The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Should aspiring entrepreneurs get an MBA?

Bridget Pujals, University of California Berkeley Haas MBA '24 and Co-Founder of Saelo, shares her experience being an active founder during her Full-time MBA. What resources did she find most helpful? What should active and aspiring entrepreneurs consider before and during their MBA? And finally, what differentiates the MBA as a launchpad for founders?

Bridget shares specific steps she (and other entrepreneurs at Berkeley) took to de-risk their startups and increase their odds of success. After listening to this conversation, you'll get a much clearer picture of whether an MBA makes sense for your entrepreneurial goals.

• Introduction (0:00)
• How Bridget's entrepreneurial plans evolved during her MBA (4:00)
• Lean launchpad at Berkeley Haas (7:50)
• Co-founder dating (9:45)
• What entrepreneurial resources Bridget found most useful at Haas (14:30)
• Professors as an influential resource for MBA founders (18:40)
• How other active & aspiring entrepreneurs approached the MBA (25:00)
• Tips for active & aspiring founders to make the most of their MBA investment (30:15)
• Importance of student culture for MBA entrepreneurs (33:30)
• Should aspiring entrepreneurs get an MBA? (39:00)

Bridget Pujals graduated from University of California's Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Full-time MBA program in 2024, where she focused on building her startup. She is Co-Founder and CEO of Saelo in San Francisco, which offers high-tech, clinical skin treatments.

Before getting her MBA, Bridget worked for Meta as a Senior Product Manager (Messenger) and Product Lead (Privacy for Instagram Direct), and before that, Postmates in business development and product management roles. Bridget graduated from University of California Irvine with a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry.

• Follow Bridget Pujals on LinkedIn
• #196 How I Got Into UC Berkeley Haas MBA (and HBS, Wharton, UCLA too!) & Breaking into Product Management with Bridget Pujals
• Saelo
• University of California Berkeley Haas MBA
• Berkeley MBA Resources for Entrepreneurs
• Berkeley's Lean Launchpad Accelerator
• Y Combinator's Co-Founder Matching Platform
• Search Funds & Entrepreneurial Acquisitions by Jan Simon
• Growth Marketing with Bill Pierce

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA
• Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs
• Get the Admissions Edge Course: Proven Techniques for Admission to Top Business Schools
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)

Steven DeKrey, Senior Advisor and Professor Emeritus at HKUST Business School, has over 40 years of experience in building and running top-ranked MBA programs worldwide, including at Northwestern Kellogg, the University of Florida, Asian Institute of Management and HKUST, where he was Founding Director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program.

Darren asks Professor DeKrey about the value of top MBA programs in Asia, how applicants can stand out in the admissions process, who should apply to Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA (EMBA) programs, and whether leadership can be taught. Listen carefully to materially improve your chances of finding a great business school and getting in!

• Introduction (0:00)
• What makes top MBA programs in Asia and Hong Kong different? (4:06)
• The quality of top Asian MBA programs vs. top US programs (10:30)
• How important are local language skills for MBA graduates outside the US? (14:10)
• What questions applicants should ask when researching MBA programs? (18:35)
• MBA rankings and other signals of quality (24:30)
• Who should apply to Full-time MBAs, Part-time MBAs and Executive MBAs (EMBA) (28:30)
• Understanding EMBA Admissions (34:50)
• Can leadership be taught? The importance of learning agility (38:45)
• How can MBAs demonstrate leadership skills to employers? (46:40)

Steven DeKrey is Senior Advisor and Professor Emeritus at HKUST Business School. He has over 40 years of experience in building and running top-ranked MBA programs worldwide, including at Northwestern Kellogg, the University of Florida, Asian Institute of Management, and HKUST, where he was Founding Director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program. He served on the EQUIS accreditation board and AACSB's Asia-Pacific board, and today, teaches graduate students and executive training programs in leadership, corporate governance and board member development.

Steven has written over 15 cases for the Thompson Case Center, 9 of which have been published by Harvard Business School Publishing. Before starting his career in business education, Steven worked as a School & Sports Psychologist in Iowa. He got his PhD in School & Sports Psychology from the University of Iowa and his MBA from Northwestern Kellogg.

• Follow Professor Steven DeKrey on LinkedIn
• HKUST MBA
• Kellogg-HKUST EMBA
• Tiger, Peacock, Owl, Koala - Which Kind of Leader Are You?

