those MBAs to crack? ;) *just joking*
The thing most emphasized about the School was - its location ("The only school located in the capital!"). By the way, most people think that LBS equals Finance. The school is in fact focused on Finance because of its location (and you know all those things about supply and demand), but it also has a strong hand in Marketing.
We've also been told that during the second year you take 9-12 electives, and if you want to specialize in a subject, you have to take at least 5 electives of that kind. You also can come to school and during your first year decide that you want to graduate in 15 months. You'll probably take 9 electives and your second year would be very packed, but this is possible.
Then I've talked to alumni. Those who graduated 4 of more years ago said it was possible to get a loan at least for tuition for Russians then. And they have heard, that this is possible now. A guy that graduated in 2005 had his company pay tuition for him. One of the alumni named the most difficult thing at school: pubs closing at 11 o'clock. Now this law has been cancelled, so current students have more advantages ;)
On a personal note - I talked with an adcom and she promised to give a feedback to my application (I still haven't received any) and said that it may be reasonable to apply next year (and not in 2 years like INSEAD). That's nice, because I really want to be at school.

And yes, KV, I've changed the name of my blog, I'm afraid that I cannot plan my life for two years ahead, but my heart doesn't lose focus :)

The book

I once was lost, but now am found

© John Newton

I’ve finished reading Atlas shrugged by Ayn Rand. And I can say this is a book!
* I read the first one (it consists of three) during two days (that was back in September), second in a week, began the third, but quitted and finished it only yesterday.
* The first one gave me and answer to the question ‘why do you do this?’ - I know, what to say now: ‘Because I want to and I can’.
* When I told a friend of mine the plot of the first book (how best men suddenly disappear from the world, and the main heroes are standing and struggling), and said that I wonder how it all ends, he replied: ‘Probably a mega-man builds himself a mega-house’. And he was right! :)
* When I read the book I always remembered where she was from. And I knew what she was writing about. I just thought that things never ever changed now matter what century it is.
* I wondered how soft were the bandits she wrote about. Almost humane. Only in last few chapters they (as a system) were beginning to obtain colours of real life. But after all people are not reading books about their real life. They have real life already, thank you.
* The third book was like a light switched on in the dark room. Now I see.
* Great book. Must read. And I will look for the Fountainhead now.
Thanks to Miss N and RSR for mentioning this book :) That’s what made me to read it.

And thanks to everyone who wrote me those encouraging words. I will write a brief summary of my thought on the subject later on.
Tomorrow I plan to attend an LBS information session (Ararat Park Hyatt, 4 Neglinnaya St, Moscow, 11:00), and I hope I will have something to write about :)

And again rejection - from LBS

Members of the MBA Admissions Committee have now carefully considered your application. It is with regret that we have been asked by the Committee to inform you that they are not able to offer you a place on the MBA Programme this year. The applicant pool has again been of an extremely high calibre, andconsequently competition has been very rigorous.

No feedback yet, but they promised a general feedback a bit later.

So, not next year. I'll wait for feedback and begin planning for the year after next. Or after after... No matter that the first attempt was not successful, I have time, and I will learn. And I have already learned and became better, wiser and older :) I believed that I have earned this (I mean London, this school and this life), but maybe all my documents were not enough to persuade adcoms, and I didn't have a chance to speak in personal.

Meanwhile, I think I will have a look at other master programs in other UK universities, so any recommendations are welcomed. And I'll do what I decided to do in the previous post - start my job search for international company.

Rejection from INSEAD

The Admissions Committee has decided that you need to gain at least two more years of professional experience before you can be further considered for admission to the programme. Additionally, your application would be strengthened if you were to increase your international exposure, ideally by working in another country.

So, I'm too small and too Russian. And I knew that I was not of INSEAD profile, when I applied. But I still believe, that I wrote a strong pack of essays (I think that my INSEAD essays were more about me than my LBS ones. LBS puts a lot of focus on teamwork and commitment to school). And I've got decent academics. But, alas, I was not considered to be a genius :)
I hoped that they may take me, because of three factors:
1) I'm a woman and they write everywhere that there are not enough women in INSEAD (so, don't believe this, they haven't taken me :))
2) they would have a look at my progress and see that I'm really good
3) I would be some of a diversity type
None of those factors played its role. And I suspect that I may get the same answer next Wednesday from LBS. My only hope is that adcoms will like the club I proposed and allow me to come :) at least, to the interview.
A remark about the silver lining: I can apply for that IFP scholarship, I mentioned previously in one of my posts. And as an oppression factor I can write that I've been discriminated because of age! *joking*
By the way, I got that letter from the same lady who held special INSEAD session in Moscow.

