Owl Have You Know

Owl Have You Know

By Rice BusinessSociety & CultureBusiness
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Owl Have You Know episodes

  • The Erin Brockovich of Food feat. Robyn O’Brien ‘98

    Robyn O’Brien never called herself a foodie. That’s until her son had an allergic reaction one morning, and it sent her down a rabbit hole of uncovering what goes into the food we get off the shelves.


    With a 20-year career in food and finance, Robyn has been called “The Erin Brockovich of Food” by the New York Times and Bloomberg. She is recognized as one of the most visionary voices in the food industry. 


    She’s the co-founder and managing director of rePlant Capital, a financial services firm scaling climate solutions and transitioning farmland to regenerative and organic agriculture by focusing on soil health and farmer profitability. Robyn is also an adjunct professor of strategic management at Rice Business.


    Robyn sits down with Christine to talk about her relationship with the real Erin Brockovich, the loneliness of this kind of pioneering work, marrying intuition and analytics, and the importance of women mentoring women.


    Episode Quotes:

    How to keep doing work in this field when everything seems so dire

    06:46 - We have inherited an absolute truckload of a mess. I mean, it is just catastrophic when you start to look at some of these systems and the crises that we're confronting, whether it's agricultural environment, water, you know, these fires, these floods, I mean, what's happening in South Africa right now.

    It's catastrophic but at the same time, the scope of opportunities in front of us to be part of that solution, to create a solution, to innovate, to drive change, is also enormous. So that's where I tend to put my energy.


    Intuition & analysis

    09:55 - Intuition is something that I think is such an important skill that is not recognized enough for the value that it brings. Can it be everything? No, you need to do the analysis too. So I try as much as possible to be unbiased in my own approach. I try as much as possible to play the devil's advocate on whatever assumption I take, because I've had to stand on that frontline.


    Women mentoring women

    16:04 - I do a lot of mentoring of younger women because I did not have a female mentor.  I now have women that I work with who are like sisters. There's a real sisterhood in the fortitude that's required of women stepping into some of these industries and some of these businesses. 

    I think a lot of reasons women have imposter syndrome is because these systems were not created for us. They were not designed for our leadership. They were not designed for our roles as mothers. And so of course there's imposter syndrome, because guess what, you weren't actually the person they had in mind when they were creating, C-suite executives and the board of directors.


    Show Links:

    • Episode Transcript

    Guest Profile:

    • Faculty Profile at Jones Graduate School of Business
    • Robyn O’Brien Website
    • Robyn O’ Brien on LinkedIn
    • Robyn O'Brien on Twitter
    • Robyn O’Brien on Instagram
    • rePlant Capital Website
    30 min
  • A Dope Platform for Everyday Women feat. Raisha Smith ‘22

    At the time of this interview, Raisha Smith was set to graduate from the full-time MBA program in less than a month and was celebrating four years as founder and chief visionary of EveryDopeGirl, a platform that highlights the achievements of everyday women. 


    She’s passionate about helping women of color reach their full potential professionally. And she’s on the brink of seeing her hard work pay off.


    Raisha joins host David Droogleever to talk about life in the corporate space, how she shifted her career path, starting and building EveryDopeGirl, and why it's so important to cultivate support and mentorship between women in business.


    Episode Quotes:
    How attending Rice has grown EveryDopeGirl:

    17:51 - Rice is no joke. I'm not going to lie, the entrepreneurship classes –when you are applying something from class to, like, your baby and you're getting graded on it?! Man, like, I mean, goodness gracious. You go in thinking, “Oh yeah, I just got this proclamation from the mayor.” And your professor's like, “Hey, you need a little bit more work on that pitch. You know, you're not pitch-ready.” You know? So having those difficult conversations, getting legitimate feedback from, like, the amazing professors, like, it has really made EveryDopeGirl pivot in a way that – I would've probably still just been posting on social media.

    The mission of EveryDopeGirl:

    11:53 - If EveryDopeGirl can ensure the success of female entrepreneurs, and then be kind of that catalyst and that incubator to get them in front of those corporations and those brands and those businesses, it creates a win-win for everyone. EveryDopeGirl is just literally here to be the cheerleader on the side. 


    On the future of EveryDopeGirl:

    23:32 - There are so many budding businesses out in the world that could be successful, they just lack the proper guidance. And so I want to be that brand that is literally linking women entrepreneurs in the pre-seed and ideation phase to VCs and angel investors. I want to get them pitch-ready. I want them to have funding.


    Show Links:

    • Episode Transcript

    Guest Profile:

    • EveryDopeGirl Website
    • Raisha Smith on LinkedIn
    • Raisha Smith on Twitter
    30 min
  • Family, Commitment and Fosters feat. Casey Sherrod ‘21

    A Texas native, Casey Sherrod joined the Army ROTC at the University of Houston, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies. A year after graduating, she deployed to Afghanistan as a platoon leader, later becoming an executive officer, then a commander of the largest U.S. Army recruiting company on the West Coast. But she felt a strong desire to return to Houston and decided to pursue her MBA at Rice Business while on active duty.

