Category Archives: Alumni Spotlights

Alumni Spotlight: Bhargav Srinivasan – Class of 2012

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Alumni Spotlight: Bhargav Srinivasan – Class of 2012

bhargavBhargav Srinivasan, BHP ’12, is in his second year of a four-year JD/MBA joint degree program at Harvard. This past summer, he worked at the White House as an intern in the National Economic Council (NEC), working on finance policy for the Obama Administration.

What did you work on in your internship?

I spent my time at the NEC working on policy across financial technology, financial regulation, and housing finance. We worked to inform the Administration’s perspective and also to “hardwire” our learnings so that the next administration can use what we’ve done to date.

I found particularly interesting the idea of fostering responsible innovation in financial technology. For example, blockchain applications, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, have the potential to change the way we store and transfer data and money. There is a lot of innovation in finance right now, so I think it’s more important now than ever before to develop smart regulation that simultaneously protects financial stability and shepherds consumers while fostering innovation.

How was the experience?

It was truly unforgettable. I gained amazing perspective on how government works which I had never had, but the real highlight of my summer were the people I met. First, the NEC staff shared with me their interesting perspectives from government, law, business, academia, and other industries. Next, I was blessed to have a group of interns who made my summer more enjoyable than I could have imagined. We came from all across the country to serve President Obama, and, in the process, became close friends. Finally, we met White House personnel through a speaker series. The speakers ranged the gamut from POTUS and VPOTUS to the directors of the NEC, DPC, and other White House offices. Meeting and having a personal conversation with FLOTUS is a memory I will never forget.

What were your main takeaways from the internship?

I learned about the White House’s power and its limits. The two sources of power are the bully pulpit and the staff’s ability to quarterback key issues. Though the bully pulpit is diminishing in a world of constant communication, the President still gets to shine a light on the issues he believes are most important.

On the other hand, the power to quarterback is executed by the staff who work with and on behalf of the President to get the right folks in the same room. Making policy requires coordination and stakeholder engagement. The Administration uses agencies to implement its vision, so it’s important to hear feedback and develop buy-in from the agencies and other key parties when forming policy. When key parties come together and feel invested, executing as a team behind a single policy vision becomes easier. To that end, the White House plays a crucial role.

Would you say Washington is more “West Wing” or “House of Cards” in your experience?

I actually love both shows! The fortunate reality is that Washington is more West Wing than House of Cards. Most people working in government are trying to do the right thing for the American people. It’s easy to be skeptical of centralized power and special interests, but I felt the White House staff were truly working as honest brokers. When it comes to technology, the staff stay abreast of activity in the market, weigh different regulatory approaches, and make an informed decision to proceed. I’m more optimistic about the future of government after having been in DC than before.

Any revelations from the experience?

I learned that driving big changes requires Congress, but the Executive branch can take smaller, wonkier actions to make people’s lives better. For example, agencies can make programs and policy enforcement more effective through rule-making and administrative discretion. I hope that more students interested in public policy consider a career in administration because it’s a good way to drive tangible change in discrete ways.

How is your joint degree program going at Harvard?

Great! I just finished year one of law school and started year one of business school at Harvard Business School. The volume of work in during the first year of law school was pretty grueling, so my law school friends joke that I’m on vacation, but business school has been just as busy in a more balanced way.

Our JD/MBA program has roughly 10 students per year, who form a strong community of 40 overall. It’s a diverse group with varied aspirations, so the best part of being in the program is learning from my peers. There are also quite a few BHP alums at both schools, especially HBS. I still ask for perspective from one of my first BHP mentors, Eric Sung (BHP ‘10, HBS ‘16).

How will the JD/MBA benefit you in the future?

The program offers a lot of value. First, I’m simultaneously developing skills as a GM and a lawyer that will make me a strong decision-maker in an organizational setting. Next, the joint degree allows me to keep open diverse long-term career options. Finally, my peers are amazing and form the basis for a strong network to start my career. I recommend the program to anyone who genuinely finds both fields interesting.

