The Rock Center for Entrepreneurship Announces 2020 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Rock Executive Fellows, and Venture Capital Partners
BOSTON—The Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship has announced the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Venture Capital Partners, and Rock Executive Fellows for the 2020-21 academic year. The 21 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiR), 16 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 and their current companies are:
- Marty Blue, Blue Dry Goods - Stacey Boyd (MBA 1997), Olivela, Schoola - David Cancel, Drift - Jim Dougherty, Madaket Health - Sarah Endline (MBA 2001), SweetRiot - Rob Gierkink (MBA 1991), Flash Food - Lara Hodgson (MBA 1998), NowCorp - Aditya Julka (MBA 2009), Paddle8 - Sarah Kauss (MBA 2003), S’well - Chad Laurans (MBA 2006), SimpliSafe - Sarah Leary (MBA 1998), Nextdoor - Don Mathis (MBA 1998), Comcast NBCUniversal - Avni Patel Thompson (MBA 2008), Modern Village - Matias Recchia (MBA 2007), Unlock RE - Matt Salzberg (MBA 2010), Blue Apron - Javier Segovia (MBA 2002), Mirador Tech - Shereen Shermak, Soco Ventures - Lisa Skeete Tatum (MBA 1998), Landit - John Sloss, Cinetic Media - Michael Weintraub (MBA 1988), Humedica This year’s Venture Capital Partners 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 23 Rock Venture Capital Partners and their current companies are:
- Peter Boyce II, General Catalyst - Jerry Chen (MBA 2004), Greylock - Arjun Chopra (MBA 2004), Floodgate - Effie Epstein (MBA 2011), Sound Ventures - Scott Friend (MBA 1995), Bain Capital Ventures - Rob Go (MBA 2007), NextView Ventures - Dayna Grayson (MBA 2006), New Enterprise Associates - Chip Hazard (MBA 1994), Flybridge - Mar Hershenson, Pear VC - Amanda Herson (MBA 2009), Founder Collective - Maia Heymann, Converge - David Hornik, August Capital - Alex Iskold, 2048 Ventures - Steve Kraus (MBA 2008), Bessemer Venture Partners - Jennifer Lum, Biospring Partners - Dan Nova (MBA 1991), Highland Capital Partners - Nnamdi Okike (MBA 2007), 645 Ventures - 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 four 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 2020-21 Rock Executive Fellows and their current companies are:
- Tom Clay (MBA 1997), Xtalic Corporation - Anne Dwane (MBA 1998), Village Global - 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. |
Cullen Schmitt
cschmitt+hbs.edu
617-495-6155
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 HBX, 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.