Month: December 2013

Hello Everyone!

The first semester is almost at end.  Having gone through a whirlwind of classes, exams, club activities and recruiting events this entire time, my previous job seems like a lifetime ago now.  However, given a chance I would repeat it all again, and I am already planning on doing all the things I missed, next semester.

To this point, I feel one of the best learning experiences at business school are the different case competitions.  In addition to applying some of the newly learnt concepts to realistic business simulations, you get a feel of the work culture of the company which is running or sponsoring the competition.

Just this past week, NYU Stern hosted the finals of the Amazon.com Innovation Competition.  This was different from some of the other case competitions, as we had to pitch a new venture that Amazon could get into, instead of solving a specific business problem.  We were given three weeks to submit a 4 – 6 page proposal.  The three best proposals were then selected by Amazon, and the teams were to present their ideas and field questions from Amazon’s senior executives, at the finals.

I partnered with four first year friends, and we came up with Amazon “Box”, a personalized product discovery model for luxury products; piggybacking on the current popularity of sample subscription boxes, while leveraging Amazon’s customer database and its Prime program.  Even though we had formed our team at random, we realized our diverse backgrounds ranging from Advertising, Venture Capital to Tech startups gave us an end to end skillset while building the proposal.  One of my own takeaways was learning how to do cohort analysis for subscriber attrition rates in the e-commerce industry (and it wasn’t even in a class!).

We were one of the teams selected for the finals.  At the Q&A, we were challenged on a number of facets of our idea, which I felt we were able to defend.  The overall feedback was that our idea was quite logical and practical to implement at Amazon.  In the end, we won the first place, and an invite to meet Amazon execs at their Seattle office to discuss our business idea.

I feel that by participating in these competitions at Stern, I am gradually learning how to better evaluate and find holes in an idea, analyze its potential downstream impact and convey the message better.

I recommend everyone try competing in at least a few.  You might inadvertently come up with the next Amazon!

Cheers everyone, while I try to be brief in my next post.

Aditya

The one thing about January that all Stern students have in common is no class for almost a month. That leaves room for literally a world of possibilities when it comes to leveraging all this “free” time. For me, the month of January means spending three weeks in sunny Rio followed by one week in Peru hiking Machu Picchu.

For many MBA1s, January will be used to prepare for interviews and secure summer internships. Those vying for consulting internships will spend much of their time in study rooms on campus for the first half of the month sharpening their casing skills for interviews later in the month. By the end of the month, students recruiting for banking will know which companies they’ll be working with over the summer. Those interested in tech or media will likely be found in LA or San Francisco visiting companies like Pixar, Disney, Google and Facebook as part of weeklong treks held by our Entertainment Media Technology Association.

Those of us who are not recruiting in January will likely be somewhere on the other side of the world, shaping our perspectives on global business. Some students will be embarking on the first few weeks of a spring semester abroad, at places like London Business School or HEC in Paris. Another large percentage will be in Israel, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica or other places for one to two weeks as part of the Doing Business In (DBI) program. These students will be learning about industries abroad that are relevant to Specializations, such as Tech, Luxury and Retail, Social Innovation or Finance.

Another group will be learning about, business, culture and society in India through the Social Problems Based Entrepreneurship course. I, and thirty others participating in Stern’s International Social Impact Strategies (ISIS) class, will be in Rio consulting with small companies and nonprofits. We will spend two weeks helping solve business problems, like how to expand a company’s revenue sources or restructure them for growth.

One of the most exciting parts of these trips abroad is the social travel that accompanies them. DBIs, study abroad and other classes are great launching pads for travel to neighboring countries during off weeks. For instance, many of us will spend new years in Rio and explore other countries, like Argentina, Venezuela and Peru, after our ISIS project is complete. Other students, who are not participating in specific courses, are also planning their own group trips around the world. I’ve heard chatter about group trips to Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, South Africa and India, among other places.

As we wrap up finals, January is the hottest conversation topic these days. As you can imagine, students are anxiously anticipating it the month for many reasons. The question, “what are you doing in January?” probably holds just as much value to us as “what are you doing for the summer?” I think of it as a month for great progress, where we have the opportunity to reflect, regroup and explore…and of course find jobs. What better way to start the new year?!

Hello everyone!

My name is Jimmy Richardson and I am a second-year MBA student specializing in both marketing and finance. I interned last summer at Unilever as a Brand Management Intern and have officially accepted my offer to go back there next fall. Aside from manning my post as a Graduate Ambassador in the Admissions Office here at NYU Stern, I am also very involved in several clubs on campus. I am the VP of Corporate Relations for the GMA (Graduate Marketing Association) and one of the Co-Presidents of Stern Follies, a massive on-campus production that is part live variety show and part video submissions.

Needless to say I have a lot of interests, which is a problem when you come to Stern and realize just how much there is to do. Between clubs, recruiting, Treks, Stern Consulting Core, and a full course-load I filled my schedule quickly. This meant making sacrifices – specifically when it came to choosing between my numerous commitments and taking an opportunity to sit in on one of the many speaker series provided to students by classes, clubs, and faculty.

Given the location of Stern in New York City there are leaders of business constantly in town and coming to Stern to speak to students. Last year I saw Dick Costolo (CEO of Twitter) speak, but missed out on Larry Fink (CEO of Blackrock), Ann Moore (former CEO of Time Inc.), Millard Drexler (CEO of J. Crew), and Jim Dolan (CEO of Cablevision, Owner New York Rangers & New York Knicks).

