BOSTON—The Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship has announced the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Venture Capital Partners, and Rock Executive Fellows for the 2020-21 academic year.
The 21 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiR), 16 of whom are HBS graduates, have founded, sold, or IPO’d successful ventures in the tech, consumer products, healthcare, biotech, media and entertainment industries, among others. These EiRs are available several times per year to meet with MBA students one-on-one, help facilitate Rock Center programs, and work with faculty on research and course development.
This year’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and their current companies are:
– Katia Beauchamp (MBA 2010), Birchbox
– Marty Blue, Blue Dry Goods
– Stacey Boyd (MBA 1997), Olivela, Schoola
– David Cancel, Drift
– Jim Dougherty, Madaket Health
– Sarah Endline (MBA 2001), SweetRiot
– Rob Gierkink (MBA 1991), Flash Food
– Lara Hodgson (MBA 1998), NowCorp
– Aditya Julka (MBA 2009), Paddle8
– Sarah Kauss (MBA 2003), S’well
– Chad Laurans (MBA 2006), SimpliSafe
– Sarah Leary (MBA 1998), Nextdoor
– Don Mathis (MBA 1998), Comcast NBCUniversal
– Avni Patel Thompson (MBA 2008), Modern Village
– Matias Recchia (MBA 2007), Unlock RE
– Matt Salzberg (MBA 2010), Blue Apron
– Javier Segovia (MBA 2002), Mirador Tech
– Shereen Shermak, Soco Ventures
– Lisa Skeete Tatum (MBA 1998), Landit
– John Sloss, Cinetic Media
– Michael Weintraub (MBA 1988), Humedica
This year’s Venture Capital Partners are managing and general partners from some of the most successful VC firms. They provide students with fundraising information, and feedback on their idea, business models, and other core aspects of their new ventures. A few times each year, they meet with students one-on-one, help judge the New Venture Competition Finale, and provide pitch feedback to students.
The 23 Rock Venture Capital Partners and their current companies are:
– Haley Barna (MBA 2010), First Round Capital
– Peter Boyce II, General Catalyst
– Jerry Chen (MBA 2004), Greylock
– Arjun Chopra (MBA 2004), Floodgate
– Effie Epstein (MBA 2011), Sound Ventures
– Scott Friend (MBA 1995), Bain Capital Ventures
– Rob Go (MBA 2007), NextView Ventures
– Dayna Grayson (MBA 2006), New Enterprise Associates
– Chip Hazard (MBA 1994), Flybridge
– Mar Hershenson, Pear VC
– Amanda Herson (MBA 2009), Founder Collective
– Maia Heymann, Converge
– David Hornik, August Capital
– Alex Iskold, 2048 Ventures
– Steve Kraus (MBA 2008), Bessemer Venture Partners
– Jennifer Lum, Biospring Partners
– Dan Nova (MBA 1991), Highland Capital Partners
– Nnamdi Okike (MBA 2007), 645 Ventures
– Ali Rahimtula (MBA 2005), CueBall Capital
– Rudina Seseri (MBA 2005), Glasswing Ventures
– Michael Skok, Underscore VC
– David Tisch, BoxGroup
– Russ Wilcox (MBA 1995), Pillar VC
Rock Executive Fellows (REF) are comprised of four non-faculty affiliates/practitioners who support and contribute to the extensive Rock Center programming through a rich set of co-curricular and curricular activities. REF is a year-long program appointment by the HBS Dean.
The 2020-21 Rock Executive Fellows and their current companies are:
– Julia Austin, Good for Her
– Tom Clay (MBA 1997), Xtalic Corporation
– Anne Dwane (MBA 1998), Village Global
– Satish Tadikonda, Avigo Solutions
MBA students at HBS who are interested in entrepreneurship and starting new ventures are able to seek guidance and access these experts from resources on the HBS campus. Through this community that provides support, access to content, and a gateway to entrepreneurial ecosystems at HBS and beyond, the Rock Center helps HBS students and alumni create revolutionary and disruptive ventures in both the for-profit and social enterprise sectors.
Since 1947, the study of entrepreneurship has been a vital part of the HBS MBA Program, which includes a semester-long course in the first-year Required Curriculum and numerous offerings in the second-year Elective Curriculum.
