Tag Archives: career treks

Austin Startup Trek, Texas Venture Labs Expo and Gary Kelly

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One of the advantages of being in school is the diverse experiences I get exposed to everyday. Take Thursday, October 27, for example.

In the morning, we went to the Austin Startup Trek. It was a chance to go visit HomeAway and Bazaarvoice.We got to school early and bright and then took the bus to Homeaway. The office was amazing!. It was decorated with many mini home models decorated in many different ways as well a snow globe collection from across the world. We got to tour the office and the most impressive part was the roof patio. We also got to talk with Carl Shepherd who told us the story of Homeaway’s growth as well as answered our questions.

The next stop was Bazaarvoice. It is one of the faster growing Austin startups that works with user generated content and analyzes it to provide customer insights. We got a quick tour and conversed with the recruiting team there. We were also fortunate enough to get one-on-one time with Mark Piening, the VP of Business Development.

After the company visits, we returned to the AT&T Conference Center for the Texas Venture Labs (TVL) Expo. This was a showcase for the Office of Technology Commercialization and the TVL deals. The entrepreneurs discussed what they were working on and how the TVL members helped them solve the problems that they faced. TVL was one  of the reason I came to McCombs and I am excited to be a part of the TVL class for Spring 2012. It will be a great experience to understand startups and address their issues. The expo was a showcase for the entrepreneurs as much as it was for the TVL. The hard work and the bright minds put together created some great startups like Ordoro, Zilker Motors, Vocal Media etc.

Dr Rob Adams at TVL

The same evening we got a chance to hear Gary Kelly, CEO and Chairman, Southwest Airlines. The event was hosted by Dean Thomas Gilligan. One of the things that really stuck by me was how Mr. Kelly acknowledged that the company is not run by the C-suites, but by the people on the ground. He also mentioned how important employees were for Southwest and how the company is driven by  its emloyee-centric culture. There was a Q-and-A session which followed the conversation between Dean Gilligan and Mr. Kelly.

Dean Gilligan Talking With Mr. Gary Kelly


Thursday was a great day – we not only got to visit two startups making waves, we also got to attend the TVL expo and had a chance to listen to Gary Kelly. It is days like these that remind me why I came to school. Not only was there a lot to learn, we also got a long weekend. So we put it to good use and went and played paintball on Sunday. A week well spenT I say. On Thursday, we visit Google. Stay tuned for an update on that!

Career Treks: Dallas Consulting

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Last week I had the opportunity to attend the “Dallas Consulting Trek” put on by Career Management. (I was lucky since I was the last one off the waitlist who got to attend – this was a popular choice trek!)

The details:

  • 40 first-year MBAs make their way to Dallas to visit with 5 of the country’s top consulting companies
  • Thursday night: Welcoming reception with the consulting team of PwC
  • Friday: Wheels down (via a giant bus) at 7:15, where we headed to Bain & Company for breakfast, a presentation, and an office tour.  Next stop: Booz & Company for a presentation and office tour, complete with soaring views of downtown Dallas. Next stop: Boston Consulting Group for lunch, a presentation, and rotating roundtable discussions with their team.  Last stop: Deloitte Consulting for happy hour and an energetic group discussion. Final bus unload at 6:30pm.

Laura, Sarah & me at the Booz & Company Presentation

By Friday night, I was exhausted.  The nonstop networking and information flow was intense! At the same time, I felt very excited because I found the companies so interesting… and places I could see myself working at.  The differences in each office were evident, and yet I liked aspects of all of them. I was most impressed with the caliber of people we interacted with – talk about SMART PEOPLE!

The timing was great for another reason, because on Saturday I received my MBA+ project offers. I decided to go with a marketing strategy project for Booz & Company – which was made even more exciting since I had just met my project contacts the previous day.

I’m constantly impressed with the opportunities that Career Management provides. In addition to our one hour weekly class where we are taught everything from research to resume writing to networking… They put on events like this so we can see first-hand what it’s like to work in a particular industry and at a particular company.

One last thing… I’m learning the power of LinkedIn! Before coming to McCombs, I had no idea what a powerful tool it is. Feel free to find me here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/erinwhalen. :)