launching new blog johngannonblog.com

Hey all -- I have just launched a new blog (http://johngannonblog.com) that will be focused on VC, technology, innovation, and probably include a bit about my life as well. I hope you all continue to stick with me and follow along with the new blog. I won't be updating this blog any longer but I will keep responding to comments here, so feel free to reach out if one of my old posts seems interesting and you want to discuss!

Tech careers post-CBS

There was a comment made on my last post and I thought I would devote a post to the comment. (Thanks for reading and for asking the question, mystery commenter! :)

Here is the comment:


Hi John,

How are you doing Big Daddy? I have few questions about CBS. I am a technology professional working in West Coast. I want to apply to CBS for fall 09. I am looking to move into business development in Technology firms. I am fascinated by CBS for its New York location. Any inputs on "how often do you see CBS students pursuing career in technology? even if they write technology in essays, does adcom suspect that applicant is seeking an admit through back door and finally wants to go to IB because we are in NY?"


And here is my response:

Big Daddy is doing great, thanks for asking :) We're at 32 weeks and counting.

CBS does have a strong, core group of folks who are pursuing careers in new media and technology. Admittedly, that group's size does not rival the number of future i-bankers and management consultants, but it is a pretty vibrant group and one that in my experience is very passionate about the sector.

I can't really comment on what the adcom is thinking related to your admissions essays, but I would recommend to just be yourself and be truthful about what you want to do once at CBS, and afterwards. If you're able to tell a logical account of "why CBS, why now, and why the future career path given your past experiences" I think you will be fine.

What you end up seeing the 1st year is that many people decide that what they came to school to do (i.e. in their app they said they wanted to become a management consultant) was not as exciting as something else they were exposed to early in the 1st year (i.e. they change their mind and decide they want to work at a hedge fund). I think that potential for change is somewhat expected and understood, although you definitely want to go in with a fairly defined vision and plan of what you want to do at CBS in your application.

There are a variety of classes that are tech and new media focused as well as activities (like the Silicon Valley Trek) that cater to applicants and students who are interested in taking that kind of career path.

Does this help? Feel free to post some follow up questions in the comments and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

Update from the Valley (Day 1)

So far so good.

Sunday night we kicked things off with a students-only reception at the hotel we're staying at. We had a mix of 1st years, 2nd years, and EMBAs. Alot of new faces and interesting people. There were some hardcore tech backgrounds and aspirants (tech before school, want to go back to tech companies after school) as well as more traditional consulting/banker types. The Silicon Valley trek has two different tracks - VC/entrepreneurship and consulting/banking.

On Monday we visited Google, Intel, LinkedIn, and VMware. Google was first, and the big selling point for working there seemed to be the food :) They put together a panel of recent MBAs to talk about their jobs, but no one really talked about the day-to-day aspects of their jobs or career path. This is a pattern I have seen with Google and I'm not sure if its because there is no career path and the actual work isn't that exciting, or if it is because they are super-secretive.

Intel was VERY different. Their facilities were very utilitarian, and screamed "established company". No one walking their dog through the buildings or swimming in the outdoor lap pool (both of which I saw at Google). The presentation, however, was quite good. One of the managing directors at Intel Capital presented about her division and discussed her career path. They also talked about their new management rotational program and their finance rotation program. It sounded like most of the slots in the management rotation program were filled but that they might be open to squeezing a few people in if they looked to be star candidates.

LinkedIn came next. They are obviously in startup mode and have the typical startup office setup (open cubicles and free food and drinks in the kitchen). The VP of Marketing gave a great presentation on the company, operating metrics, and where he thinks things are going. Also, the CEO came in and talked to us for a few minutes. As you guys know I believe in LinkedIn as a company and so it was neat to be able to pick their brains and bounce questions off them.

We ended the day at VMware. It was weird to a) pull up to the brand new facility they built and opened after I left and b) to see they had valet parking attendants. Not sure if that's an everyday thing but they definitely didn't have that 3 years ago :) Diane Greene, the CEO, spoke to us and then a panel of MBAs working at VMware answered questions. After that, it was social hour with plenty of great appetizers and beverages. I was quite proud of my alma mater!

Tech Meetup Tonight!

It's that time of the month again -- the NY Tech Meetup. It's a chance for local techie entrepreneurs to demo their products or services to the greater community, which includes other techies, VC's, and various and sundry other folks. This week there are some interesting presenters, including a guy from Amazon who is going to talk about S3 and EC2 and another guy who has created an information market for parking spots (sound familiar? :) It's happening down at Cooper Union at 7pm, so I better get moving...

course bidding, Google

The time is upon us CBS'ers to bid for next semester's courses. Since it is Fall term, there is an enormous selection of course (good), but much more competition to get into the popular ones (bad). As you may know, CBS has a system by which you bid on courses against your fellow classmates. Some of the more popular ones like Entrepreneurial Finance (taught by Dean Hubbard) or Top Management Process (taught by Professor Biggadike) tend to go for a large number of points. In fact, I've heard from the 2nd years who just left that it is quite possible that you will end up spending all of your bid points on maybe 2-3 courses that you really want to take. Of course, if you're not shooting for any of the 'popular' courses, you won't have this problem. But who doesn't want to take a course with the Dean, you know? :)

On an unrelated note, I saw that Google today announced they were going to acquire a company called Postini. Postini offers an email spam filtering service. This fits into Google's whole application strategy pretty nicely, so it will be interesting to see how and where the technology gets integrated. Speaking of Google, I would love to speak to someone in their corporate development group. They are doing a large number of transactions and it would be cool to hear about their methodology, how they staff their corpdev organization, etc. Unfortunately I have had trouble tracking down anyone in my network who knows folks in that group. If any of you have any thoughts (or contacts), please let me know!

Testing some new blogging software

I'm testing out the new blogging software from Red Sweater. It's called Mars Edit. It's got a 30-day free trial, so I'm going to give it a whirl. Bye for now.

I just added a Twitter widget to my blog. Twitter is a free service that lets you create a feed to which your friends can subscribe, or that you can add to a blog. The feed consists of messages that you send from your cell phone, or via a Twitter web page. Anyone who is subscribed to your Twitter will get messages any time you make a posting. So, it's a way for you to let you friends know where you're going, what you're doing, or how you're feeling at any point in the day. Perhaps not very practical, but kind of fun.

Say hello to the new Technology VP of the rugby club. The existing Tech VP is going to be taking a position on the GBA Board (GBA is sort of like student council for the whole school, only unlike high school they actually do stuff :) and I was asked to take over for him. Sounds like the main job will be for me to continue the development of a team website that will allow the alums to keep up with the current team, and also to facilitate networking. The site is being built by a third party and should be done soon, and I'll be transitioning things from the existing VP over the rest of the year.

I'm also thinking of running for some sort of VP position within the Technology Business Group. Since I plan on going back into the tech sector in some capacity, I think it will be a good way to keep up with the industry and also leverage some of my industry contacts. This one will require a vote of the existing membership, however, so I better start working on my candidate statement!

By the way, on a broader note, if you are thinking of coming to CBS, keep in mind that there are a HUGE number of leadership positions available. Every club has numerous leadership positions and there are plenty of opportunities to participate and hone your leadership and organizational skills. There is really something for everyone and everyone can (and is encouraged) to get involved. It's especially great for those who haven't had formal management experience before coming to school. Basically, you have a low risk environment in which to hone your skills. Can't beat that!