BHP Alums Find Success as Plastic Surgeons

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BHP Alums Find Success as Plastic Surgeons

Each year, a few BHP grads go on to medical school, but it certainly isn’t the usual path for most BHP grads. Even fewer choose to go into plastic surgery like Sergio Alvarez, BHP ’03, and Sean Paul, BHP ’05. Alvarez owns a practice in Miami and is recognized as the top plastic surgeon in the area. Paul recently moved back to Austin to open a practice, which has  multiple offices across the city.

BHP: What led you to choose medicine and plastic surgery as your specialty?

Sergio Alvarez operates his own practice, Alvarez Plastic Surgery, in Miami.

Sergio Alvarez operates his own practice, Alvarez Plastic Surgery, in Miami.

Alvarez: After seeing my first open heart surgery at the age of 10, I knew then that there was nothing else I wanted to do than to be a surgeon.  Plastic surgery got my attention during medical school due to the fact that it was not only the most competitive specialty to get into and the surgeons training me were revered as “the best”, but it was the ability to work on every part of the body and really focus on the “art form” that captured me. It was the finesse that it required that captivated me.

Paul: My father was my inspiration. He was a family medicine physician in south Texas and had an amazing relationship with his patients. My love for surgery developed during my gross anatomy classes in medical school, but mostly from caring for wounded soldiers returning to Brooke Army Medical Center, for whom I assisted in caring for severe facial and ocular burns. Thus began my love for ophthalmology and facial plastic surgery, and a career in oculofacial plastic surgery began.

BHP: How has your background in business been helpful to you in your practice?

Alvarez: There is no question that the business education I received through the Business Honors Program has been invaluable. I think the biggest challenges physicians face today are the intricacies of opening up a practice. That was something that didn’t scare me at all. I came to Miami which is THE most competitive market for aesthetic plastic surgery with all the business tools I needed to succeed.  I plan to set up an office in Austin soon!

Sean Paul operates his own practice, Austin Oculofacial Plastics.

Sean Paul operates his own practice, Austin Oculofacial Plastics.

Paul: As a BHP alum, I completed internships and worked in operations in my family business prior to attending medical school. After ten years of medical school, a post-graduate residency, and a fellowship, I was faced with a life decision when choosing my career path after training. My background in business and my entrepreneurial spirit gave me a unique insight into the changing landscape of medicine and helped me choose to start my own practice. More specifically, my insight into the patient and business aspects of reconstructive and elective plastic surgery has helped me build a practice to help fill a need in the growing Central Texas and Austin communities. I now own and operate my own practice, Austin Oculofacial Plastics, based in Austin. I have offices in south Austin, north Austin, Westlake, Lakeway, New Braunfels, and Fredericksburg.

BHP: What is most challenging and most rewarding about your career as a plastic surgeon?

Alvarez: I think the most rewarding aspect of my career are the people I get to meet and treat from all over the world. Being in such an international city gives me the opportunity to learn about different cultures and different definitions of beauty. I think one of the biggest challenges we face are the misconceptions people see on TV and marketing gimmicks that are all over social media and the internet. A large portion of what we do as a collective group is educate our patients about how to go beyond the marketing and choose tried and true methods as well as choose qualified practitioners that are board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Paul: The most challenging part of my career is continually striving to focus on excellent patient care. With the commercialization of plastic surgery, I strive to maintain a down-to-earth relationship with patients and make a point to call them at night after surgery. As I have gotten busier, I remain committed to that tenet of care for my patients.  I genuinely find it rewarding when patients simply say ‘thank you’.  As medicine and plastic surgery continues to change, you frequently hear stories of patients feeling like they are just a number on a spreadsheet. I personally have found complete comfort in feeling fully invested in my practice. My patients’ kind words and feedback are the best possible reward. I truly love what I do and it is my pleasure to care for each and every one of my patients.

BHP: What advice do you have for current BHP students who may be interested in pursuing an MD?

Alvarez: The best advice I can give BHP students interested in medicine is to stay dedicated to the long path it takes to become a physician because the rewards are well worth the wait. As they see their colleagues start entering the corporate world and get high salary positions, they should realize there is little to substitute the feeling one gets from changing peoples’ lives on a daily basis.

Paul: Explore the medical and surgical field early on and be certain that it is the career path you want more than anything else in the world. You will be faced with personal and professional decisions and be pulled in multiple directions in your career as a physician. No matter what else is going on in your day or in the world, when you are in the operating room with that patient, you owe them your 100% undivided attention.  Talk with physicians in your community about shadowing opportunities and be proactive in your career research. Study hard, enjoy your life as a BHP student, soak up the amazing city of Austin (so happy I am back), and understand that if you choose the field of medicine – you will be one of the few professionals given the privilege of caring for others for a living. I could not imagine doing anything else.

Alumni Spotlight: Haley Robison, CEO of KAMMOK – Class of 2007

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Alumni Spotlight: Haley Robison, CEO of KAMMOK – Class of 2007

HaleyHaley Robison, BHP 2007, is CEO for KAMMOK, an Austin-based company providing quality outdoor gear and apparel to the socially-conscious adventurer. She has quite a diverse background from consulting with Bain & Co. to leading backpacking expeditions. Haley will be leading a Career Design session for BHP students in the fall to help them assess their priorities and apply design thinking towards career exploration.

You have had quite an interesting path since graduating. Take us through your career path.

I joined Bain & Co. after graduation and worked there for a little more than three years. I took advantage of the externship program there and moved to San Francisco for six months to help Summer Search build a strategic partnership plan. I left Bain in 2010 to pursue my interest in outdoor education. I signed up for a wilderness course through the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Through that program, I lived outside from February to May in 2011 in Wyoming and Utah.

After that, I decided to pursue a year-long theology program, the Trinity Forum Academy to explore the big “why” questions. I was trying to figure out who I was and find my calling. As part of my fellowship, I wrote a thesis exploring human experience in nature.  During that time, I applied to the Stanford Graduate School and was accepted. Before starting at Stanford, I spent the summer working for a company called Solid Rock leading extended backpacking trips for high school girls. In the fall I went to Stanford and was there for two-and-a-half years completing joint master’s degrees in business and education. I worked at IDEO for the summer of 2013 as an organization designer. After graduation, I stayed on with Stanford in their Design School to design curriculum.

From there, I met an investor for KAMMOK, by chance, in Palo Alto and got connected to the founder of KAMMOK, which is where I am now. I have had this incredible opportunity to help them scale, and to combine all of my interests, passions, and skills in design and outdoors.

Did you have a path in mind for yourself or were you just open to opportunities as they came about?

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after graduating. Like many students in that situation, I thought consulting would be a great way to figure that out. I just kept saying yes and pursuing doors that opened and seemed interesting to me. I have had a non-linear path, but looking back it is easy to connect the dots. It didn’t feel that way at the time though. I didn’t have a path in mind. I would have never thought I would run an outdoor apparel company when I was 30, but it now makes sense to me that I would have ended up where I am given what I care about and am interested in. I also never thought I would want to work for a product company, but KAMMOK has been an exciting opportunity. I am able to explore how product companies have an impact in the world and serve as catalysts for some of our most impactful experiences. It has been interesting exploring how to design and sell products around people and experiences.

Your LinkedIn profile title says “outdoor and design enthusiast.” Talk about your passion for both of these areas and how they are a part of your current role.

I have had some pretty transformative experiences in the outdoors, both individually and with other people as part of a community. Experiences in the outdoors can really shape our character, our understanding of who we are as individuals, and our understanding of the world around us. I really love designing experiences through the lens of people and learning objectives. I enjoy figuring out what the experience is that would unlock insights and learning for people.

In our industry there is a huge trend towards urbanization. Outdoor brands are having to ask a lot of interesting questions around how we encourage people to experience the outdoors from where they are. The products we create need to be able to transition with you from the backyard to the back country, and need to have utility in a city and beyond. As we think about expanding our mission to get people outdoors and expanding our products, the first questions we ask are who we are designing for, what do they need, and what does their life look like. Through that lens, I get to be a designer every day.

You participated in and also led intense outdoor expeditions. What can be learned in those programs?

I saw incredible life change in the high school girls I led on backpacking expeditions. If you string up a hammock in your backyard and look up, you have a different perspective. This perspective change can ground us. We live in a hyper-connected world and there is something about disconnecting and reconnecting with a sense of just being and feeling all the elements that is very refreshing. It is also challenging at times. You have to think practically and creatively to deal with outdoor challenges. Learning how to do that is applicable in everyday life. You also learn you have more in you than you realize when you are challenged by things that are unknown or intimidate you. A lot of times in the outdoors we face those challenges, whether physically, spiritually or emotionally, and conquering those can boost your confidence. I also think conservation and recreation are tied. We are realizing the impact we have on our environment and we need to be good stewards of our environment. To care for something, you have to love it and know it, so spending time outdoors can help us cultivate a sense of responsibility and stewardship for our environment.

How did the Career Design project at Stanford come about for you?

I spent a lot of time at the Design School at Stanford developing curriculum. They were looking to hire a curriculum designer to redesign their career offerings for incoming MBA students. I jumped at the opportunity and I got to help shape what that looked like. We built a series of six workshops based on student input. The goal was to equip students with a toolkit for exploring careers effectively and to teach them how keep a strong sense of self during their time in the program, so they didn’t fall into herd mentality. We also equipped them with the tools for taking action, so they could try out areas of interest and make progress towards their goals.

What are KAMMOK’s growth goals right now and what are you focused on as the new CEO.

We more than doubled revenue in 2015, rolled out nationally to all REI stores, and increased our online business significantly. Our growth goals are to continue to grow a profitable omni-channel business, to continue to deepen our core accounts, and to build a robust offering on KAMMOK.com. Our mission is to equip and inspire life-changing adventure. We want to continue to build our brand story and invite people into a lifestyle of adventure. Right now we are a product company, but we want to add experiences. Our focus for now though is to figure out what the best products are to amplify our mission. We are defining technical outdoor for the urban millennial and thinking about the best products. We also want to create a fantastic digital experience for our customers on KAMMOK.com. Financially we are hoping to have double-digit revenue growth again this year. A big thing on the horizon is that we are moving into a new space in the heart of East Austin. This will be our first retail presence, and will help us become more relevant in Austin. We hope the store will be a great resource for people who want to get outdoors and have questions about what gear to use.

What do you most enjoy about working for KAMMOK?

I love that our team owns KAMMOK. In this business if you fail, you get real-time feedback on that. That sense of ownership is incredibly powerful and I haven’t had that in more service-related jobs. I also love the mission of KAMMOK. We see products as a catalyst for life change and we want to create products that lead to magical experiences for people. I enjoy building our team to amplify that mission.

What advice do you have for current BHP students?

I would tell them everything is going to be okay. There can be a lot of pressure to figure it out and I don’t know that we ever figure it out. Figuring it out is the journey and is a beautiful process. Have confidence in what a next step looks like and don’t feel pressure to get it right. The millennial generation will change jobs potentially 20 times in their lifetime. Don’t be afraid to take a risk. There are certain tracks people file into. If you already know that isn’t you, create an opportunity for yourself and don’t just respond to opportunities in front of you.

Alumni Spotlight: Taylor Hwang, Class of 1990

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Alumni Spotlight: Taylor Hwang, Class of 1990

Taylor HwangTaylor Hwang, BHP ’90, has had a varied career in emerging technologies and entrepreneurship, working on both coasts, in Korea, and in various industries. He is currently Head of Strategic Relationships at an advanced data analytics company in San Francisco.

While at Booz Allen & Hamilton, you worked on a project in cooperation with Netscape that turned out to be the world’s first global intranet. Tell me more about that project and what you learned from it.

The firm was using itself as a guinea pig to determine what could be offered to clients. Netscape was an unknown company at the time, and we needed external expertise about internet-based technology since we didn’t know much about it. Netscape sent one of their technical experts, who turned out to be Marc Andreessen {editor’s note: Marc is co-founder of Netscape and is one of six inductees to the World Wide Web Hall of Fame}. The idea was to create a tool that would serve as a knowledge system. A consultancy runs off the knowledge of experts in-house. The existing culture was such that if you were the particular subject matter expert, you would hoard that knowledge so that related projects had to come to you for expertise.

The knowledge system had the potential to change the existing culture. With the intranet, if you wanted to be the recognized subject matter expert, you had to be the author of the dominant document on that subject which was then shared across the company. The companion project to the launch of the intranet was the development of a change management practice. Up until the mid-90s, the major management consultancies would charge a company a large fee for a report about a particular problem and then it would be up to the client to read and implement the recommendations.  Often the client’s senior leadership wouldn’t really know how to implement the recommended changes, and the changes they tried to implement would frequently fail. Booz Allen recognized that the launch of the intranet knowledge system would require a cultural shift in the company and had to be explicit about how to get colleagues to embrace the changes. We studied how to get organizations to change and used this knowledge on ourselves to adopt the new intranet. We were using ourselves as a guinea pig on two different experiments and both worked very well, much better than most people had anticipated.

Apple heard about the project and decided to provide marketing support, and as a result, anyone who was remotely involved in the project was being hunted by headhunters and offered big positions many of us were unqualified to take. The interesting lesson for me at that early point in my career was that unplanned opportunities can come your way if you’re already working hard toward some meaningful goal.  I didn’t recognize the magnitude of internet technology’s potential and lobby to get on the project. I was forced on the project as a lesson for being too finicky about what projects I was willing to work.  Yet, that experience turned out to be one of the most significantly positive points in my career.

In 2002, you started your own business, EmiFinancial Corporation. What service did your company provide and what lessons in entrepreneurship would you pass on to others who are thinking about or have already started their own business?

Emifinancial provided stored-value MasterCard financial services customized to the unbanked Hispanic immigrant consumer at about half the average annual fees. I started that business in an industry that I had very little exposure to. It worked out okay for me, but I don’t know if it was the right decision. I selected the EmiFinancial business because my industry expertise was in media and entertainment right after the internet bubble burst, and media wasn’t a great industry at the time for a first-time entrepreneur to start a new business. I wanted to go into an industry that provided essentials, and basic financial services is an essential. We did a structured brainstorming and applied weighted prioritization criteria, and the idea for EmiFinancial rose to the top out of 26 ideas. It was important to me that we apply the same kind of rigor in starting a company that we would apply for a client.

In most cases, it is better to be in an industry you understand well. The target demographic was Hispanic immigrants, and I didn’t understand that market at all. It would have been much easier if I went into an industry I understood or was fascinated by. I was just fascinated by the idea of starting a new company and learning a new demographic. Starting a company is one of the hardest jobs. You have to pursue it because you love what it is, and love the gratification of building something, and if it is a consumer business, offering something of value to your customer. I would recommend that if you do find a viable opportunity where you are already interested in the subject matter or audience, that’s usually a good reason to pursue that opportunity.

You spent nearly three years in Seoul, Korea, as a country manager for frog design. How was doing business over there different than doing business in the U.S.?

It was completely different, especially relative to the meritocracy of the Bay Area. Korea, many feel is one of the last strongholds of Confucianist society. It’s like bureaucracy masquerading as philosophy and almost the opposite of meritocracy. If you are an employee working at one of the conglomerates and you start with a number of peers in a certain group, you are a team. If you are contributing more relative to your teammates and advance ahead of the group, the group views you as an enemy at that point, so management will actually suppress your advancement to give the group a chance to catch up and promote corporate harmony. There is also an ageist element to Korean business. As an example, I showed up to a meeting with a conglomerate CEO where his bank of secretaries greeted me. They thought I looked much younger than expected from my title and tried to bar me from meeting the CEO because I was not old enough. That would never happen in Silicon Valley. You frequently encounter 20-something geniuses here who have a great business idea, and you want to take that meeting.

It was a rude awakening to what I was entering into and how different things were going to be. I was grateful for the experience, but I am glad to be back. Korean businessmen also have a very heavy drinking culture, so my liver suffered tremendously.

When you came back from that, you moved into a venture investment role for Proof Ventures, investing in technologies such as the Internet-of-things and voice recognition. Tell me more about what you were doing in that role?

