Zoho founder backs call to shut down business schools, push startup incubators

Zoho founder endorses shutting down business schools

Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, has publicly endorsed an opinion article by Chris Marquis, a professor at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, which advocates for shutting down business schools. Vembu agreed with Marquis’s view that India should prioritize startup incubators over traditional business education, according to reporting by Mint (Technology).

Marquis, who has taught at Harvard, Cornell, and Cambridge over the past 20 years, argues that business schools have shifted their focus from developing responsible leaders to promoting lucrative careers in consulting and finance. His article, cited in the report, highlights how students often enter these programs with social or economic goals but later pivot toward high-paying jobs.

Critique of business education in the U.S.

Marquis’s argument is framed against the backdrop of the popularity of business education in the United States. Nearly one in five American undergraduates majors in business, and the MBA remains the most sought-after graduate degree in the country. Two-year MBA programs, which can cost upwards of six figures, attract students with diverse motivations—some aiming to commercialize clean energy or reform healthcare, while others are primarily focused on future compensation.

Despite these goals, Marquis observes that business schools often reinforce a narrow focus on maximizing shareholder value, rather than addressing how organizations distribute power, risk, and rewards.

Zoho’s focus on alternative business education

This endorsement aligns with Zoho’s long-standing emphasis on practical, on-the-job learning over formal business education. Earlier this year, Zoho launched Arattai-for-Business, a messaging platform positioned as a local alternative to WhatsApp Business. The company has consistently prioritized building tools and ecosystems that support entrepreneurs and small businesses directly, rather than relying on traditional academic pathways.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

Vembu’s endorsement of Marquis’s argument reflects a broader skepticism about the value of traditional business education, particularly in markets like India where entrepreneurship is often driven by practical needs rather than academic credentials. For founders and operators, this signals a growing interest in alternative models—such as incubators, apprenticeships, or company-led training programs—that prioritize hands-on experience over theoretical learning. It also raises questions about the scalability of such models and whether they can replace the networking and credentialing roles of business schools. For investors, this debate may influence how they evaluate founder backgrounds, potentially placing more weight on demonstrated skills and execution over degrees.

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