Category Archives: Alumni voice

Stories from the Thrift: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Applied to Start-ups and Cofounders

In these unprecedented times of (using the word unprecedented) uncertainty, many of us are contemplating taking the leap of faith and becoming a fulltime entrepreneur. One of the most common questions I encounter is – “How can I focus on growing my business or on thought leadership when I am struggling to make ends meet?” This […]

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How to avoid conflict with your business partner

Is your business partner from another planet? When companies are growing fast, pressures can bring personal differences to the surface, and these can become major disagreements. In the following piece, Stefano Maifreni SEMBA2012 shares his thoughts on these questions. How do you prepare for conflict, and deal with it in a professional way? Experience has […]

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Stories from the Rift: Founder – Product – Market – Fit

In these unprecedented times of (using the word unprecedented) uncertainty, many of us are contemplating taking the leap of faith and becoming a full-time entrepreneur. One of the most common questions I have encountered is – “Co-Founders and where/why/how/when do I find them?” So, is the Fit-Founder a myth? Err… The Founder-Fit… Is the Founder-Fit a […]

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Stories From The Shift – Taking That Leap of Faith

In these unprecedented times of (using the word unprecedented) uncertainty, many of us are feeling rudderless and adrift in the vast emptiness of the unknown ocean that lies around us… Many contemplate whether they should continue with their corporate role, or take the leap of faith to become a full-time entrepreneur. One of the most common […]

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Stories From The Shift – Chasing Shadows

Every single day, aspiring first-time entrepreneurs around the world spend their time chasing the shadows cast by LinkedIn reports of their peers getting funded and they enter Dreamland, where they start chasing one shadow after the next after the next. Over the past few weeks, I have been approached by a number of folks about […]

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Tips on winning Innovate UK grant funding

Roheet Shah MBA2015 and Adam Hearne MBA2015, founders of CarbonChain, share tips on how to successfully seek funding from Innovate UK grants. Like most start-ups, when we launched CarbonChain in 2017 one of our major challenges was how to secure funding to develop our technology and grow our business. While we initially explored the “traditional” […]

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Stories From The Shift

In these unprecedented times of (using the word unprecedented) economic uncertainty and an aging workforce threatened by remote/younger workforce options, entrepreneurship could be explored as a promising career path, particularly for older adults with 15+ years of experience in the corporate world. However, we have often seen that corporate professionals are more plagued by indecisiveness […]

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Make your pitch – but avoid a horror show

Cringe-making, toe-curling, awkward, confusing, arrogant, shabby, disorganised, unbelievable, deluded … all words that could be used to describe the worst business pitches. And most of us have been there, at one side of the table or another. If you want to avoid pitfalls with pitches, then read on. First up, I don’t consider myself to […]

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Fireside Chat with Akriti Dokania (Octopus Ventures) and Gary Dushnitsky (LBS)

Gary Dushnitsky, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, talks to his former MBA student Akriti Dokania, Investor at Octopus Ventures. Have you always dreamt about finding and funding innovative startups? Does the venture capital sector interest you? Are you a technology person who wants to play an active role in supporting […]

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