I arrived in Cambridge with an aggressively specific three-part checklist: Given that Cambridge sits at the heart of “Silicon Fen,” it felt like the perfect place to pull this off. Plus, after my first formal college dinner, surrounded by architecture older than my home country and people speaking in hushed, intelligent tones, I was completely […]
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Category: Entrepreneurship
From operations to strategy and execution: building Strathen Group after the Cambridge MBA
Across my career, I have seen a pattern repeat across very different organisations: strategy only creates value when leaders have the capacity, ownership and operating discipline to deliver it. Before the Cambridge MBA, I built my early career as an engineer and operator in Canada’s energy sector. At Enbridge, I led root cause analysis across […]
From winter break to back in Cambridge: Early Lent Term reflections
Steven Pillon, Cambridge MBA Class of 2025, reflects on returning to Cambridge for Lent Term after a whirlwind winter break. From travel and time with loved ones to discovering how much the cohort now feels like home, the second term marks a shift- deeper friendships, new electives, and a growing appreciation of just how special the Cambridge MBA experience is.
A powerful launchpad – my MBA at Cambridge
Pivoting from a career in capital markets to launching my own start up has been both bold and deeply fulfilling. The fast paced deal making and pressure tested decision-making I developed in finance have translated seamlessly into the entrepreneurial world. But it was through the MBA that I truly connected with a deeper purpose, exploring […]
From gemstones to frameworks: My Cambridge MBA journey
On the day that I decided to apply for Cambridge MBA, I took the time to look around at the jewellery store that I had built and run for over 5 years. The jewelleries sparkled and shone, indicative of the growth that my entire team had experienced and contributed to. We had spent years acquiring the skills […]
Transforming ideas into impact: My 3-day journey in social entrepreneurship
Entering the realm of social entrepreneurship was like stepping into a world where passion meets pragmatism, where every idea carries the potential to ignite change. I recently had the privilege of participating in a 3-day workshop at King’s College, designed for aspiring social entrepreneurs. This immersive experience was a deep dive into the intricacies of […]
Finding our new home in Cambridge: A startup journey
Originally, our plan was to set up our office and future life in London. However, everything changed when Rina and I arrived in Cambridge. Immersing ourselves in this new environment, we unexpectedly fell in love with the city. Cambridge isn’t just a place to live; it has become a source of inspiration and comfort in […]
MBA reflections and ‘predictions’ as we forge towards another year
As we are heading towards the end of an eventful 2022, I am taking a moment to share my reflections on the first few months after completing my MBA at Cambridge Judge Business School. My initial motivation to be part of the MBA at this specific university, was to surround myself with one of the […]
A Cambridge startup diary – Liquified
When I learnt about a tech entrepreneur society with thousands of members a month before my Cambridge MBA, I realised I had to join. I was chosen for the Director of Marketing Strategy role at CUTEC. This role promised to help me refine my marketing management skills, but also help me meet hundreds of student founders […]
What inspires me – reflecting on my Cambridge MBA year
Very shortly indeed, my MBA at Cambridge comes to an end. After about 27 years of succumbing to deafening voices and unreal expectations of the world around me, I finally dared to live these 300+ days in my own grand, glorious and utterly goofy way. “This life is mine alone. So, I stopped asking people […]
My Cambridge MBA entrepreneurship journey
“A successful warrior is the average person with a laser-like focus” – Bruce Lee In early 2018, I launched a food related entrepreneurial project which failed miserably because of my inability to connect with the target market. This experience not only gave me a good 200 words to describe my most spectacular failure on the […]
My education start up – MIRAIing – an MBA career journey into entrepreneurship
About my entrepreneurial journey Honestly speaking, I did not think about becoming an entrepreneur seriously until my Cambridge Judge life started. Before joining the Cambridge MBA, I was working in the public sector, providing international cooperation in the Japan International Cooperation Agency. My career goal after my MBA was a career change to work in […]
Serendipity or hacking your way around luck.
In mid April I had the opportunity, along with some of my MBA cohort, to speak with Cambridge Judge alumnus Hamza Mudassir about his career path and views on his post MBA decisions. Encouraging us to trust in our capabilities and the attractiveness of Cambridge MBA graduates when it comes to finding a job, he mentioned […]
A ‘Localing’ start up making an impact in 2021
At the end of last year Business Because featured MBA graduates in their feature ‘MBA Startups to look out for in 2021 – a coronavirus special’. We caught up with one of the founders, Deepak Ojha, to hear about the social venture ‘Localing’ that grew out of last year’s Covid crisis. Established in May 2020 with […]
MBA startups sharing a moment of HOPE
In the past 12 months, I became a mother, and this experience has changed my life in many beautiful ways. Whilst my husband and I were looking for a toy for our son in our local town, we realised that there was a lack of variety and options for baby goods. This led me to […]
A new venture – Skinlync
The Cambridge MBA is life-changing in many ways; for us, it led to the birth of our venture, Skinlync. Entrepreneurship post-MBA From ideation to reality, 2020 has been a truly remarkable year for our entrepreneurship journey. After a good deal of blood, sweat and tears, we finally launched Skinlync in November, a platform that simplifies self-management […]
Crafty Business: Eastern Market Brewing Company GCP Report
Fairness and Accessibility. These are probably not the first words that come to mind when you think of craft beer and yet they were two words that kept coming up during our interviews with founders and master brewers from some of the top craft breweries in the world. The craft beer industry in the US […]
Project lift off & blue sky thinking
It’s lift off for the first MBA team project of the year, as Christina and her team join an aerospace start-up. She explains why the Cambridge Venture project is ideal for individuals looking for management consulting experience and how the project has helped the MBAs understand more – not just about their client – but […]
How to finance your start-up
One of the key reasons I wanted to study at Cambridge is its world-beating technology cluster and the opportunities that it provides. Just consider this – a town with a population of around 100,000 people that has over 1,500 science and technology-based companies – the ‘Cambridge Cluster’/’Silicon Fen’ is a truly impressive feat. It is […]
An entrepreneur goes back to school
About me…. A typical engineer with atypical dreams, I ventured into entrepreneurship – by starting a beverage alcohol company immediately after completing my undergraduate course in 2009. I enjoyed the unrivaled feat of introducing ‘Ready to Drink’ alcoholic beverages and other spirits in the Indian market. My decision to take a break from my business […]