Jessica Rolph’s journey from Cornell student to MBA to cofounder of two best-selling brands
“Purpose, for me in particular, is about stripping away what other people expect of me, what society expects of me, and what (traditional) success looks like,” serial entrepreneur Jessica Rolph ’97, MBA ’04, said at a Jan. 30 Cornell Business Forum hosted by the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business at the InterContinental Times Square hotel in midtown Manhattan. Laura Georgianna, MBA ’03, MILR ’04, executive director of Leadership Programs and director of the Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows program at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, led the fireside chat with Rolph, who is a Park Fellow alumna.
Brainstorming The Future: Boston University’s Disruptive $24K Online MBA
Surrounded by sheets of ideas that paper the glass walls, one of Boston University’s star professors is explaining his concept for one of the earliest classes in the school’s forthcoming online MBA program. Venkat Venkatraman has run this exercise many times before but always in an on-campus class, face-to-face with students. Now he has to translate his idea to the online world. It’s hardly a no-brainer.
42 Things We Wish We Knew Before Getting Our MBAs
As the saying goes, “I wish I knew then what I know now.” You’ve heard it hundreds of times. So we asked readers, what they wish they had known before getting their MBA degrees. The answers–from MBA graduates and current students–vary widely. A Harvard Business School MBA graduate, for example, says he wishes he had known that he should have paid less attention to the prestige and starting salaries of particular firms and more attention to what he was actually well-suited to do.
The Hidden Costs Of Getting An MBA
Undergrads in college aren’t the only students who take a spring break fling. MBA students do them as well. Last year, in fact, some 300 MBA students from Harvard Business School got to travel around Colombia in South America, visiting Bogotá, Medellín, and Cartagena for spring break. Led by a few second-year MBAs from Colombia, the week-long trip started in Bogotá where students danced the entire night in a traditional Colombian party at Andres Carne de Res. Another day of activity in Guatapé ended with a party on a boat in the middle of a lake.
Startup Corner: Creating A Better Alternative to Student Loans
This month, Tess Michaels (MBA ’20) introduces us to Stride Funding, a mission-oriented business that offers income-share agreement as a more flexible, affordable option to private student loans. Tell us more about your background and what inspired you to be an entrepreneur
These Are Countries Where Startup Funding Is Really Taking Off
Which places are set to be the next growth centers of startup action? We perused our country-by-country funding data to pinpoint which nations are seeing the biggest jumps in funding activity.
From The Court To Cap Tables: NBA’s Andre Iguodala Talks New VC Role & How Basketball and Investing Are Similar
On the basketball court, three-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala is known for his versatility and ability to play multiple positions. Off the court, he’s also known for his investing chops.
Twitter Brings On A San Mateo Seed-Stage Startup That Works On Stories
San Francisco-based Twitter, a social media platform that lets users send 280-character messages to an audience, has brought on a seed-stage company close to home: Chroma Labs. While Twitter confirmed the acquisition, the company did not disclose the price of the deal.
The EU’s biggest post-Brexit fight is about to get real
The U.K. has been one of the key contributors to the EU’s budget. Now it’s left the bloc, the funding shortfall is proving divisive.
CMU trustees approve entrepreneurial transactions degree
The Master of Entrepreneurial Transactions is a one-year program that will initially be offered online through CMU’s College of Business Administration. Students in the new program will learn the business, legal and tactical issues surrounding entrepreneurial transactions. These transactions include forming new ventures, recruiting and motivating entrepreneurial teams, raising capital, identifying and protecting intellectual property, managing growth and risks, and harvesting economic gains.
