The Rock Center for Entrepreneurship Announces 2021 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Rock Executive Fellows, and Venture Capital Advisors
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BOSTON—The Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship has announced the entrepreneurs-in-residence, venture capital advisors, and Rock executive fellows for the 2021-22 academic year. The 16 entrepreneurs-in-residence (EiR), 12 of whom are HBS graduates, have founded, sold, or IPO’d successful ventures in the tech, consumer products, healthcare, biotech, media and entertainment industries, among others. These EiRs are available several times per year to meet with MBA students one-on-one, help facilitate Rock Center programs, and work with faculty on research and course development. This year’s entrepreneurs-in-residence are:
- Marty Blue, CarGurus, Reebok - Stacey Boyd (MBA 1997), Olivela, Schoola - Kerry Cooper (MBA 1997) Rothy's, Levis, Walmart.com, ModCloth - Ralph Folz, WordStream, Molecular - Rob Gierkink (MBA 1991), Datalogix, Air Miles - Sarah Kauss (MBA 2003), S’well - Sarah Leary (MBA 1998), Nextdoor - Avni Patel Thompson (MBA 2008), Modern Village - Matias Recchia (MBA 2007), Unlock RE, Iguana Fix - Matt Salzberg (MBA 2010), Blue Apron - Shereen Shermak, Nth Party - Lisa Skeete Tatum (MBA 1998), Landit - John Sloss, Cinetic Media - Paris Wallace (MBA 2007), Ovia Health - Michael Weintraub (MBA 1988), Humedica This year’s venture capital advisors are managing and general partners from some of the most successful VC firms. They provide students with fundraising information, and feedback on their idea, business models, and other core aspects of their new ventures. A few times each year, they meet with students one-on-one, help judge the New Venture Competition Finale, and provide pitch feedback to students. The 19 Rock venture capital advisors and their current companies are:
- Arjun Chopra (MBA 2004), Floodgate - Brittany Davis (MBA 2015), Backstage Capital - Anne Dwane (MBA 1998), Village Global - Scott Friend (MBA 1995), Bain Capital Ventures - Rob Go (MBA 2007), NextView Ventures - Arjun Goyal (MBA 2014), Vida Ventures - Dayna Grayson (MBA 2006), Construct Capital - Chip Hazard (MBA 1994), Flybridge - Mar Hershenson, Pear VC - Amanda Herson (MBA 2009), Founder Collective - David Hornik, August Capital - Alex Iskold, 2048 Ventures - Jennifer Lum, Biospring Partners - Ali Rahimtula (MBA 2005), CueBall Capital - Rudina Seseri (MBA 2005), Glasswing Ventures - Michael Skok, Underscore VC - David Tisch, BoxGroup - Russ Wilcox (MBA 1995), Pillar VC Rock executive fellows (REF) are comprised of three non-faculty affiliates/practitioners who support and contribute to the extensive Rock Center programming through a rich set of co-curricular and curricular activities. REF is a year-long program appointment by the HBS Dean. The 2021-22 Rock executive fellows and their current companies are:
- Sarah Endline (MBA 2001), SweetRiot - Donna Levin, Care.com, Babson College - Satish Tadikonda, Avigo Solutions MBA students at HBS who are interested in entrepreneurship and starting new ventures are able to seek guidance and access these experts from resources on the HBS campus. Through this community that provides support, access to content, and a gateway to entrepreneurial ecosystems at HBS and beyond, the Rock Center helps HBS students and alumni create revolutionary and disruptive ventures in both the for-profit and social enterprise sectors. Since 1947, the study of entrepreneurship has been a vital part of the HBS MBA Program, which includes a semester-long course in the first-year Required Curriculum and numerous offerings in the second-year Elective Curriculum. |
Mark Cautela
mcautela+hbs.edu
617-495-5143
ABOUT ROCK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship was created through the generosity of prominent venture capitalist Arthur Rock (MBA 1951), who donated $25 million to Harvard Business School in 2003 to support the entrepreneurship faculty and their research, fellowships for MBA and doctoral students, symposia and conferences, and outreach efforts to extend the impact of the School's extensive work in this field. HBS offered the country's first business school course in entrepreneurship in 1947; today, more than 50 percent of our alumni, 10 to 15 years after graduation, describe themselves as entrepreneurs, creating ventures in a quest to change the world. The Rock Center also works closely with the HBS California Research Center in Silicon Valley on entrepreneurship-related research and course development efforts.
ABOUT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 200 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as more than 70 open enrollment Executive Education programs and 55 custom programs, and Harvard Business School Online, the School’s digital learning platform. For more than a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who make a difference in the world, shaping the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe.