Author: Virginia Wei

Hi Guys!

Today, I want to talk to you guys about finance – specifically, Fintech.

As a humanities major, finance as an MBA student has always been a necessary evil. And yet, what I didn’t expect to find was that the disruption of financial technology proved endlessly fascinating to me. From introducing the concept of peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding, to the simple move to online and mobile banking, this was a space that is growing at tremendous speeds. Just between 2010 and 2015, investment in the industry increased tenfold, from less than $2 billion to nearly $20 billion.

Stern is probably most known for its financial prowess. We have some of the most lauded professors in the industry (Damodaran, Silber and Murphy to name a few), and our unique location in NYC places us only a couple subway stops from Wall Street. Therefore, it only made sense that administration took notice and understood the importance of this growing industry. This past school year, NYU Stern became the first top business school to offer a specialization in fintech.

The value of a MBA degree in the fintech space has always been highly valued, as some of the biggest fintech giants such as SoFi, Commonbond, and Earnest were all co-founded by MBA graduates. However, until recently, MBA students were not provided to the academic and career support to keep up with the industry.  David Yermack, a finance professor as well as academic co-chair of the specialization believes that the key is to create a curriculum that “teach[es] what companies on the outside are hiring students to do.”

As part of the specialization, Stern has introduced eight new courses dedicated to fintech which ranges from understanding blockchains and digital currencies to personal finance and payments and risk management. (For specific courses, see here)

We also kicked off our first ever annual FinTech Conference last November. The conference included panels on marketplace investing vs. venture capital, beyond blockchain, and keynote speakers Ken Kroner (retired Senior Managing Director, BlackRock) and Dan Schulman (Stern MBA ’86 and current CEO, PayPal). You can find out more about the conference here.

Furthermore, since the industry is dominated mostly by startups that are headquartered in NYC, we have also been able to organize multiple treks for company visits, as well as regularly source speakers from companies such as Venmo and Orchard Platform. Overall, the introduction of the specialization has signaled to companies that Stern students are not only interested and serious about this industry, but also possess the relevant skillset and knowledge.

As always, till next time!

Hi Everyone!

With the sudden drop in temperature this past week, it’s as if the city is reminding us that fall is here and school is back in session full swing. It’s crazy to think that just a little over a year ago I was moving halfway across the world from Asia settling in this beautiful city. And what a crazy, busy, fun-packed year it’s been!

I haven’t really been active this summer as I’ve been busy completing my summer internship with Spotify here in NYC that ended a few weeks ago. I was part of the newly created Client Relationship Management Team (CRM) team, in charge of internal marketing strategy, and had an absolute blast.

As some of you may know, I came to Stern to explore the entertainment media and technology sphere. As a non-traditional industry, I didn’t really have the set timeline and structure that many fellow classmates of mine followed. Instead, I had gotten my internship through one of the many company treks that the student clubs host on Fridays.

Since my team was super new, I had a pretty atypical summer in the sense that I didn’t really get put on one intern project per say, but rather jumped right into the fray. I worked on about 5-10 global marketing campaigns at a time on average, all at a variety of stages: from strategic planning, customer insight result analysis to operational fixes.

Spotify, like many companies, also had an established MBA internship program. This included a speaker series, an intern weekend, and a summer project. Interns are also invited to all social events at the company, such as building and being part of the company’s Gay Pride Parade float, our Father’s Day special events, and of course, Open Mic and Karaoke night (we are a music company after all). At the conclusion of the internship, every intern also had the opportunity to present their project to the entire NYC office. The program allowed me to gain a better understanding the company as a whole, as well as network and make friends across the different verticals.

As many MBA students are career switchers, this helps you decide whether or not this company, or perhaps industry, is indeed what you want to pursue full-time. The summer internship is safest time to try this out, as there is always the opportunity to re-recruit once you’re back in school to complete your second and final year.

Personally, I’ve had such an amazing time this summer that I actually haven’t left yet! Like many entertainment media and tech companies, Spotify alas does not extend full-time return offers post summer, but I’ve been lucky and honored enough that my team has asked me to stay on part-time during the fall.

Till next time!

Hi Everyone! As you may or may not know, one of the great things about Stern is that all the clubs are student led and student run. As an MBA1, you have the opportunity to apply to AVP positions for a wide range of clubs and positions, which is amazing, as we can not only practice our leadership and managerial skills, but also have direct access to all the club’s resources! This year, I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the AVPs of Conference for the Graduate Marketing Association (GMA). Our annual conference was held late last year on November 6^th and was a huge success!

Since our conference is pretty early in the school year, planning actually starts earlier during the spring/summer. My amazing VPs (Hi Debbie & Aileen!) had already booked a venue, set a theme, and reached out to speakers by the time we AVPs came on board to sort out the details and kinks.

The conference theme this year was “Engaging Consumers: Differentiating When It Matters Most.” Our keynote speakers included the marvelous Carolyn Everson, VP of Global Marketing Solutions for Facebook, and the CEO & Co-Founder of Brooklyn Brewery, Steve Hindy. There were also panels focusing on digital branding, packaging, and 360 activation, with speakers ranging from Unilever to Google to Lancôme. Our afternoon sessions also featured a panel co-hosted by the Stern Women In Business group on campus, along with a MBA1 Mini Case event hosted by our sponsor companies.

It was definitely a lot to coordinate – we needed to secure speakers, market our event, create pamphlets…and all within a student org budget! My first assignment was to create an app for the event (go check it out! You can learn more about the conference and attendees here: https://attendify.com/app/k5m3i3) – which was definitely a new experience for me! There were times, especially closer to the conference, where I would put away my phone for half an hour only to come back with 35 new emails and 10 new action items. But in the end it was super worth it to see the conference go off without a hitch and to get positive feedback. Not to mention the preparation and event day were both excellent networking opportunities!

I had such a blast both planning and participating in this conference. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, the conference is open to public, so feel free to come by next year! Not to mention the GMA Conference is just one of many, many conferences and events held and run by students throughout the year, so there are tons of options to choose from.