It all started with a cold LinkedIn mail to Aaron Gailmor, the founder of Brass Roots, an early-stage startup that I happened upon while tracking Expo West 2019 (World's largest natural, organic and healthy products event) with a classmate. I had no expectation that I would hear back, since there was no MBA internship opening, so I was pleasantly surprised when Aaron replied and gave me a shot anyway! After going through multiple interviews and being asked for numerous references, I realized that no matter how resource constrained an early-stage startup might be, a founder will never under-invest in recruiting diligence. [...]

As founder of Prokanga, the innovative recruiting firm that connects companies with experienced, flexible marketing and finance expertise, Jamie Cheney (MBA 2007) understands the value of a fluid workforce. Together with Annie Davis (MBA 2007) and partner Lesley Finer, the Prokanga team is addressing today’s evolving workplace flexibility trend—offering high-caliber talent solutions that benefit employees, businesses, and the environment. [...]

This post is part of our Social Enterprise Initiative 25th anniversary blog series, which highlights some of the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have been a part of SEI throughout the years. In this post, Misan Rewane (MBA 2013, NVC 2013 Winner) shares her insights on founding and leading a social enterprise. Misan is the cofounder and CEO of WAVE (West Africa Vocational Education), an organization dedicated to tackling youth unemployment in West Africa. [...]

It all started with a smell. Taylor Wiegele and Sierra Smith (both MBA 2017) met with a group of classmates for their FIELD III course, trying to come up with a problem to fix. The course, now an elective, tasks first-year students with creating a product to start their own venture. When a group member – don’t worry, they won’t reveal who – took off her shoes, they knew they had found their problem to solve. [...]

For John Bracaglia, his academic and professional careers have been driven by two themes: “machine learning and behavioral economics,” he says. “The two work together. Machine learning is about how computers understand information, while behavioral economics is about how people understand information.” [...]