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA
• Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs
• Get the Admissions Edge Course: Proven Techniques for Admission to Top Business Schools
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)

Professor Adrian Buss, Associate Professor of Finance and Academic Director of MBA Programs at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, discusses what makes the Frankfurt School’s MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights – What Makes the Frankfurt School MBA Unique? (4:20)
• Frankfurt School MBA Admissions & Scholarships – How to Improve Your Chances? (20:45)
• Career Opportunities after Frankfurt School – What to Know & How to Prepare (36:15)

About Our Guest

Dr. Adrian Buss is Associate Professor of Finance and Academic Director of MBA Programs at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. Prior to joining the Frankfurt School, Adrian taught as an Associate Professor of Finance at Insead for over 10 years.

Adrian graduated from the University of Mannheim with a Masters of Science in Mathematics and Business Informatics before getting his PhD in Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt.

• Frankfurt School of Finance & Management MBA Program

Touch MBA's Summary of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Full-time MBA: 

https://touchmba.com/frankfurt-school-finance-management-mba-program-admissions-interview-adrian-buss/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

When should you use an MBA admissions consultant? How can you get the most value? What should you look for when hiring one?

As a former MBA Admissions Director and Admissions Consultant, Darren shares his thoughts.

Questions 

• Why are MBA Admissions Consultants so expensive? Are they worth the fees? (6:25)
• Should you hire an MBA Admissions Consultant? Which service should you get? How can you get the most value? (13:10)
• What you should look for from an Admissions Consultant? (19:43)
• Questions to ask an MBA admissions consultant (21:12)
• A framework to help you make the decision (22:15)

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/should-you-hire-an-mba-admissions-consultant

Episode Sponsor

The IESE MBA in Barcelona is consistently ranked Top 15 worldwide by the Financial Times. Do you want to challenge yourself and take your career to the next level? IESE’s full time MBA program will transform your capacity to think strategically, explore new perspectives and be a leader in today’s global world. The IESE MBA: Give us 19 months and we give you a lifetime of impact.

Get informal feedback on your profile at mba.iese.edu or visit us on campus at our Open Days.

Katie Lloyd from Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business joins the show to discuss what makes the Georgia Tech MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Georgia Tech MBA students.

Program Highlights (4:19) | Admissions (21:03) | Scholarships (37:00) | Careers (41:18)

Georgia Tech Scheller MBA Highlights 

• Fall intake, 22 months, 80 students/year
• Class: 80 students / 4.5 years work exp / 25% international / 680 GMAT
• Students can explore 8 immersive tracks at the intersection of business and technology: technology commercialization, leading new ventures, innovating for sustainability, business analytics, computational finance, leading digital transformation, managing technology products, supply chain innovation
• ROI: two-thirds of class win funding through graduate assistantships and fellowships
• Placement for Class of 2016: 95% w/jobs w/in 3 months, $108,000 USD avg starting salary, $16,000 USD avg signing bonus
• Top Industries for Class of 2016: 40% Consulting / 19% Technology / 14% Financial Services / 6% Transportation & Logistics / 6% Consumer Products / 4% Health Care
• Ranked #29 by US News & World Report in 2018 MBA Rankings

About Our Guest

Katie Lloyd is Executive Director of MBA Admissions at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business. Previously, Katie served in senior admissions roles for Emory's Goizueta Business School, including Director of Admissions for its 1-year MBA. She has over 20 years over experience in MBA admissions. Katie attended Vanderbilt for her Bachelors, Indiana University Bloomington for her Masters and University of Georgia for her Doctor of Education.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/georgia-tech-scheller-mba-admissions-interview

Episode Sponsor

The IESE MBA in Barcelona is consistently ranked Top 15 worldwide by the Financial Times. Do you want to challenge yourself and take your career to the next level? IESE’s full time MBA program will transform your capacity to think strategically, explore new perspectives and be a leader in today’s global world. The IESE MBA: Give us 19 months and we give you a lifetime of impact.

Get informal feedback on your profile at mba.iese.edu or visit us on campus at our Open Days.

Vivien Koh from Essec Business School joins the show to discuss what makes the Essec Global MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Essec Global MBA students.