    During the pandemic, Casey and her wife, Amanda, began partnering with animal rescues in Houston and elsewhere to foster animals in need, including dogs, cats, goats, pigs and calves. Casey started a TikTok account (@caseyriveter) to document their animal rescue journey and she now has 1.9 million followers.

    Casey and David talk about what drew her to serve in the military, her impressive career with the Army, the parallels between business school and the Army, and how she got into the world of TikTok.


    Episode Quotes:
    Parallels between business school and the Army

    12:54 - Consulting is a huge thing in business school. We constantly are reading case studies. We're constantly saying like, hey, there's this problem, how do we fix it? Or how do we come up with some type of solution to help? And I think as leaders in the military we're constantly faced with problems, we're constantly going into new organizations and trying to fix what might be broken or just to make things better than they were when you got there.

    One thing you learned at Rice that has helped you become a leader

    14:51 - One thing that I learned in business school that has helped me as a leader is having this climate that enforces innovation. And I think that if people that worked for you are afraid to make mistakes and take risks, then you're never going to move forward. And that's something that a lot of startup companies and a lot of just businesses period have to understand as leaders, like there are certain risks that are ok. Because yes, it might set us back, but if you take this risk, you might also get five steps ahead of where you were before.

    On her new viral TikTok fame

    22:24 - I think it's important to use your platform to try to spread awareness and to just share with the world like, hey,  this is how great it can be to foster or to volunteer at shelters or to consider adopting a dog from a shelter or a rescue before maybe buying one.


    Show Links:

    • Episode Transcript 

    Guest Profile:

    • Casey Sherrod on TikTok
    • Casey Sherrod on LinkedIn
    • Casey Sherron on Twitter
    • Casey Sherrod on Instagram
    31 min
  • Attentive, Responsive and Kind feat. Former Dean Peter Rodriguez

    There was no shortage of challenges for former Rice Business dean Peter Rodriguez in his first six years in the role: Hurricane Harvey, a global pandemic, and a deep freeze. Peter not only led the school through these crises, but managed to foster major growth milestones along the way. He sat down with host Christine Dobbyn to discuss the business school, who his mentors are, and an appointment that gave him a front-row seat to what’s happening in the economy.

    Episode Quotes:

    How COVID affected business school education:

    06:41 - I think sometimes when looking at education or thinking about business school, people think, “Well, I'm going to get the formula to solve every problem,” or, “There's a script and somewhere I can go and find out, well, this is what you do in the event X, Y, or Z happens.” It doesn't work that way. 

    In large part, what you're training to do is to be prepared for things that you weren't prepared for, to be ready for things that were unforeseeable, and to have that ability to think clearly, mobilize a team, stick true to a mission or some objectives, and hold to some values while you do the very best. And it's a challenge to do.

    On decision-making:

    25:58 - If you’re frustrated or if you feel like you don’t know exactly which path to take, it usually goes back to reflecting on what you really intend, what is most important, and having the courage to make some choices that may be uncomfortable.

    On mentorship:

    26:15 - It's important to have relationships because without a relationship it's hard to have a mentor. It's not just someone who's an expert giving you advice. It's someone you trust and someone who has an interest in you and vice versa. So, spending time with people, getting to know them, offering it back. I think the whole idea of great mentorship is that you don't just have a one-way conversation, they’re two-way.

    Show Links:

    • Episode Transcript

    Guest Profile:

    • Faculty Profile at Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University
    • Dean Peter Rodriguez on LinkedIn
    • Dean Peter Rodriguez on Twitter
    38 min
  • Behind the Mic With Host Christine Dobbyn '20

    In this special episode, get to know Christine Dobbyn’s story. She talks with guest host and Rice Business alum Scott Gale '19 about her passion for storytelling, how most of her work today is from the Rice Business network and her advice for prospective students.
     

    A transcript of this episode is available here.

    33 min
  • Behind the Mic With Host David Droogleever '12

    In this special episode, get to know David Droogleever's story and why hosting a podcast is an act of building self-trust. Rice Business alum and guest host Scott Gale '19 finds out why joining the Navy was everything David expected and more, and why he starts every day by asking an important question: “Which frog do I eat first?” Check out the episode to find out what that means.
     

    A transcript of this episode is available here.

    39 min
  • Why Startup Founders Should Be a Bit Crazy feat. Lynn Lednicky '91

    Lynn Lednicky graduated from Rice twice, getting an undergraduate degree in chemistry and then an MBA. He tells host Christine Dobbyn about the breadth of his career and how transferrable job skills can take you to places you might not expect. He also shares advice for startup founders and growth-stage companies.


    A transcript of this episode is available here.

    34 min
  • How Trauma Led to Triumph feat. Jen Paquette '19

    Host Christine Dobbyn is joined by Jen Paquette '19, who discusses how trauma in her life has influenced her career path, her work with nonprofits and the military, and how it's helped prepare her to work with new business owners. 

    A transcript of this episode is available here.

    29 min

About Owl Have You Know

From the publisher's feed

Owl Have You Know is Rice Business’ podcast created to share the experiences of alumni, faculty, students and other members of our business community – real stories of belonging, failing, rebounding and, ultimately, succeeding. During meaningful conversations, we dive deep into how each guest has built success through troubles and triumphs before, during and after they set foot in McNair Hall.

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