Full Transcript for Inside Cornell Tech’s One-Year MBA: Innovation, Careers, and Impact | Ep 121

believe. 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:03.680 Um so Cornell won. 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:07.760 And so I was like, you know, rooting them on on the sidelines, following along in the news. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:09.680 I was living in New York City at the time. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:16.400 Um and then call it like 2013, that's when they announced that the MBA program was gonna be launching. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:18.560 I think they started also with a master's in engineering. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:19.840 Master's in computer science. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:20.879 Okay. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:25.919 So when I read that the MBA program was starting, I was about six years post-graduation. 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:28.879 I was thinking about, okay, am I gonna go back to school? 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:30.080 When should I? 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:30.879 Is it worth it? 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:35.520 And I thought, okay, to be a part of the first of something, that's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:36.080 That's right. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:36.560 Absolutely. 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:42.159 Um, so I was thinking, Cornell, I love Cornell, chance to go back to my alma mater, spend the summer there. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:51.280 And just having the confidence in the university and working across tech my whole career and knowing I wanted to go back into tech kind of like sealed the deal for me. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:51.840 Yeah. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:57.360 And the one year program of it all for me really also meant means a lot to me. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:02.080 Like to be out of the workforce for longer than a year in tech, you can do it for sure. 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:03.039 So much changes. 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:06.319 So much change about the rapidity of a of an industry evolving. 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:06.639 Yeah. 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:08.560 So for me, that was a big selling point. 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:10.960 Um I think I had a lot of similar reasons. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.319 I was kind of in tech and I knew I wanted to stay at least tech adjacent. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:18.080 My my current career, notwithstanding, I had no idea that I would end up here. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:25.360 But at the time, knowing where you wanted to go and the idea, to your point, of only being out of the workforce for a year, it made it more, it made it feel like less of a gamble. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:26.240 There are trade-offs, right? 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:29.599 And we'll we'll kind of talk about the trade-offs of a one year versus a two-year program. 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:34.159 Um, but I think, yeah, it was interesting to be part of that that foundation. 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:35.759 And that too came with trade-offs, right? 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:40.800 And you know, we can kind of talk about how the program has has evolved since then because it does look different now. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:47.120 Um one key way is that, you know, back when we were there, there was no Roosevelt Island campus. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:47.599 Yes, right. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:50.080 And so And that's something I can speak to. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:50.400 Yeah. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:53.680 So I had the opportunity, I did not go to Cornell Tech. 00:03:53.680 --> 00:04:00.400 I had the opportunity to visit Cornell Tech, though, and it's on Roosevelt Island, so it is part of Manhattan next to Manhattan. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:08.080 So basically, it is as if you go into a rocket ship and go someplace completely different into a time machine that brings you to the 22nd century. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:13.360 First of all, Roosevelt Island is very is part of Manhattan, but it has an incredibly different feel to it. 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:14.719 It's incredibly relaxed. 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:17.839 So you get there though, the Cornell Tech Tech Campus is beautiful. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:19.279 Everything about it is future forward. 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:22.720 But you're right. 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:22.879 Right. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:23.439 You're right there. 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:25.199 You can take the F-train, you can take the Exactly. 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:25.680 You can drive there. 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:26.720 You can drive there. 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:28.000 Or you can take the gondola. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:28.560 That's right. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:29.600 Oh, yeah, yeah. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:31.120 Yes, yes, yes, yes. 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:31.759 Yeah. 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:32.959 But it's just an incredible campus. 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:36.160 And it's clear that they've also built it with an eye towards the future. 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:37.839 I mean, everything about it is the future. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:44.480 The classrooms are very future focused, sort of everyone there is really very much looking at what the world is going to look like 10 years from now. 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:47.680 And just being in that environment, that in alone is an experience. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:49.759 And I think that was part of the appeal too. 