Top MBA Connect

As more people have been creating their own businesses as part of the tech startup craze, the number of startup incubators has also increased. According to ReadWriteWeb, the US is home to over 1,000 incubators. But, what is a startup incubator? Read on for an explanation.

VAROJ is a Southern California-based startup that is focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the retail industry. By partnering with celebrities, designers, and merchants and their preferred causes, VAROJ (http://www.varoj.org) provides an online shopping arena where consumers can purchase clothes and accessories that include a donation to a specific charity, and then share their selections through digital conversations.

The company was founded by three bright, young individuals: Rick Garcia (CTO), Frankie Scanlon (Operations), and Vanessa Lengies (Outreach). I conducted an interview with Varoj’s head of outreach Vanessa Lengies to find out more about the business idea development and the team’s transition from idea to action. Below are my findings:

ESMT's MBA program is rich with all kinds of different activities that aim to foster learning and enhance experience. IFS (International Field Seminar) is one of the important and unique experiences I had during my MBA program at ESMT. Just a week ago I came back from California, where I and my classmates spent 10 days visiting 11 different companies in the heart of Silicon Valley and San Francisco. One may wonder what IFS is and what is so special about it.

Are you an MBA applicant? Do you live in the NYC, Washington DC, LA, San Francisco or Toronto areas? If so, you should check out QS Connect 1-2-1, a free event where you can meet one-on-one with MBA admissions officers.

You have probably heard that entrepreneurship has been on the rise since the great recession of 2008, but do you know how many new businesses are created each year or the challenges those businesses face? Read on to find the answers to those questions and more in the Entrepreneurship Statistics edition of MBA Friday Facts.

Already half a year has passed since the start of the MBA program at ESMT, and after a three-week summer vacation we are back to our studies. We used the vacation to relax and recover from the intensive program, but also to reflect on what we learnt so far and to plan our future career. Some students from our class used this opportunity to do internships in different companies and some other students did their first steps for establishing their own businesses.

The number of technology companies planning to hire MBAs is up 22% compared to last year, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council's 2012 Corporate Recruiters Survey (PDF). Many of these companies are Silicon Valley startups that have just found new investors and are looking for MBAs with quantative skills to develop their strategy and marketing plans. Silicon Valley is also home to established companies that have a reputation for hiring MBAs. Read on for four examples of Silicon Valley companies that hire MBAs.

Sarah Ramsey is the Director of Recruitment and Admissions at UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business. Not only does Ramsey work at the Merage School of Business, she is also a graduate of Merage's Fully Employed MBA (FEMBA) program, and is very active on Twitter. In this interview, Ramsey discusses MBA trends such as the increased interest in non-traditional MBA fields such as technology, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.