I've started my MBA journey to get more international experience while studying at B-School and after it. If it would be really easy to get a job abroad, I wouldn't bother about B-Schools yet. But it is difficult to get a job in Europe for a non-EU person. In UK I can apply for HSMP visa after finishing the program, but I'm not eligible for this visa yet.
Another way - is to work in Moscow office of a worldwide company and relocate when you have a chance. So while applying I have talked to some people who worked in two of such companies, and was told that I don't have a chance. First, managers, who must approve your relocation, have children, who want to study in Europe too. Second, you may work hard, become a guru, and, perhaps, in some seven years, will be offered to relocate. But by that time you usually have roots that tie you to the spot. But I have only looked at two companies, and there are more, so I will look at others. And I may find what I’m looking for.
And I’m asking for your advice - how can I get a job abroad?
-->Suggestions are welcomed as comments and to RusgirltoLBS at gmail.com.

Visit to LBS. Part 3. Lectures and other useful information

The lecture theater, where I was, is on -1 floor, so there are no windows there. I like rooms with windows, that is why I mention it. But in all other aspects the classroom is very nice. The professor is well heard, though, if you sit at the backseat, you may not hear what people in front of you say during the discussion (and you'll have to tell every speaker 'Speak up, please!').

The first lecture that I attended was in Managerial Economics.
All lectures are three hours long with a break of twenty or so minutes in the middle (during which you can queue for coffee in 'The Bite').
The first part of ME was not very clear to me ;). I think I should have done some pre-reading (or should have visited the previous lecture) to follow. Professor was talking about two types of customers: rich and mass (they don’t have so much money, but they are numerous), and their willingness to pay for the product during the first hour, second hour (the demand dropped) and on the whole. The task was to propose the pricing scheme, which will give the biggest revenue. All this reminded me of a game set theory: min-max and all that. And maybe it was :)
The second part was devoted to monopolies, and two groups presented a case 'Microsoft vs U.S. Government'. 'Government' presentation was like all governments presentations: long, full of tied together facts and inevitability. On the other hand, 'MS' was funny and nice. They won the sympathy of the audience, of course ;)
Cases are not like real life, where you can find additional information in the Google. You are kept in the frame of the case and cannot mention future or give other suppositions. For instance, Firefox&Mozilla are eating some of IE market share right now and eating fast: 10% a year (that's the statistics which I got myself from a number of website counters, so take it with salt).
A remark: since the school has wireless network, a lot of students open their computers during the lecture to blog, or send an e-mail... Be careful, guys, because sometimes professor is sitting behind you (those who sit in the right wing).
After the case and the discussion whether the monopolies are good or bad (this depends on a sector), professor told us how do antimonopoly committee count if there is a monopoly in the market. And in the end he took out some bottles... and asked if Company X, which has these three products, will buy Product Y, will it be considered as a monopolist or will it diversify the portfolio of its products. And the cleverest guy asked to try Product Y and those products from Company X to see if they are alike. After drinking he concluded that Company X would be buying a part of different market (drinks for ladies), so no monopoly. And after that I was asked numerous times if there was some other B-school where people could drink alcohol during lectures :)

The second lecture was Strategy and professor was talking how you can make your product distinct and add value to it.
The first question was: should you make it the cheapest or add some value into it and make it different. Everyone agreed that you should add value, and only if your business processes are the best so that you can lower price - you can be the cheapest. This will be just your additional distinction.
When professor asked what distinctions you could add, I said to myself 'quality', but none of the student mentioned it in their answers. And having been at London shops I know why. If you have been in some Turkey shops (or Russian shops), just like me, then 'quality' would probably come first to your mind.
We've been shown some very good videos about hotel chains and how they make themselves different. Some cut off everything that will make their price higher, some focus on clients very much. And in the end students discussed the case of refocusing some hotel. I haven't read the case, so it was difficult for me to take part in the discussion, but it was interesting to observe who spoke and who listened. After group discussion, some people were asked to present their answers and, funnily enough, nearly all answers had nothing to do with the real life one, which professor announced after the discussion.
To sum up, the subject of the lecture was not new (it is widely mentioned in the books and articles), but examples were great.
A remark: no cold calls during these two lectures. Professors asked only those (but not all, of course) who raised their hands.

This is a photo of the same stone, Miss N posted. Just upholding the tradition ;)

What else I found out
LBS asks for two languages upon graduation. INSEAD is the only school, which asks for three. Admission officer told me that I must have mixed them up, but I got that impression from reading information on the site and in the catalogue. And I read that before I even thought about INSEAD.