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:53.120 And the appeal now for people who are going is that it's very forward-looking. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:56.720 It's very experimental in terms of how the classes are taught. 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:57.839 It's very hands-on. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:05.680 If you want to be one of our success stories, sign up for a free consultation with a member of our full-time MBA admissions team. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:14.639 Since we've worked with tens of thousands of applicants over the past two decades, we can give you our honest opinion on your chances and help you put together your very best application. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:19.519 That is not a sales call, but rather your first session with one of us for free. 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:26.959 We can give you a profile evaluation, answer specific questions about the

process, review your resume, talk about your school choices, and so much more. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:29.759 Sign up at nba mission.com slash consult. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:31.839 We look forward to working with you. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:47.279 You know, we had three-week classes at the time, and you know, you you do get the foundation, but more of what we were learning was geared towards, okay, if you want to be in tech, you need to understand BC, you need to understand cap tables, you need to understand fundraising, you need to understand product development and innovation. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:53.120 And those things at the time were still sort of new areas of study, um, you know, within business school. 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:54.319 Now they're more common. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:06:01.600 But I mean, what did you think of sort of the the the way that the program mixes the different disciplines? 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:03.680 I will say that was also a selling point for me. 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:05.600 Because I think about okay, the workforce. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.240 I'm not working with other MBA students. 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:13.839 I'm working with engineers, with product managers, with someone in finance, like really cross-functional. 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:19.600 And Cornell Tech, to your point, you're in the classroom with multidisciplinary folks across university. 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:21.360 Corey, excuse me, were you an engineer? 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:22.000 Are you an engineer? 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:22.800 No, no. 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:27.120 Um, but working in tech, you kind of you are continually working and you need to speak the language. 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:28.160 You need to speak the language. 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:33.360 And there's the studio, I don't know if we're gonna talk about the studio, but you're literally working with engineers and yes, yeah. 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:45.680 So to your point, a big draw was half the year we had what's called the studio, and they still have this now, um, where you're literally, you know, whether you want to be an entrepreneur or not, you need to learn to build a product, build a business plan, and it is hands-on. 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:52.720 We would have hackathons and sprints and scrums and all of those things that you know are very hard to learn theoretically. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:53.040 Yeah. 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:54.560 And it was a lot of fun too. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:07:02.560 But you're paired with um two masters in computer science students, or now they have masters in technology with a public interest focus. 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:03.759 So it's called PITEC. 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:05.920 Um, now they have it's really interesting. 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:08.800 They have they have urban tech focuses, they have biotech focuses. 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:16.160 So the idea is really to kind of cultivate these, you know, sort of entrepreneurial thinkers, if not

necessarily entrepreneurs themselves. 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:16.959 That's right. 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:20.879 And I think sometimes entrepreneurship actually is somewhat of a misnomer. 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:37.199 And what I mean by that is innovation right now is ubiquitous in every company, doesn't matter old economy, new economy, the type of thing they're talking about right now has to be in really it has to be part of it, any company, because honestly, they all have to embrace what is very, very, very quickly changing world. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:41.600 Anyway, and for those of us, I don't know about you, I I knew I was never gonna be an entrepreneur. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:42.240 That's just not a good idea. 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:43.199 Yeah, no same, actually. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:43.600 Right. 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:58.399 That's that wasn't kind of in my in my roadmap, but they complement the sort of studio hands-on, which is still valuable learning, with now they call it um big studio or big co, where we back in the day we partnered with different companies who sponsored projects and they were kind of like skunk work projects. 00:07:58.399 --> 00:07:58.560 Yeah. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:00.079 Like I think what what was yours? 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:01.439 It wasn't Google, actually. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:03.839 Oh, we were in the Google building, so yeah. 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:07.040 Yeah, Google One today was with their philanthropic arm. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:07.600 Yes. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:10.240 Um that was I just looked this up, shut down in 2020. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:14.800 But, anyways, yeah, it was a side project that someone on the Google One team wanted extra help. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:28.160 So sourcing students that were, you know, eager across multi-you know, MBAs at product engineers to, you know, build whatever we thought was a good idea, and then presenting it not only to across Cornell Tech, but to the folks at Google. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:30.639 And getting feedback from them too, sort of in the process. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:31.759 I this is dating myself. 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:32.639 I worked for AOL. 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:33.519 That was my project. 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.240 It still existed, and we did something with beacons. 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:37.600 Do you remember what beacons are? 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:38.960 I you've already lost me. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:40.000 What is AOL? 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:43.440 I hear it in my head. 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:45.120 Right, we can all we can all remember that tone. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:46.399 It's etched in our brains forever. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:59.279 But but beacons were like geolocation tools, but you sort of plugged them in, and the idea was okay, Harold walks into CBS, it knows by your phone that you're here and it's gonna push um, you know, advertisements or discounts to you. 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:03.200 Right now, that's that's

everywhere, but back then it was really, it was really novel. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:05.120 And you got to kind of really think experimentally. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:08.879 Listen, I think at the end of the day, what we're talking about here is a mindset as well. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:12.559 And it's the idea here of self-selecting the people who are gonna be in tech. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:26.480 They know they're gonna be in tech at that point and are really looking for uh the ability, like you said, to crawl to speak to all sorts of different people, to really think about the future a lot in a way that maybe a two-year MBA program just in some ways it almost is too slow to do that. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:33.360 This idea here of this accelerated pace actually to me sounds really exciting and actually probably mimics the business world a lot more than that. 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:36.480 What were kind of the highlights for you now that you're you're looking back on it? 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:38.000 Yeah, I mean, there are many. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.519 And I think the the trite cliche thing for me to say is like the people and the network. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:42.720 I that is true though. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:43.840 I I believe that. 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:50.879 Um I mean, frankly, we haven't caught caught kept in touch that much, but the second I got your phone, your name popped up, my phone was like, oh my god, Gabby, absolutely. 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:52.000 Can't how can I help? 00:09:52.000 --> 00:10:00.960 Um, but I'll also say the comfort in ambiguity, like building that muscle in the program, gave me the confidence. 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:05.039 Like all these years later that yes, I use today, and I'll use in the future. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:11.840 What whether you're an entrepreneur or working in business in tech, which I'm doing in a large company, things evolve so quickly. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:21.759 What not just like tech changing, like the business strategy is changing and having that in a confidence that I can move through that with the company, I definitely got from Cornell Tech. 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:23.200 Yeah, Corey, where are you working at? 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:24.240 I'm at Grubhub. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:24.879 Oh, okay. 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:25.200 Yes. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:30.720 So Grow Hub has obviously been around for 20 plus years, but it was recently acquired by Wonder. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:31.200 Yes. 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:39.679 So now we're under this kind of late stage startup umbrella as a 20-year-old company, but moving very quickly, you know, they're on a very public path to IPO. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:47.039 So all to say, you know, again, being comfortable in ever-changing roles, managers, the tech changing, the business goals changing. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:57.120 Again, that started from saying yes to the V1 program, but also I'm sure 10 years later, the Cornell Tech program,

you they still practice that comfort in an ever-changing environment. 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:01.279 So who do you think is sort of the tech MBA right for? 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:03.120 Yes, great question. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:06.559 I would say I I'm not gonna force fit like one single person. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:10.639 As you said, like we both didn't go in saying I want to like be an entrepreneur. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:22.159 Um, what I can say is what it's maybe not right for is someone who, you know, is in iBanking and knows they want to go back into iBanking or in finance and like singularly focused on just getting that MBA for the MBA. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:26.320 I'll also say it's it's not right for someone who just like wants the Ivy League name on their resume. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:33.840 It's not just about Cornell, it's really about this unique angle of the tech campus and how tech is changing all these different industries. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:44.960 So whether you're in medicine, in law, in sales, wanting to be able to speak different languages and use tech to advance that industry and that career, I think it could be right for anyone. 