Program Highlights (3:28) | Admissions (21:28) | Scholarships (28:22) | Careers (31:02)

Essec MBA Highlights 

• September intake, 12 months, 100 students/year
• Students can study on French and/or Singapore campuses, depending on major
• Offers 6 majors in Luxury Brand Management, Hospitality Management, Finance, Strategy & Management, Enterprise Innovation, and Digital Business
• Top Destinations for Class of 2016: 50% France / 25% Asia / 10% Middle East & North America / 10% Europe (excluding France) / 5% North America
• Top Industries for Class of 2016: 30% Services / 25% Consulting / 20% Industry / 15% Startups / 5% Public Sector & NGOs / 5% Finance & Banking
• Ranked #27 by QS Global MBA Rankings 2018 (#13 in Europe)

About Our Guest

Vivien Koh is Executive Director, Business Development and Marketing for ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific. Previously, Vivien was Head of New Business Sales, Asia Pacific-Japan for Google and ASEAN Regional Sales Director for Oracle. Her sales and marketing career in technology sector spans over 20 years. Vivien received her MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/essec-global-mba-admissions-interview/

Episode Sponsor

The IESE MBA in Barcelona is consistently ranked Top 15 worldwide by the Financial Times. Do you want to challenge yourself and take your career to the next level? IESE’s full time MBA program will transform your capacity to think strategically, explore new perspectives and be a leader in today’s global world. The IESE MBA: Give us 19 months and we give you a lifetime of impact.

Get informal feedback on your profile at mba.iese.edu or visit us on campus at our Open Days.

Roughly one third of the top 100 business schools have started Masters in Business or Data Analytics programs, in response to the growing need for workers who can leverage data assets for competitive advantage.

What do MBA applicants need to know about MBA careers in the growing industry of data and business analytics?

Darren invites Shane Rai, Co-Founder of TenPoint7, a machine learning-as-a-service company, to share his experience as a technology consultant turned entrepreneur in the data analytics and service industry.

This is Part 4 of our MBA Career Series. Looking for more career-related podcasts? Click here.

Questions

• Shane's background (3:39)
• The difference between data science, data analytics and business analytics (7:00)
• How to break into the industry (11:00)
• What background & experience are data-centric companies looking for? (15:13)
• Is AI going to take over the world? (20:30)
• Selling data intelligence services (24:30)
• Interviewing for a data analytics role - what you need to know (26:41)
• Real world examples of data analytics in action (33:24)
• Worst parts of the job (37:50)
• Shane's recommended resources (39:46)
• Shane's final thoughts on the data analytics industry (41:20)

About Our Guest

After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Computing and Software Systems, Shane Rai worked 7 years for Deloitte Consulting in the technology service area, and then 2 years as Product Manager for SDL Social, which provides social media analytics and intelligence tools. Shane currently leads product development for TenPoint7, a machine-learning-as-a-service and data consulting provider based in Seattle.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/mba-careers-data-and-business-analytics

Episode Sponsor

The IESE MBA in Barcelona is consistently ranked Top 15 worldwide by the Financial Times. Do you want to challenge yourself and take your career to the next level? IESE’s full time MBA program will transform your capacity to think strategically, explore new perspectives and be a leader in today’s global world. The IESE MBA: Give us 19 months and we give you a lifetime of impact.

Get informal feedback on your profile at mba.iese.edu or visit us on campus at our Open Days.

7 senior MBA Admissions Directors from Berkeley Haas, Cornell Johnson, Virginia Darden, Duke Fuqua, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, and Yale School of Management came to Vietnam this Fall for an MBA admissions panel.

Darren shares the questions asked and lessons learned from the event.

Questions

1. GMAT or GRE - does it matter? (5:08)
2. How do schools evaluate undergrad transcripts? (5:39)
3. Should only business students apply for MBAs? (6:32)
4. What does the ideal resume look like? (7:33)
5. What do adcoms want to see in essays? (9:19)
6. Optional essay - should it be used? (11:13)
7. Letter of recommendations - what are b-schools looking for? (13:24)
8. Tips for interviews? (15:25)
9. How can applicants show interest in programs? (17:32)
10. What if your recommender is not a native English speaker? (18:06)
11. Common myths in the MBA application process? (18:25)
12. Does visiting a school campus increase chances? (21:03)
13. How do schools view multiple GMAT scores? (22:08)
14. How are IR and AWA evaluated and used? (23:27)
15. What if adcoms see conflicting evidence/data points for quant scores? (23:57)
16. Is international experience important? (26:07)
17. Interviews - is there any difference between adcom and student interviews? (27:47)
18. Do adcoms consider how long you’ve worked for your recommender? (29:05)
19. What is most stressful part of getting an MBA? (29:20)
20. Rewarding part? (30:00)
21. Bonus - Darren’s key takeaways from the event (31:42)

Admissions Directors at Multi-School Admissions Event in Ho Chi Minh (Sep 2017)

Eddie Asby (Cornell Johnson, Associate Director of Admissions & Financial Aid)
Candace Gonzales (Berkeley Haas, Associate Director of Admissions)
Rita Morrow (Virginia Darden, Associate Director of Admissions)
Jessica Brown (Duke Fuqua, Assistant Director of Admissions)
Taya Sapp (Michigan Ross, Associate Director of Admissions)
Maria Derlipanska (Yale Som, Associate Director of Admissions)
Fatema Dalal (NYU Stern, Director of MBA Admissions)

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/21-mba-application-questions-answered

Episode Sponsor

The IESE MBA in Barcelona is consistently ranked Top 15 worldwide by the Financial Times. Do you want to challenge yourself and take your career to the next level? IESE’s full time MBA program will transform your capacity to think strategically, explore new perspectives and be a leader in today’s global world. The IESE MBA: Give us 19 months and we give you a lifetime of impact.

