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Essay Question:
Which one of Goizueta's core values resonates with you the most and why?
All of Goizueta's core values reseonate within me, however, none have contributed to more to my success nor defined my professional and personal character to a greater degree than courage has. Courage is the prerequisite value in the set of Goizueta's core values; absent of courage it can prove difficult to muster-up any of the other core values. For instance, we have all made mistakes (to err is human right?). Should I have not had the courage to recognize and be accountable for my mistakes, I would not be perceived as a man of integrity. In my professional and personal life I have found that every succesful outcome to a situation or experience begins with overcoming certain barriers, namely fear. My ability to face my fears (i.e., fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of what others will think) has played the central role in my greatest professional and personal accomplishments. One such example is when, at age 25, I defended my work on a unique project against a panel of compensation professionals from one of the world's largest companies. As a way to broaden my professional experience and earn extra money in 2002, my partner and I provided pay analysis services for a medium sized law firm. I calculated the present value of a Fortune 10 top 5 executive client that had recently been separated from his employer and was being asked to defend our work in a high-profile mediation. My partner, a 25 year compensation veteran, was out of the country and had provided mostly conceptual oversight on the project. The fear the panel discovering errors or invalid assumptions in our work was incredibly daunting, but I decided to fulfill the request and attend the mediation. In preparation, I mobilized a team of peers to review my analysis and assumptions, one peer being one of the worlds leading authorities in compensation. Confident in my work, I attended the mediation and successfully defended our work. In the end the client whose compensation we defended didn't settle his case that day. Nonetheless, I had successfully (and respectfully) thwarted every attempt to discredit our analysis. That day I felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment and I have drawn upon that success many times since then to build up the confidence I needed to take other projects of great size and importance, such as leading a task force to resolve inconsistencies that may have prevented the successful integration of McGraw-Hill's largest acquisition and facilitating a seminar I developed to teach disadvantaged families in my church how to collectively budget and save their money. It is this core value of courage that I would draw upon to maximize my contribution to the Goizueta Business School experience. It is extremely important for me to be able to share ideas with other business students diverse not only in culture, but in experience as well. While the small size of Goizueta can provide the intimacy I need to build meaningful relationships with my professors and a diverse group of peers, I will need to first draw upon the courage to share my perspectives and experiences unique to my background initiate a fair exchange. Goizueta's emphasis on developing responsible leaders is what most attracted me to the program, and I am very excited about the possibility of using its many outlets to deveop my inherent leadership ability to the greatest extent.
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Essay Question:
Describe a significant professional achievement.
Although I have a number of professional achievements that I consider significant, I recall a recent event with my company, Vision Venture Fund, in which I use my problem solving and leadership skills to initiate a change in process and an eventual improved outcome. Medical Logics, one of the venture fund's portfolio companies, was close to completing development of a new consumer product, but it required further effort for a successful market launch. The product market launch was a critical step for the success of Medical Logics and many of the venture fund members got involved in the product's pre-launch planning. Although good sense implies that many intelligent people working towards a goal should prove constructive, a common saying comes to mind: 'too many cooks spoil the broth.' During our first product planning meeting, too many divergent ideas were presented and a conclusion seemed virtually unattainable. To move the project forward, I launched a 'two team' approach that required the identification of the product problems and the classification of each problem as either a business planning or product development issue. Contrary to our first meeting that created much confusion, our second meeting called to identify and classify problems proved successful, with all team members working together quite efficiently, quickly identifying numerous issues and generally agreeing on each ones category. The next step was to identify the specific skills of the team members. The senior partner and I analyzed each individual, accounting for their past successes and failures, and assigning him or her either to the business team or to the development team. Each team then received the appropriate task list of issues generated from the previous brainstorming session. Through our analysis, we realized that given one's specific skill set, he or she would be more efficient and productive in one area more so than the other. The key element to the 'two team' solution did not depend on whether everyone agreed on each issue's solution; rather, it was that every issue was solved by those best suited to do so. Knowing that the venture fund members were responsible for numerous unrelated responsibilities, I realized that the possibility of neglect existed. To ensure this did not become an issue, I made sure each team was on target by periodically reviewing its task list and verifying that the necessary issues were solved or appropriately attended to. I used this system of review not only as a timeline check, but also as a tool to spur competition between the teams. As simple as this method may seem, it actually created a strong sense of initiative toward achieving goals. The problems surrounding completing the product for consumer use while advantageously launching the product to market had been solved by the deadline. Medical Logics developed a product that has high value to the end user, and was successfully launched to the cardiology and ophthalmology markets through a combination of structured sales teams, marketing at regional conferences, and a support line at the company's headquarters. Playing an integral part in the triumph of this project, I learned that not only is leadership essential to the collaboration of a group, but also that every individual contributing his or her own talents, when done constructively, is critical to the overall success of every project. In no way do I take full credit for the success of the product. However, I believe that although I was one of the youngest members of the team, my quick and critical insight into the inefficient approach initially employed helped yield a more beneficial result.
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Essay Question:
Describe your future career goals.
