MBA Strategy from Yale; Comedian to the core!

Here’s an average MBA dream – degree from a top B-school, followed by a high-paying job. But Anish Shah saw it differently. An MBA from Yale, former McKinsey consultant and working with IBM – Anish had it all. And then, he simply called it quits to be the funny man on stage.

Anish Shah, comedian

This 35-year-old New York-based comedian draws the writing material from his MBA years and corporate experience. His ‘B-School Made Me Funny’ tour is going places and has been covered in international media. Shiksha correspondent Ipsita Sarkar Gupta caught up with Anish. This is what he had to say about himself and our MBA hungry nation.

I just thought to myself what could I do most to disappoint my parents and this is what I came up with – it worked. In all seriousness, I had been a part time comedian for a long time before making the switch. It felt like the time was right to take a shot at it. But I loved business and I still have my hand in a number of businesses. I think over my life it will be an ebb and flow between business and comedy.

I always knew I could be a comedian. The question was whether I could be a comedian and still eat. I realized that was possible because after I started doing comedy people were reaching out to me to emcee their conventions, weddings, corporate events, etc.

Sold it? No. I bought it. It was quite expensive. Now that degree is a $100,000 piece of wall decor.

Managing people is 10% relationships and 90% filling out performance reviews. I miss the 10%.

Well, it's not like I was going to forget everything I had learned. If it didn't work out, I could always go back. Thankfully it has worked out and does pay my bills.

Well, all the people I went to business school with are now Partners at McKinsey, MD's at Goldman Sachs, etc. So if they are jealous of me, their Rolexes and BMW's probably help them deal with it.

I do. It was, "My Mom is very good at sharing her hopes and dreams for my life. For example, I told her that McKinsey promoted me to Manager and she asked when they would promote me to Doctor."

It has been a wild ride that had numerous periods where I thought I would quit. But there have been so many great moments. I've gotten to perform around the world. I've shared the stage with celebrities, political leaders, and other people that I greatly admire.

Good student? Hold on while I stop laughing.
Ok. I'm better now. Believe it for not for someone who went to Yale for my MBA my undergraduate performance was quite disappointing. I attended University of Illinois for college and earned a sparkling 2.41 GPA (If you don't know how a GPA works, a 2.41 is like finished in the bottom 20% of your class.)  However, it was so low because I started a company when I was 19 that did quite well and in the end that's what got me into Yale.

At Yale my major was Strategy.

Best 2 years of my life. I loved it. Plus where else can you go that lets you party for two years and then doubles your income.

I don't really know why they haven't fared that well. My guess is that it's probably because they haven't brought in an Indian comedian to entertain and relax their students. In all seriousness, I can't believe that the trend will hold. India is simply too important to the future of the corporate world for those schools not to succeed. The corporate world needs them to succeed to deliver the talent that's missing and in the long run I have no doubt they will.

I think it depends what you are looking to get out of your management degree. Are you looking for an international experience? What will you do after business school? What country do you want to work in after school? What schools have the most attractive members of the opposite sex? All of these are vital questions that people need to ask to determine what's right for them.

I did a tour of India last year and have been contemplating another one later this year. Got any cities you'd like me to come to? As far as a bride, I would LOVE to come find a bride but my girlfriend won't allow it.         

I believe that providing laughter and charity are two of the driving forces of happiness. Why not combine them? It just makes me feel good to do it. Save a Mother is an amazing charity that works to reduce maternal mortality in India.

Every 14 minutes an Indian woman dies of preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth. 'Save A Mother works to reduce that. It costs them just $100 to implement their solutions in a typical village and they are able to reduce mortality in that village by 90%. It's amazing.

Planning an international tour for this fall and then another MBA tour next spring. Go to my website at www.anishcomedy.com and send me a message telling me what cities and business schools you want me to bring some comedy to!

It is simply an amazing 2 years. Enjoy it. The classroom is important but in the end what will last are the relationships you forge in that environment. Some of my closest friends are the ones I met 10 years ago at Yale.

Some of the jokes from my "B-School Made Me Funny" comedy tour that went to the Top 50 Business Schools in America:
- I like meeting young finance professionals. You never know you could speaking to the person who will cause the financial collapse of 2019.

- Business school teaches you how to analyze companies so well that you fully understand why they aren't hiring you.

- I post my most offensive statuses on Google+ so no one will see them.

- Samsung got sued 4 copying iPhone's rectangular shape & black trim. Next they'll steal other Apple traits: arrogance & suing over rectangles.

For more jokes visit Anish’s FB page at www.facebook.com/anishcomedy.