For our August edition, The Harbus spoke to five (former) members of the Class of 2016, who decided to drop out of HBS to pursue a range of other opportunities. This month, we spoke with five new members of the Class of 2016 - people who dropped out after their first year, and have come back to HBS this year to finish their MBAs. They shared with us what they’d learned - and why they came back.
Ryan Allis, formerly Class of 2014The Harbus: What did you drop out to do, and why?
Ryan Allis: I was originally in the Class of 2014 so I took two years off from HBS. During this time I co-founded a tech startup called Connect (www.connect.com) and a for-profit social enterprise called Hive (www.hive.org) which is a community of leaders and entrepreneurs working on creating a better world. I also became a Certified Life Coach and started new practices like daily yoga and meditation that have made me a much happier and mindful second year student. TH: What did you learn, and why did you decide to come back? RA: I came back to meet 1800 more extraordinary people and to learn the commercial real estate business. My goal is to build 10,000 Hive buildings in the next 35 years all over the world that are combination co-living and co-working communities with a hotel, healthy cafe, and fitness/yoga studio. Imagine going to Jakarta, Nairobi, or Sydney and staying in the Hive Hotel. I've found my passion and purpose in life now and so I want to finish my education before I commit the rest of my life to building communities around the world and helping other people come alive and pursue their dreams. I also came back so I could get that elusive Harvard diploma! TH: How did you feel about dropping out at the time, and how do you feel about it now? RA: I think taking time off between years at HBS is a great idea for students who want to try something really risky. Worst case scenario you come back to HBS and can recruit for a job. You can totally fail at something really bold and it's not an issue in your career. After you graduate, no one ever asks about what you did between your years of your MBA. The time in between RC and EC year is essentially risk-less professionally and so I encourage many entrepreneurial students to consider starting or joining a company during the time between their two years and if it's going well at the end of the Summer just stick with it. The time off enabled me to discover my passion and purpose (to build communities of leaders around the world). So now I'm an EC with clear direction and focus on this journey! It's really helpful to go into the second year knowing what you want to do with the next phase of your life, so my advice is take some time off until you think you have a good working hypothesis.
Ryan Allis: I was originally in the Class of 2014 so I took two years off from HBS. During this time I co-founded a tech startup called Connect (www.connect.com) and a for-profit social enterprise called Hive (www.hive.org) which is a community of leaders and entrepreneurs working on creating a better world. I also became a Certified Life Coach and started new practices like daily yoga and meditation that have made me a much happier and mindful second year student. TH: What did you learn, and why did you decide to come back? RA: I came back to meet 1800 more extraordinary people and to learn the commercial real estate business. My goal is to build 10,000 Hive buildings in the next 35 years all over the world that are combination co-living and co-working communities with a hotel, healthy cafe, and fitness/yoga studio. Imagine going to Jakarta, Nairobi, or Sydney and staying in the Hive Hotel. I've found my passion and purpose in life now and so I want to finish my education before I commit the rest of my life to building communities around the world and helping other people come alive and pursue their dreams. I also came back so I could get that elusive Harvard diploma! TH: How did you feel about dropping out at the time, and how do you feel about it now? RA: I think taking time off between years at HBS is a great idea for students who want to try something really risky. Worst case scenario you come back to HBS and can recruit for a job. You can totally fail at something really bold and it's not an issue in your career. After you graduate, no one ever asks about what you did between your years of your MBA. The time in between RC and EC year is essentially risk-less professionally and so I encourage many entrepreneurial students to consider starting or joining a company during the time between their two years and if it's going well at the end of the Summer just stick with it. The time off enabled me to discover my passion and purpose (to build communities of leaders around the world). So now I'm an EC with clear direction and focus on this journey! It's really helpful to go into the second year knowing what you want to do with the next phase of your life, so my advice is take some time off until you think you have a good working hypothesis.
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