My career goal in the near-term is to work with a buyout & turnaround group, and my long-term goal is to be a successful entrepreneur. Since my college days, I have wanted to start my own business. Although this sounds simple, in reality being a successful entrepreneur has proven quite difficult. With this goal in mind, I began a career path to provide me with the necessary industry experience and the opportunity to refine my business savvy. I started my career as an investment banker with McDonald Investments, where I learned how to critically analyze companies and interact with high-level executives. As a person with high entrepreneurial spirit, I wanted to learn more about ventures and how companies were formulated and built. I moved on to Vision Venture Fund, a company that provides startup capital to and plays a strong management role in its portfolio companies. At Vision Venture, I have had the opportunity to further develop my analytical skills while acquiring invaluable insight into building a successful business. Additionally, I have the opportunity to influence companies on a day-to-day and long-term basis, and manage employees of different backgrounds with differing perspectives. These experiences have led me to solidify my short-term goal of pursuing an MBA to seek a position with a buyout & turnaround company. For many buyout firms, the hiring requirement is an MBA combined with several years of investment banking or venture capital experience. A Georgetown MBA will further help me tailor my background to achieve this short term goal. My goal of working for a buyout firm is linked directly to my long-term goal of starting my own business. Working with such a firm will allow me to continue to improve my understanding of the intricacies of business and to build the necessary network of colleagues and fellow entrepreneurs to proceed with my own venture. My desire to start my own business stems from wanting personal fulfillment by seeing my own creation succeed, and also so that I have the opportunity to return to society the opportunities it has given me by providing jobs and supporting positive social programs. Although I believe that having an MBA is crucial for career advancement, attending Georgetown will be more than just a stepping stone on my career path. The McDonough School of Business is an excellent setting to continue to develop my entrepreneurial skills. I believe that continued education will increase my technical knowledge of business while polishing the many skills that I already possess. However, the MBA experience does not take place only in the classroom. I look forward to interacting with my classmates and creating the valuable contacts that are increasingly important in today's dynamic business world. Just as the associates built through professional relationships will be crucial in successfully pursuing my own venture, so will the lifelong friends I will make at Georgetown. In addition, because of my entrepreneurialism, my involvement in my personal ventures will continue. This gives me the opportunity to bring valuable real-world knowledge and experience back into the classroom, where I hope to share my lessons from both successes and failures with my colleagues. I truly believe that my real-world experience from the past and what I am continuing to learn, combined with a Georgetown MBA, will create an optimal balance of education and practical knowledge. These highly valued qualities will allow me to fulfill both my short-term goal and eventually my long-term goal of becoming a successful entrepreneur. In pursuing these goals, I keep in mind that 'success is a journey, not a destination.'
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Essay Question:
Why will you be an asset to our program?
I decided to write this essay to highlight my entrepreneurial spirit and my undertaking of several business ventures that make me not only extremely unique but also a valuable asset to the McDonough School of Business. In regard to professional ventures, my employment with the Vision Venture Fund has immersed me into the world of start-up businesses. Through VVF, I work very intimately with the operations and strategic planning of these portfolio start-ups. The experience that I have learned through these companies is invaluable, as I now know how to raise capital for a start-up, and how to plan the initial operations and strategy for such a venture. In addition to the start-up companies that I work with professionally, I am involved with a few ventures of my own. Either through being invited to join or starting the venture myself, I now am working with three new companies: a healthcare consulting firm, a firm that provides outsourcing of financial and analytical needs, and a clothing fashion & design company. Working on new ventures is rewarding not only due to the potential for high financial return, but also because of the great deal of practical knowledge that I have acquired. Through these ventures, I have learned the importance of strategic marketing, managed international networks, setup a national symposium of industry experts, and have immersed myself into graphic design projects (which I have been told I am quite talented at). My background of entrepreneurship will serve as a wonderful enhancement to the MBA program and my fellow students. I feel that the entrepreneurial spirit is an American tradition. I hope to be able to inspire other students to consider an entrepreneurial venture at some point either through learning about my past experiences or through my enthusiasm about this subject. Additionally, I intend to continue working with my present ventures to a certain extent while earning my MBA. I anticipate bringing this real-world experience to Georgetown, enhancing the classroom experience while keeping my peers aware of current business trends.
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Essay Question:
Describe a memorable experience.
My time as freshman class president in college is not only one of the most memorable, but also a very significant experience that taught me a number of important lessons. One particular experience taught me the importance of understanding another's position and perspective. This, in turn, taught me to find a way to always search for a compromise between divergent groups. At the end of freshman year, a conflict arose as to the allocation of the class year-end funding. Groups lobbied me for a donation to a charitable organization, while a majority of the students wanted a class-sponsored social event. In making a decision, I spoke to a number of people from both sides of the issue. From these discussions, I learned exactly what each side was trying to accomplish by analyzing the problem from each side's point of view. The party-supporters wanted an event, but not necessarily a free one. The philanthropy-supporters wanted a donation to a charity, but had not considered an event to raise additional funds. From negotiations, the executive committee and I decided to have a semi-sponsored social event that would generate funds through an admission fee and raffle. Ultimately the event was successful, as many students attended the event and enjoyed themselves; at the same time, a large donation was raised for a selected charity. This may be a simple undergraduate experience, but it shaped my personality in a way which has had considerable impact on my everyday life. Now, in professional matters or otherwise, I attempt to uncover a motive or a need that drives an individual to take a position on an issue. Not only does such insight allow me to be a better negotiator, but it allows me to solve complex problems creatively. Often a compromise is required in order resolve a problem between two parties. Whether this problem be a social conflict between friends or a hesitation that an individual may have regarding investing with the venture capital company I work for, I am able to use my skill of 'looking into' a problem to insightfully resolve such issues.