As an NYU student I have constant access to business leaders of this caliber, but that window is closing fast. This year I have made seeing these speakers a priority and I am so glad that I did. I have seen Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn CEO), Kevin Byrnes (former 4-Star General), Fred Wilson (Co-Founder Union Square Ventures), Eric Schmidt (Google Executive Chairman, former CEO), and David Maddocks (CMO Cole Haan) speak. All 5 of these speakers were engaging, spoke on interesting subjects, and stayed after to answer questions from the audience.

So finally, a few common threads to come out of these discussions:
1. Culture matters. It’s important that everyone believes in what the organization wants to achieve. If employees stop believing and begin questioning the strategy or motivation of senior management all is lost
2. Innovate! People who take risks will be rewarded
3. One of the most important traits you can have as a leader is to be a good listener.

Thanks for reading and have a happy holiday season! I look forward to blogging again when I get back next year.

Study Room Wars!

Well not really, but study room space at this time of year–Final Exams begin next week–is at a premium.  At Stern you reserve rooms in two hour blocks.  These days, when your two hours are up, you’re almost guaranteed to get a knock on the door asking you to wrap up.   It makes sense: the study rooms are the best place to study on campus–so everyone wants a turn.

Studying in general at Stern is probably not much different than you may expect from undergrad or other programs.  Unlike law school where there is just one huge exam at the end of a course, typically courses here will have two or three “mini” exams throughout the semester.  It does make the material a bit more digestible, but between exams and other “deliverables” like case papers, there always seems to be something due.  Of my five “core” courses I’m currently enrolled in, four of them have actual final exams, and one has just a final (five page) paper.

The paper is written, so the only thing left to do is buckle down and get this Accounting memorized.  Good thing there is a Starbucks right across the way.

One of the most common questions I receive as a Graduate Ambassador and an undergraduate literature major is whether I struggled with the quantitative and analytical nature of business school. I’m here to dispel any myths you might have about transiting from a “soft” background into a “hard” one. I know this is a common concern of many applicants and I’m here to assuage your fears.
Never once have I felt as though I didn’t have the resources to succeed in any of my quantitative pursuits. In fact, the classes are taught to engage and challenge students at all levels. Plus, the professors are extremely accessible and your classmates are always willing to help. When I took Corporate Finance with the legendary Aswath Damodaran, I was shocked by the speed with which he would respond to my emails. Not only that but, he remember my name and that I was covering Burberry for my final project (out of a sea of 400 students) after I met with him for just 10 minutes. With his support and with the help of my classmates, I succeeded in his course despite the challenging nature of the material. Further, I had numerous classmates take time out of their busy schedules to assist me. Needless to say, I never felt like I was on my own.
When deciding what courses to take this semester, I was concerned that my financing and accounting skills were not strong enough to take financial modeling. It was a subject I had never seriously considered before. However, as someone who looks to start her own business one day or ascend to senior leadership, I came to realize that I shouldn’t leave business school without this skill. I knew the class was particularly demanding, and so I expressed my concerns to the professor. Via email, I asked if I should take the course. To my (pleasant) surprise, I received a phone call from the professor later that evening encouraging me to take the class and ensuring I would not regret it. With the help of the teaching fellows and my classmates, I found the class extremely rewarding. Despite my initial hesitation, taking the class was ultimately the right decision for me. With the sense that I am never alone in the Stern community, I had the confidence and resources I needed to complete the course and perform fairly well!
With my stories in mind, I hope you’ll realize that you there is no reason to worry. You’ll get by with a little help from your friends.

Hello! My name is Beth Lovisa and I’m an MBA 2 (second-year) here at Stern. I am excited to start blogging and sharing my experiences with you. The second year is flying by as the first semester is almost over! This post comes to you from Florida where I am on vacation for Thanksgiving Break. When I return to campus, there are about 2 weeks left of classes before Winter Break. Although I am fortunate enough to have a job lined up post-graduation, I have been incredibly busy this past semester. Not only am I a Graduate Ambassador in Admissions, I also serve on the board of the Management Consulting Association (MCA), I am a Career Coach to MBA 1’s, I am the chair of the Torch Committee Lunch program, I help plan events for the newly-formed Health & Fitness Club, and I still managed to find time to train for the NYC Marathon this past month.
I love being a Career Coach and being able to “pay it forward” like the MBA 2’s helped me last year when I was recruiting for a consulting position. Through this role, I’ve gotten to know some of the MBA 1’s very well. I enjoy helping them with everything from resume reviews to interviewing and casing techniques to cover letters and networking. Consulting is a very popular career path at Stern and I am very involved with the MCA. It is so rewarding to hear about the positive impact I’ve had on the MBA 1’s recruiting process and I know they will be very successful in securing internships.
Another recent fun event for the entire school was Charity Ball. This black tie party is our annual fundraiser. This year it took place at a swanky club in the Lower East Side, Finale, and proceeds were donated to the Lower East Side Girls Club, which is a great cause. The event is for MBA 1’s, 2’s, and Langone so it is a chance for the whole school to come together for a fun night including hors d’oeuvres, drinking, dancing, and a silent auction. Everyone was dressed to the nines in tuxedoes and fancy cocktail dresses.
Stay tuned for more posts in December chronicling the exciting life of an MBA 2 at Stern!