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:47.039 Um so it's not a great answer to your question. 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:51.440 No, I do think because I talk to clients about this all the time, you know, the one year versus two year trade-off. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:58.080 And I think the one thing that you you don't get with a one-year program is you don't get that sort of time to explore to the same extent. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:11:59.759 You feel like uncertain, it's right. 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:01.679 Like you need to at least know that you want to stay within tech. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:07.440 If you're not a hundred percent sure that you want to stay in the tech adjacent space, this might not be right for you. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:07.759 Yeah. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:08.399 Yeah, that's right. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:10.080 You do have to go in there with a lot of certainty. 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:15.360 You have to, again, the one-year program, all one year programs work really move very, very quickly. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:17.519 So you have really have to have a vision where you want to go. 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:20.320 Yeah, yeah, no, no, absolutely absolutely. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:22.000 Um, just very quickly, you touched on it. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:25.679 Okay, you're Cornell grad yourself and now part of the Cornell Tech campus. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:31.919 How integrated are they with the university, which again is, you know, two donkeys and a mule away from New York City. 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:32.480 Yes. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:34.399 Ithaca is not close. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:41.759 I remember deeply that summer in Ithaca where we you basically condense the full one year MBA program into a summer semester. 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:43.120 Yeah, they don't do that anymore. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:43.600 They don't. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:47.039 Yeah, I just I just learned that they they no longer send them up to Ithaca. 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:49.200 Okay, so it's on that makes sense on the campus. 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:49.600 Okay. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:55.919 Well, and when it was there, we were immersed with the one-year accelerated Cornell, the Johnson students. 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:56.080 Yeah. 00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:09.200 Yeah, no, and probably a different type of immersion will happen because Cornell, the full-time MBA program, has now a program called OnePlus One, where they have people do their first year up in Ithaca, sort of the the regular MBA program, and then they send them to the Cornell Tech campus for their second year. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:15.519 That evolved because so many of the traditional Johnson two-year students were taking classes up at Cornell Tech. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:23.519 I don't know if you remember we had some, and that just kept the demand kept coming from people who wanted to be in tech, but maybe still wanted that more traditional experience. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:26.639 And so I tell clients who are not who are a little bit on the fence. 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:29.440 The OnePlus One program I think is really, is really brilliant. 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:29.759 Yeah. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:34.399 And I'm surprised more schools sort of don't offer those kind of hybrid um programs. 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:41.039 As you you look at your career um, you know, t ten years down the road, um, what are you still taking away from the program? 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:50.399 Yeah, I think it's it's I don't want to repeat myself, but I I do think it's that like that confidence and comfort in working in tech where things evolve rapidly. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:52.960 I applied to a job at Grubhub. 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:54.799 That that's not what I'm doing right now. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:58.159 You know, um, in fact, two jobs later, I'm doing something else. 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.840 Um similar uh before Grabhub, I was at Wayfair for about eight and a half years. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:05.039 Um that company was about a year post-IPO. 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:12.720 Um likewise, I I kind of resume dropped after Cornell Fed because there was no formal recruitment into Wayfair at the time. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:15.360 Um, that was the job you got right out of Cornell's. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:16.000 Yeah, yeah. 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:17.919 Yeah, but it wasn't it wasn't a formal recruiting. 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:21.679 Um I would presume now they have recruiting Wayfair. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:25.279 They do but it still takes more intentionality, I think, than you know. 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:29.600 And four to six months into my first role at Wayfair, I pivoted across the company. 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:37.440 Um, so again, that that comfort and confidence that I got from Cornell Tech, as