I started the fund, and the original model was to take Korean entrepreneurs succeeding in Korea and help them expand to the U.S. market. The entire market there is still dominated by the conglomerates. A successful Korean entrepreneur with an ideal domestic client list including all the conglomerates will have his or her margins squeezed by the rampant collusion among the giants. With your suppressed margins, there is really nowhere to grow domestically. Even if the conglomerates make you an offer, they don’t make very good offers and will make sure no other conglomerates give you a counter offer to play them off of each other. I thought there was a market to help the entrepreneurs expand to the U.S. When the entrepreneurs enter the U.S. market, they have very little idea what they are doing. I overestimated the Korean entrepreneurs’ ability to adapt to the U.S. market even with full financial, legal, and operational support. I was early to the market. They have such a unique way of operating that is particular to the Korean market and not very adaptive. In the venture capital, it really comes down to the entrepreneurial team succeeding, and if they don’t succeed, your efforts are in vain, which is what we saw.

The experience gave me exposure to a new set of emerging technologies. In tech, you have to have a willingness to dive in and learn the new technologies. Even in my current role, the CEO had to tutor me in advanced data analytics . It’s been 25 years since I touched code, but I’m playing with R Studio to gain context for what our data practitioners are doing for our clients.

Do you have any advice for current BHP students?

I can share an anecdote. I was mentoring entrepreneurs at Draper University and had a chance to meet the new generation of entrepreneurs. Relative to Silicon Valley where there are so many experienced entrepreneurs, these early entrepreneurs are very green. They have an understandable naiveté about what is in front of them which can provide optimism and a clear vision, but you can see that the current models they are pursuing often have a low probability of success. One student had one of the more viable ideas to provide direct mentoring by Silicon Valley engineers to students aspiring to similar positions and also provide a filtered recruiting channel for employers, but he abandoned his model in favor of a startup swag retailing business that didn’t really add significant value to the market place or enhance his more marketable business skills. I shared with him that his criteria for selecting a business to build shouldn’t neglect looking at the long-term value to his career. Even if the desire is to be a serial entrepreneur, you should consider the marketable value of the skills you develop while building your chosen business.

I would also say if you have interest in data-driven insights, you will likely do well to pursue it as a career.  I’m biased in my opinion, but the more I learn, the more I see that business is only scratching the surface of what true data insight can provide, and almost every sector stands to significantly enhance its decisions and planning over the coming decade as data science progresses.  Currently, demand for skilled experts far exceeds supply, and any solid recruit is practically guaranteed a position.

 

Alumni Spotlight: Shalou Dhamija Barth, Class of 2001

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Alumni Spotlight: Shalou Dhamija Barth, Class of 2001

Shalou BarthShalou Dhamija Barth, BHP ’01, MBA ’09, has recently embarked upon a new adventure as a commercial real estate developer and owner of Unit-D Pizzeria in Austin. She is the President, Managing Partner and one of the Owners of 2406 Manor Road LLC. Shalou went into marketing after BHP, working for Ford Motor Company, North Bay Investment Group and EHDD Architecture. She then held multiple roles at 3M.

You faced some challenges buying your first property. Talk about what those were and how you succeeded in purchasing the property.

This property had been sitting on the market for more than a year. It needed a lot of work. You had to have a creative vision to see the potential, so I think it had been overlooked. Two weeks into the feasibility period, I came across deed restrictions. The first said you could never sell any liquor that was not this one style of beer. The second was a race restriction. No one other than a Caucasian could work, live or own the property unless they were a servant.

The deed restriction affected the entire subdivision, so that affected the property next door as well as many others. The Black Sheep Lodge owners had just signed a lease on the lot next door to create Haymaker, restaurant/bar, and they had not known about the restriction. We all went to the table and I was the only female, non-Caucasian there with 10 men to discuss the alcohol deed restriction that had the potential to destroy revenue streams for everyone at the table. It became clear in that meeting that the only way to change the deed was to get 100 percent of property owners in the area to sign a notarized petition. The owner gave me 30 days to get this done. I knew it would be very difficult, if not impossible to get 100 percent in this amount of time. I was almost ready to give up, but I decided to see what I could do. I started meeting with other property owners in the area. Through conversations, I found legislation that illuminated a different path that allowed me to change the deed with less than 100 percent. It was a big breakthrough. I got another 14 days and changed the deed with all the votes I needed from neighboring property owners.

A lot of people probably would have thrown in the towel when faced with so many challenges, especially when doing something for the first time. Why did you persist?

