Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Invites

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The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to climate change, and concerns around sustainability and the environment are growing among conscientious consumers. Join our host, Philip Guarino, as he interviews Andrea Baldo, the fashion CEO with a steadfast commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

As the CEO of Ganni, Andrea and his team have cultivated a creative and innovative brand through transparent and authentic customer communication. The result? Ganni has built a cult following, a community which has driven its explosive growth. From its humble roots as a Danish company, it is now one of the hottest brands on the international stage. But just how did they do it? Listen and find out.

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Andrea Baldo is CEO of GANNI, the Danish contemporary fashion brand which has developed exponentially over recent years with its Scandi 2.0 sense of style full of personality and contrasts.

Andrea received his degree magna cum laude in Economics from the University of Verona and he is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.

He has over 20 years of experience in the Fashion and Luxury Goods industry: initially as strategic consultant at Bain & Company and then holding top Management positions at brands including Diesel, Marni, Maison Margiela.

Since 2013 Andrea is also Executive Fellow of the Strategic Management Department at IESE Business School in Barcelona where he annually teaches in the MBA program and for which he writes business cases and technical notes on Fashion and Luxury Goods industry.

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In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Eric McNulty, a lifelong student of confidence and Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard. With concrete examples and practical tips, they discuss: how to spot the overconfident entrepreneur, why it is essential to cultivate the right balance of confidence and humility, where to find confidence, and how to maintain it in times of turbulence.

As an author, researcher, and entrepreneur himself, Eric provides not only unique insights but the confidence checklist for entrepreneurs and observes that a confident entrepreneur will wait for the investors that her start-up deserves.

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Eric McNulty is Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard. His work centers on leading in high stakes, high pressure situations. He is the principal author of case studies on the Boston Marathon bombing response, super storm Sandy, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He is the co-author of the book, You’re It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When it Matters Most and others. He is a contributing editor at strategy+business and has written many times for Harvard Business Review. Previously, he worked at Harvard Business Publishing (HBP). He was an intrapreneur at HBP and has worked with several startups.

In this episode our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Tom Sylvester, General Counsel for Hedera Hashgraph. As an expert in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Tom demystifies Hedera’s DLT process and dives into the benefits of building a public ledger for the decentralized economy. From transparency to autonomy to security, the two discuss how the crypto landscape has been leading innovation in the global technology sector, from its transition from Blockchain to Hedera, and everything in between. Tom gives an honest account of the challenges and potential drawbacks to a crypto-forward future, and highlights the new opportunities that await in a world that puts the power of data back into the hands of individuals. Don’t miss the chance to learn about the blockchain technology paving the path to a greener, more secure future.

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Tom Sylvester is the General Counsel for Hedera Hashgraph, a sustainable, enterprise-grade public ledger for the decentralized economy. He also serves as the Board chair for Braver Angels, a national nonprofit that brings liberals and conservatives together to reduce polarization. Before joining Hedera, Tom worked in Abu Dhabi as the Senior Director of Policy & Strategy for Tamkeen, the Abu Dhabi government partner to New York University Abu Dhabi, a highly selective liberal arts college with a globally diverse student body. He also worked in New York as an associate at the international law firm Cleary Gottlieb. Tom grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and received a BA in Social Studies from Harvard and a JD from Yale Law School.

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In this episode our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Rob Follows. Rob’s passion for helping entrepreneurs and family run businesses maximize their venture’s exit led him to found STS Capital Partners, where he has been involved with over 1000 venture deals. By pulling from his experience on both sides of a negotiation, Rob shares what he wishes he had known as an entrepreneur during his first exit, and the value of finding an advisor who aligns with your company values.

Philip and Rob discuss the key differences between financial and strategic buyers, and the perseverance needed to build a venture from the ground up. Tune in to this episode to learn how to successfully value your venture, and optimize your exit strategy. And keep an out for HAE’s four-part series on exit strategy, featuring Rob Fellows and the STS Team.

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Rob Follows’, Founder and CEO of STS Capital Partners, passion is to help entrepreneurial business owners achieve successful Exits and support the creation of billions of dollars in philanthropic capital. STS = Success to Significance through Selling to StrategicsTM. He has been involved in or led over a thousand M&A transactions, with a total transaction value of over $100B. He has held various roles with YPO, including Founding Chapter Chair; former Chair of the Global Deal Network; Founding Chair of the Executive Committee of the Social Enterprise Networks; and, as a YPO Best of the Best Premier Speaker: ‘Everyone has their own Everest, what is yours?’

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this inspiring episode, host Denise Silber sits down with HBS MBA Pankaj Agarwal, an EdTech entrepreneur who was born in an Indian village and developed a deep desire to pay it forward. Today he and his team are optimizing the education process in thousands of Indian and Korean classrooms thanks to the low-tech invention from Taghive, his Samsung-backed startup headquartered in Seoul, Korea.

Because Panjak is a keen observer and deep thinker, you will learn as he shares his story, how simple technology can impact students and teachers in a big way and create remarkable outcomes. Discover how his company, TagHive, is bringing solutions to one of the biggest problems for teachers: knowing which students have understood the lesson and are ready to move on. This episode is for any entrepreneur looking for inspiration and a new way of thinking about his or her life, goals, and hopes.

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Mr. Pankaj Agarwal, an alumnus of HBS is the Founder & CEO at TagHive, a Samsung funded education technology venture with operations in South Korea and in India. He is an inventor on over 75 international patents and was on the list of Fortune India 40 Under 40 in 2021. He was also one of the 10 winners of MIT TR35 India (Innovators Under 35) Award in 2017.

Prior to TagHive Mr. Agarwal was with Samsung Electronics for over a decade. Mr. Agarwal is the Founder and Chairman of the IIT Alumni Association of South Korea since 2015. He is also a board member of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea and an adjunct professor at the Ewha Woman’s University.

Mr. Agarwal is a trained magician and is fluent in Korean. He has a Bachelor of Technology degree in EE from IIT Kanpur, an MS from Seoul National University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.