By Ajay Anand G’13, WG’13, Founder of Systmapp and Rare Carat
Life after graduating from Wharton’s MBA program went fast. And slow.
I turned down a full time offer to go back to the Boston Consulting Group, foregoing free dinners at Nobu and an office that looks like this, to work out of a food court in Hell’s Kitchen.
Mostly, it sucked. But lately it’s been more fun. I’ll get to that in a minute.
In the early 2000s Maria Baum WG’94 had the “Nirvana job” of traders, she said. She was a global macro proprietary trader at Lehman Brothers, “which means I could basically trade any instrument, anywhere in the world, really without asking anybody, and with a very generous limit.” She also had three children (she now has four).
One morning as she rushed to work, she had a revelation. “It was like 5 o’clock in the morning, pitch black out, I had on a suit and heels, and a breast pump over my shoulder. I was leaving for work because I ran an international book and had to get in very early. And I thought, ‘Why am I doing this? This isn’t how I want to spend my life now.’” Read more How to Go from Wall Street Trader to Serial Entrepreneur
By Dilawar Syed WG’02, President of Freshdesk
The rise of entrepreneurial capital and startups in tech hubs across the planet has spurred an economic revolution in communities, regions, and countries around the world and is having a profound socio-economic impact.
By Mike Kijewski LPS’10/WG’12, Founder of Gamma Basics
After undergrad, I was teaching AP chemistry and physics to suburban Philadelphia seniors. My young, undergraduate vision included inspiring them to look at the world in an inquisitive and analytical way and to strive for personal evolution. After three years of trying to help them discover their own dreams, I understood that I was failing at my own teaching. While I loved my experiences inside the classroom, I realized that I wanted a career that was more entrepreneurial while still helping to improve the lives of those around me.
By Jon Cooper WG’09/CAS’03, Founder of Life.io
Here’s where I am right now: somewhere above Europe, en-route from Dubai, a screen reads 10h 24m until touchdown in JFK. Here’s what’s going through my head:
Won’t be home until midnight. Must be fresh and ready to go to by 6 am. Duty free had a great toy selection. Thank God. It’s my son’s birthday. He will be 4. What? He’ll be 4!? Wow. Time is flying. This also means Life.io will be 4 soon. When did this all happen? Crazy.
This is my tenth JFK/Dubai leg in under a year, and my mind is racing. There are so many things to prep, deliver, adjust (no, enhance. Enhance sounds better…). With the stress, jet lag and three hours sleep, it feels like I’m caught somewhere between a good dream and an anxiety dream.
By Korin Korman WG’92, Founder of 3000BC
A mentor of mine once called 3000BC “the longest running startup in the history of startups.” At the time, I laughed, but I wasn’t sure whether to celebrate this title, or crawl into my closet, assume the fetal position, and give up. I decided to proudly wear it as my official badge—and today, my startup is still running, and, as my mentor put it, it’s still a startup.
Read more The Longest Running Startup in the History of Startups
By Steve Weiner WG’16, Navy Veteran and Co-Founder of VetTechTrek
Like most 18 year olds, I hadn’t quite mapped out a plan for my life and I certainly didn’t predict that I would eventually earn my MBA from Wharton. Becoming a social entrepreneur and launching a foundation focused on helping veterans advance their careers after their service was unimaginable.
By Tiffany Chang W’19
Growing up in the Kaka’ako neighborhood in my hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii, I became exposed to the budding startup culture that trickled across the Pacific from the Bay Area. What I found most intriguing about this culture was its ability to define a problem in society and creatively find a solution to it. Back home, I joined a fellows group called the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders, which helped me gain the tools to become a leader and cofound Hawaii’s first student coworking space, The Canvas. Upon arriving at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, I knew I wanted to take my ideas to a whole new level. Inside the classroom, Wharton allows me to study across a wide variety of fields with the best resources. Outside the classroom, I joined clubs and programs like YouthHack FreshStart, which has given me opportunities and resources to transform my ideas into reality.
By Matthew Brodsky, Editor, Wharton Magazine
Editor’s note: This post was previously published on the Wharton Magazine blog.
Sally Poblete WG’00 has been at the intersection of health care and entrepreneurship her entire career. For a while, though, the ratio had been more to the health care side. But she always knew she would get back to entrepreneurship. Now she has.
By Bennett Sultan W’17
Editor’s note: This post originally appeared on the Wharton Magazine blog, and the original version of this post first appeared on Wharton Undergraduate Program’s Student Voices.
