Inquiry to Insight

Hear about monetizing traditional marketing content and distributing it via tech platforms. Learn about disruptors in the tech industry, their intensive business models, and the need to protect not only various IP rights but also, in the case of many celebrities, the investment and participation in these initiatives. Explore: How is the convergence of tech with traditional industries changing the way people are consuming products? What effect might these convergences have on individuals and larger communities?

Vejay Lalla '93 is a Partner in the technology transactions group at Fenwick & West and acts as outside general counsel to venture-backed companies across numerous industries including media-tech, blockchain, fintech, proptech, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, gaming, fashion, retail, beauty, and consumer product companies during their entire life cycle.

Hear from Rick Diamond '91 as he talks about profound technology trends and their implications for the Fin Tech industry, and ultimately, our lives. Learn the questions you should be asking when trying to develop the next innovation within the tech industry. Explore: Are the current valuations of disruptors in the tech industry sustainable? Are the legacy provider valuations too low? The truth might be somewhere in the middle.​

Rick Diamond '91 heads the Global Financial Technology investment banking practice at Citigroup. He joined Citi in late 2017 after 21 years at JPMorgan. Rick spends his time providing merger and acquisition and capital markets advisory to FinTech companies around the world — from mega caps like Mastercard and Paypal to emerging disruptors like Stripe, Robinhood, and Chime.

A continuation of our previous episode, What May Term Looks Like gives listeners an inside look at projects completed by the Class of 2018 during May Term. Hear directly from students as they recount their experiences, what they learned, and how May Term helped them grow as individuals.

In the first episode of Inquiry to Insight, hosts Jill Maza and Stephen Valentine introduce the origins of a unique and special program at MKA: May Term. Each year during the month of May, seniors are given the opportunity to plan their own education and take charge of their goals through a personal project that falls under one of six categories: Creative Endeavors, Internships, Community Engagement, Global Travel, Teaching Internships, and StartUp 101. In this episode, you'll hear from faculty members who share some insight behind the start of this program and each project category.