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Mark Roberge, an MIT Sloan alum, knows a thing or two about how to make the most out of business school.  Mark is now the VP of Sales at HubSpot, an internet marketing software company.  But it wasn’t long ago that he was in my shoes, deciding whether to read his Marketing case or grab a couple beers at the Beacon Hill Pub.  A couple months ago I had the opportunity to sit down with Mark to learn from his experience.

1. Create your own curriculum

Mark wrote down about 15 skills that he thought he would need as an entrepreneur, and he figured out how to get them.  Sure, some were “take this class,” but others were “join this club” and “intern at this startup.”  Mark also prepared himself for a startup by participating in the MIT $50K Business Plan Competition where he was a semi-finalist.

2. Get a lot of experience

Most students interested in entrepreneurship don’t have much experience working at a startup.  Typically a summer internship is the chance to gain this exposure, but Mark recommends doing more.  He took the minimum course-load possible, and did an internship at a startup every semester.  Ask VC’s if they have any startups looking for part-time work.  Find an advisor at school who can help with the job search.

3. Choose your startup carefully

It is crucial to do your due diligence on the firms for which you are considering to work.  Think about it.  VC’s are serious about their diligence and they have 10+ companies in their portfolio, but everything is riding on this one company for you.  So shouldn’t your research be just as thorough?  Mark also recommends joining a company as an equity holder or else joining a later stage firm that already has customers.  If the firm has customers and has been funded, there is still an opportunity to “get the startup experience,” without a lot of the risk that younger firms have.

You can follow Mark on Twitter @markroberge and LinkedIn