I hate hearing no, but more so, I was really committed to the vision. I started marketing the property for lease when I was under contract. In that process, a lot of people wanted to buy it or partner with me on it. Being a resident in the neighborhood, I felt like I knew what the community needed and what would work well there. I could tell these other investors would not stay true to the vision I had. I knew my team and I could create something really great, and I wanted to see that vision through.

What made you want to jump into real estate development and how did you learn the skills necessary to be successful in that field?

I have always really appreciated built spaces and creating places that the community could engage in. In California, I started in real estate brokerage and it gave me a glimpse of what buildings could be. My passion grew for spaces and I happened to marry an architect. I just became very interested in developing my own property. My experience in brokerage helped me understand the economic models behind investment properties. Through my jobs in architecture, I knew the value of beautiful spaces and how people are drawn to spaces with good design. The development side is a skill I am learning. I like operating outside my comfort zone, so it is exciting for me to learn something new. I am using my skills from BHP and MBA as well as my network. I consulted with my MBA classmates who took jobs in real estate development and brought my financial models and ideas to them. They helped me build the confidence and skills needed to execute what I planned. When I was trying to find a path to overcome the deed restrictions, I actually found an attorney in Houston, who is a BHP alum, who specialized in the specific legislation I surfaced. I called him and used the BHP connection to start a conversation. BHP helped me gain immediate credibility with him and he helped me with the documentation required.

You worked in the male-dominated car sales field for Ford and now you are working in another male-dominated field – real estate development. Have you faced any challenges being in the minority and do you operate any differently to account for this?

I think it is an advantage to be a female in a male-dominated field. I think I have had the ability to bring a fresh perspective. As an example, I walked into City Planning & Development office in Austin, which is a bunch of veteran good ‘ole boys, similar to the guys at Ford dealerships. I took the same approach I did with Ford. I let them know I am smart and a quick study, but I am not a know-it-all. Being assertive, but humble has taken me far. I need to make sure my voice is heard and that I am prepared. I don’t just hope it will work out, I come prepared. I am competitive and love challenges, so being in the minority fires me up to rise above the crowd.

Your previous work includes stints in marketing, product management, venture capital, real estate investing, and operations consulting. Do you feel this broad base of experience prepared you well for owning your own business?

Absolutely, it started from BHP, where I felt like I was obtaining a mini-MBA. The case-based method and broad academic focus was the first step in arming me with skills that would enable me to start my own business. I wish I had started a company while in school, but instead I chose to explore hands-on opportunities and varying roles to extend my education. I love being out of my comfort zone, and that is evident in my career path. I have about a 12 ½ month clock where I start to get antsy and want to try something new. All of the roles prepared me for a long-term career in entrepreneurship.

You opened Unit-D Pizzeria around the same time as having your first child. What have been the challenges of juggling motherhood with owning a restaurant for the first time?

My son was born six days after the restaurant opened. Because I had a ticking time bomb in my belly, I am pretty confident I opened Unit-D in record time. I was extremely motivated to open quickly. I knew once the baby came it would unfeasible to get it open. It forced my chef and team to learn a lot very quickly and to get to know each other very well during that time of duress. There are so many distractions with the new baby and trying to operate at a functional level has been hard. It has been an exceptional lesson in time management, prioritization, and delegation.

What are you most focused on right now and what are your plans from here?

I am focused on being a present mom. I am not a full-time mom. I still run the restaurant, but I have a great team in place. I have a property manager, so I am able to keep my high level hat on and continue to drive the property forward. My hope is by the one-year-mark for both my son and the restaurant, I will start pursuing some new projects in the real estate development realm. Being an entrepreneur is in my DNA. On the two to five year horizon, I would like to bring to market at least one of the product ideas that I have in the hopper.  While Austin feels quite saturated with restaurants right now, I’ve had a concept in mind that I believe would fill a gap in the market in a big way so that may be in the cards, as well.

What advice do you have for current students?

Take advantage of the time while you are in school to take risks. It is a time you will never get back and a unique time when you have very little to lose. Your peer set is so strong and capable. The professors are there to offer advice. There are so many resources. It is the perfect environment for pursuing entrepreneurial dreams. If I could rewind, I would not hesitate to follow through on my business ideas. Be comfortable with the idea of failing and realize that failing is just as helpful and powerful as succeeding.