When Scott Kim (MBA ’11) was undergoing grueling and lengthy rehabilitation after childhood surgery for spina bifida, little did he know that years later he’d be heading Neofect, a med-tech startup that brings game-based physiotherapy to millions of patients worldwide. What launched Kim on an entrepreneurial career path was a class taught by Darden Professor Saras Sarasvathy and a serendipitous encounter with a fellow Korean-born Darden student Hoyoung Ban, whose family members had struggled with stroke recovery. Inspired by Sarasvathy, Kim and Ban set out to revolutionize what they saw as an archaic approach to physiotherapy. In 2010, they launched Neofect, which has since raised $17 million in a Korean IPO. Hear how Neofect built a global market for engaging computer games, which combine artificial intelligence and virtual reality to help stroke survivors and people with spinal cord injuries recover.

After three years in a corporate finance leadership program at Johnson & Johnson, Erik Breuhaus (MBA '14) knew that he wanted to work at a startup. He joined one while he was a second-year student at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and he never looked back. Hear how his experience at multiple startups in a variety of industries, where he handled finance, operations, business development, recruiting and marketing, prepared Breuhaus for his role as co-founder and CFO of cybersecurity company CounterFlow AI.

Nick Moran (MBA ’08) cut his teeth sourcing and vetting promising technologies while working on mergers and acquisitions at Danaher Corporation. He also developed one of the most successful products in Danaher’s history—an IoT solution with an innovative method for testing compounds in drinking water. Hear how Moran became a successful angel investor and venture capitalist, with a little help from a popular VC podcast The Full Ratchet, which he launched in 2014.

In this episode of the podcast, we sit down with rising Second Year student, Brigitte Fox. Brigitte served in the Navy as a pilot prior to Darden, and we caught up with her to talk about how she decided to pursue an MBA, what she has enjoyed about her first year of business school and her advice for fellow veterans.

A double feature! In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with two students in our Class of 2020, Josh Cortez and Mike Winston. We recently sat down with Mike and Josh to talk about their MBA journey, what they have enjoyed about Darden’s Executive MBA Program so far and their advice for prospective students. 

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with recent Darden graduate, Allison Shimamoto. We recently sat down with Allison to talk about her MBA journey, her involvement in Darden’s Resilience Week and what she has enjoyed about her time in Charlottesville.

In this episode of the ExecMBA Podcast, we catch up with Sarita Soldz. Sarita is one of the career advisors who support our executive format students, and she is a repeat guest on the pod. We sat down with her to talk about the recent Life Design workshop she offered for women in our Class of 2019, as well as some of the exciting discussions Executive MBA staff are having around student engagement and support. Bonus coverage: Listen to Sarita's earlier podcast episodes https://dardenmba.podbean.com/?s=soldz). 

In this episode of the podcast, we continue our spotlight on the military transition experience with a conversation with two veterans in our Class of 2020, Roger Wieland and Connor Lott. We talk about Roger and Connor about their paths post-military, why they decided to pursue an MBA and their advice for service members contemplating a transition to the private sector.

The entrepreneurial pivot is a term popularized by entrepreneurs Steve Blank and Eric Ries, particularly through Ries’ well-known book The Lean Startup, and represents a company’s re-orientation of strategic direction. Batten Research Fellow Siobhan O’Mahony discusses her study of early-stage energy and cleantech hardware firms in the Boston area to better understand their pivots. Dr. O’Mahony unexpectedly found that a pivot is not just a one-time occurrence but a cumulative set of decisions made over time, based on critical information drawn from customers and other stakeholders. The research has important lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs who need to engage with their potential markets early, adapt to new information, or even exit. Dr. O’Mahony is the Feld Family Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Department of Strategy and Innovation at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.

Hosted by Erika Herz, Director of Research and Intellectual Capital at Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Read more about the entrepreneurial pivot here.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with recent graduate, Taylor Sheppard. Taylor is a veteran and a member of the Darden Military Association, and we sat down with her to talk about what drew her to the MBA, what she’s enjoyed about her Darden experience and highlights from her second year of business school.