One of my many reasons to choose the Tech MBA program was the immersive opportunities the program offered. Over the summer, I visited over ten companies ranging from the prominent Union Square Ventures and Deloitte Digital Consulting to the digital arm of the massive JPMorgan Chase and unicorn IPOs such as Uber. I also had the opportunity to chat with the founders of Handy and real estate startup Nestio and visit the NYU accelerators buzzing with innovation.
These immersive experiences have given me a better sense of the opportunities available to me at the intersection of business and technology, provided me with a network of alumni and professionals to seek guidance from and have given me a better understanding of which companies have cultures that aligned with my values.
The VC focused sessions were among my favorites, in particular, the one at the Union Square Ventures, a leading venture capital firm based in New York. We attended a speaker session, led by Albert Wenger, who is a partner at the firm. Dr. Wenger is a serial entrepreneur and was the president of del.icio.us, a USV backed bookmarking service and is also a board member of companies such as Twilio, MongoDB, and Clarifai. It was fascinating to listen to his experiences in the industry and about his thoughts on universal basic income. It was interesting to learn about USV’s thesis-driven investing and how their commitment has changed focus over the years from application layers of the internet and network effect companies to decentralized blockchain-focused technologies and brands that broaden access to knowledge, capital, and well-being. He explained about the network effects on the B2B side by discussing an interesting company in his portfolio, Sift Science, that uses machine learning to detect and prevent online fraud and abuse. Following that was a stimulating discussion about his book, “The World After Capital,” and how he envisions the potential of blockchain methodology and cryptocurrency to move money creation to the individual level to offer a universal basic income (UBI).
I came into this program not entirely knowing what to expect. I had anticipated that my interests would lie at the intersection of business and technology and was fully expecting my options to be limited to a few career opportunities. Now that I have embarked on this journey and after completing my first four months, I can confidently say that this program has opened my eyes to the multitude of opportunities that NYC and NYU can provide.