someone who, I don't know if you can tell, I'm not the most outspoken person. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:39.279 I like to listen first and then speak. 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:48.960 I gaining that confidence in a classroom with strangers who are now some of my closest friends or peers that I will talk to any day of the week was something that I is forever invaluable from Cornell Tech. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:50.559 And Gabi, how about you? 00:14:50.879 --> 00:15:01.200 I think kind of similarly, it gave me, it gave me a sense of what's possible within technology because I, you know, I was coming from a retail background, and that was really the lens that I had going in. 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:06.159 But it exposed me to, you know, we had classmates who were digital transformation consultants. 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:12.960 We had classmates who were in fintech, we had classmates who had been founders and were now looking to do their next thing. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:14.799 And it does push you out of your comfort zone. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:17.360 You know, a lot of schools have pitch competitions and things like that. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:18.399 That was every week. 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:22.080 Every, every Friday, we had to get up and and pitch. 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:28.159 Um, the other thing that I think was really valuable that I remember was hearing from practitioners. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:28.559 Yeah. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:32.080 We had a really small Eric Schmidt came to talk to us, Ariana Huffington. 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:32.320 Wow. 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:33.919 And not in a good group right now. 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:40.159 It was, it was really, it was really, really remarkable because you got to ask them these kind of unvarnished questions. 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:42.320 You know, there was there were no cameras back then. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:44.080 And you know, they really took it. 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:46.480 Um you could ask these kind of personal questions. 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:51.840 I think the comfort and ambiguity, the adaptability, I think has has stood the test of time. 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:56.159 And I think that that kind of ability to speak to people from different disciplines. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:03.200 I think sometimes with more traditional programs, you do pick a lane, you're a finance person because that's the career you're you're gonna for. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:07.919 And with Cornell Tech, I felt like it was much more open-ended in a lot of ways. 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:09.360 No, that's so interesting. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:13.120 Why would you suggest to someone Cornell two-year MBA versus Cornell Tech? 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:17.200 Two-year MBA will give you a more traditional MBA background. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:21.440 I think that is one thing that I I felt I was missing to some extent. 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:22.639 I think they've made up for it. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:29.200 At the time,

you know, a three weeks is not a ton of time to really get a good grasp of operations or a good grasp of strategy or things like that. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:30.879 The class has moved very quickly. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:38.320 And with a two-year MBA, you have a semester-long class, I think you do get a chance to to digest things more um more fully. 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:46.000 And so if you want that foundation, if you don't have, you know, a great business background, I think a two-year program might be better for you. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:53.440 But if your goal is to iterate, to learn to innovate, to learn to think quickly and on your feet and kind of be adaptable. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:17:07.599 And if you want to be in the tech space, and tech is integrated in every company now, but but at the same time, like Wafer's technically a furniture company, but yeah, you know, the business model was entirely revolving around the tech platform, the tech stack. 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:11.279 And so, you know, I think if that's where you want to go, I would suggest it for you. 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:15.279 I think you, as we said, you know, you need to know what you want to get to get out of it. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:19.759 I think you can be, you can pivot any number of ways within technology because it's everywhere. 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:30.160 Um, but if you're interested in banking or if you're interested in going into consumer packaged goods or whatever it is, sort of more, I don't want to say traditional fields, but but yeah, then it then it might not um be right for you. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:34.240 The other thing it's great at is um producing, I call it a product management factory. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:36.319 Product management is such a profession right now. 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:39.519 And also we're seeing product management sort of all sorts of different industries. 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:40.000 Yeah. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:48.160 Yeah, I I think that working with engineers, forcing you to work with engineers day in, day out, that's you know, experience that's really hard to kind of replicate. 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:55.359 And so a lot of our a lot of graduates still go into Amazon as PMs, they go into Google as PMs, and it actually works both ways. 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:59.200 The engineers learn to kind of understand the business side of things as well. 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:02.559 And so I think that cross-pollination is um is really valuable. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:03.680 That that makes sense. 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:04.880 Who were some of your classmates? 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:06.079 Was everybody coming from tech? 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:09.920 I think everyone had to have some kind of tech familiarity. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.039 There's a couple consultants, like the Deloitte folks. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:15.920 Um, but they are still, I think their their clients are tech. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:16.559 Correct. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:23.039 So I think they weren't tech per se, but they were in the digital kind of transformation or fintech or something like that space. 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:30.559 But we had people from MasterCard who were in MasterCard's innovation lab that didn't necessarily have anything to do with tech per se, but they went on to Facebook payments. 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:30.720 Yeah. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:32.319 Um, or things like Pinterest, folk. 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:34.000 Pinterest, eBay. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:34.799 Yeah. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:43.519 Um as we said, we had one who was um an MD and he's gone on to do a lot of um like orthopedic innovation with 3D printing and things like that. 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:47.599 He wanted to be an MD who could launch his own business of products, right? 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:49.839 And so that's kind of why he did that. 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.480 You've done really, really well, really impressive things. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:56.000 You know, you always hear this out of so-and-so who went to HBS or whatever else. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:00.319 But you know, our our um our classmate Brian, who invented datalog, is sold to Nike. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:03.759 Um, and now he's working on you know a different AI-related project. 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:08.559 And so we've had a number of companies that were acquired come out of come out of CT. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:17.680 I think also so unique about Cornell Tech is that it's not just graduates seeking employment, it's employers coming to Cornell Tech to see what the students are doing. 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:18.319 That's true. 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:19.680 Oh, that's right. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:23.359 Meaning that you're gonna give these pitches, you're gonna do these projects and things you're actually bringing. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:24.480 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:30.079 Yeah, it was sort of like you talk about Stanford, you know, like all the VCs from San Angel Road come and hang out on campus. 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:33.920 That does happen to a lesser extent, but you know, they're not Silicon Alley. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:37.519 Yeah, that is getting um the entrepreneurial scene in New York City. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:40.559 It's but it's actually been big for a while, but now it becomes more and more prominent. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:54.000 They know, you know, between the the PhDs and the master's students in in urban tech and whatnot who were coming up with product ideas, and you have these business students, you have these really capable founding teams. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:20:06.160 And so I remember, you know, instead of um us going to recruiters, they had um we stood around and the various companies and VCs and so on and went around and the anti-career. 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:07.680 Yeah, yeah. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:11.119 So they they came in and kind of talked to us about what we were

interested in. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:11.359 Yeah. 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.319 Um, and it was an interesting way of kind of looking at it. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:17.519 But listen, I'm sure it must have been nice being in an innovative place. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:25.519 Itself was a startup that creates some sort of environment right there, as well as this idea here of filled with people who want to be pioneers in some ways. 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:28.880 That also makes it for a certain um certain type of environment there. 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:32.000 So now to ask you the question, so you had a lot of choices, obviously. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.160 So why Cornell Tech in your mind? 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:39.359 For me, I mean, I was farther along in my career than many of my classmates. 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:42.799 I was I was 30, I was practicing age by my DIY. 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:47.279 Um we did have one 40-something-year-old in our class who had worked at Verizon. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:51.680 But um, I was farther along in my career, and so I think the one-year piece intrigued me. 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:58.559 I think the tech focus intrigued me, and and I'm someone who likes to to build and be a part of something. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:04.319 And so that as Corey was saying, like the chance to kind of shape the program really early on was exciting. 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:06.720 And it sounds like it's still be this innovative place. 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:11.759 I mean, when I hear urban tech, when I hear some of these other things I mentioned, it's like, wow, that's interesting on its own. 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:13.599 And the people who'll be attracted to it. 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:20.559 Yeah, and I and I think they're purposely kind of creating this ecosystem within Cornell Tech alone. 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:36.319 Like you go to Roosevelt Island, and as I was saying, there are people who are developing products for urban tech, for real estate tech, for health tech, um, you know, any number of these kind of specializations that are maybe, maybe one class here, maybe there's a club at another campus, but it's really um developing that there. 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:43.920 I mean, I remember at Cornell when we were in Ithaca, and they still do this, they told us, you know, go look for IP at the research labs. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:44.559 Right, right, right. 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:44.799 Right. 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:49.200 There may be PhD students who are developing crazy things, but that don't know how to commercialize it. 