Get informal feedback on your profile at mba.iese.edu or visit us on campus at our Open Days.

What do MBA applicants need to know about MBA careers in venture capital?

Darren invites his friend Garrett to share his experience, both as an MBA student looking to break into venture capital and as an interviewer for Hewlett Packard Ventures.

Garret has worked in venture capital and related jobs in San Francisco for 7 years – don’t miss his hard-earned insights into the industry!

This is Part 3 of our MBA Career Series. Looking for more career-related podcasts? Click here.

Questions

• Garrett’s background (4:50 )
• What do venture capitalists do? (9:56)
• What work background & experience are venture capital (VC) firms looking for? (17:00)
• The importance of networking to break into the industry (20:39 )
• How helpful are business school reputations and rankings in recruiting (23:40)
• Common entry points into VC as an MBA? (25:34)
• The (lack of a) recruiting process in VC (26:10)
• How VC’s and startups perceive MBAs (28:50)
• Interviewing with VCs - what you need to know (32:21)
• Traits of successful VCs (35:38)
• Best part of job? Worst part of job? (38:12)
• Venture capital opportunities for international MBAs in US (44:42)?
• Garrett’s recommended resources (48:47)
• Garrett’s final thoughts on succeeding in venture capital (50:07)
• Business school geography and venture capital (52:46)

About Our Guest

After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Garrett Wong worked 3 years as an investment banker at Wachovia and UBS, and then 2 years as a corporate development associate at Cisco, where he evaluated venture capital investments in clean tech and technology. After getting his MBA from Wharton, Garrett worked in a number of PE, VC and product management roles before joining Hewlett Packard Ventures.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/mba-careers-venture-capital

Episode Sponsor

Ranked among the top public universities in the US, The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business provides an outstanding MBA experience tailored to your interests and leadership development.

Whether switching careers, enhancing a career or starting a business, an MBA from Fisher provides tomorrow’s leaders with the knowledge and skills to succeed today.

Visit fisher.osu.edu to learn more about Fisher’s personalized MBA program and competitive scholarship opportunities.

What do MBA applicants need to know about MBA careers in investment banking?

Darren invites his friend Scott to share his experience, both as an MBA student looking to break into investment banking and as an MBA recruiter for Wells Fargo Securities.

Scott has worked in investment banking for 7 years after his MBA – don’t miss his hard-earned insights into the industry!

This is Part 2 of our MBA Career Series. Looking for more career-related podcasts? Click here.

Questions

• Scott's background (3:40)
• The 2 paths to entering investment banking (6:46)
• What do investment bankers do? (8:50)
• Common roles for recent MBA graduates (10:58)
• What is the recruiting process? (15:02)
• Bulge bracket vs. boutique investment banks (24:39)
• How b-schools help with recruiting (28:40)
• The Wharton alumni network and how to stay connected (30:10)
• What investment banks are looking for in new MBA hires (33:00)
• Interviews and dealing with technical questions (43:20)
• Scott's recommended resources for interview prep (49:35)
• The role of office locations and ìcore b-schools in recruiting (51:05)
• Investment banking opportunities for international students in the US? (59:20)
• Best part of job? Worst part of job? (1.01:05)
• Scott's final thoughts on succeeding in investment banking (1.07:25)

About Our Guest

Scott Dragicevich played professional baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays before going to business school. After getting his MBA from Wharton majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurship, Scott joined Wells Fargo Securities in New York City covering transportation and logistics. He currently works as Vice President - Investment Banking and Capital Markets, for Wells Fargo Securities in Los Angeles.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/mba-careers-investment-banking

Episode Sponsor

Ranked among the top public universities in the US, The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business provides an outstanding MBA experience tailored to your interests and leadership development.

Whether switching careers, enhancing a career or starting a business, an MBA from Fisher provides tomorrow’s leaders with the knowledge and skills to succeed today.

Visit fisher.osu.edu to learn more about Fisher’s personalized MBA program and competitive scholarship opportunities.