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:49.440 Yeah. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:52.160 And so yeah, go hang out by the patent and license office. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:52.720 Yeah, yeah. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:54.720 Exactly right and see what comes out of it. 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:57.359 In fact, how is how have you found the alumni network? 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:58.480 I mean, we're seeing it here in real life. 00:21:58.480 --> 00:21:58.880 Yeah, yeah. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:00.880 But obviously it was a little bit slow to grow. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:01.119 Yeah. 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:02.640 So how has it caught up? 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:04.799 I mean, where is where where is it now? 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:06.559 That's one thing I was gonna say too. 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:09.599 Our class was 30 something teeny tiny. 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:13.279 I think now it's three access, so it was 90 something, which is still really small. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:22.480 I'll say it it's it's strong in in the sense that, as I said, like if I see anyone, that whether it's Cornell, Cornell Tech, whatever, reaching out to me, I want to help. 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:24.640 And I I think we share that sentiment. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:27.039 Now, when it's Cornell Tech, there's a special place in my heart. 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:27.759 Of course. 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:30.400 Um because you know, people really self-select into that program. 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:38.480 And to to just, you know, to want to immerse yourself so deeply so for such a short time, I think the bonds that we had really are so strong. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:43.039 As we were kind of joking before, there was a lot of couples that came out of the thing. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:44.400 We got to know each other very deeply. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:48.880 I'll say the faculty too, they really um lend themselves to our success. 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:51.680 It felt like they lived and breeds it with us, and I think that's true now. 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:55.039 A lot of the practitioners don't just kind of parachute in. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:00.240 Um, they're there week after week, you know, kind of working with you and and coaching you. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:03.119 So you get a level of mentorship that I think is is really valuable. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:05.759 But yeah, probably they they probably live right by there. 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:09.359 They're office, the Etsy office down the street. 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:09.680 Yeah. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:10.000 Yeah. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.160 Um but I think you are part of the broader Johnson network to your point. 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:18.240 I do feel, you know, I'm gonna jump a little higher for something from Cornell Tech, to be totally honest. 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:23.440 Yeah, but I think that also gave me some comfort in making the decision was okay, you know, we debated. 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:26.880 This was actually, I'm remembering there was this whole debate about what do we call ourselves? 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:28.960 Are we the Johnson Cornell Tech MBA? 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:31.759 So our diploma is say Johnson. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:34.079 Um and is that still the case, Dina? 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:36.079 I do not know whether it's Jack Checks. 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:37.119 Yeah, we said Jack Tech. 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:40.720 Well, yeah, it still says, I think on the website it's the Johnson Cornell Tech. 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.559 And so the program goes from is it a 15th month program? 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.440 Do I understand correctly? 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:47.039 Okay, so a summer plus the year. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:47.599 Yeah, yeah. 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:48.000 Okay. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:50.079 So it's akin to J Term, if you think about it that way. 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:51.599 Um, no, no, that makes sense. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:52.559 Columbia J Term. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:56.480 Yes, Columbia's January term, which is their year and a half or year and change program. 00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:02.960 Gavi, Corey, thanks so much for being here today, filling us in a little bit more about Cornell Tech, which it seems like such a wonderful program. 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:03.440 Yes. 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:04.400 Thank you so much for having me. 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:09.680 Exciting news! You can now access OnTrack by MBA Mission for free. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:14.079 Take our two-minute onboarding questionnaire to personalize your learning path. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:27.039 Choose the free plan, and you'll have unlimited access to our complete modules on MBA application timelines, standardized testing, your professional background, community leadership, school selection, and more. 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:34.400 You'll also get access to select lessons from our brainstorming, personal statement, essay, resume, and recommendation modules. 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:40.720 It's a great introduction to the on track platform and will help you jumpstart the MBA application process. 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:44.960 Get started today at ontrack.mba mission.com.