O
ne night Elliot was enjoying himself with his friends at a club in the city. He took out his phone, opened Snapchat, and recorded a funny video to send to others. However, the next morning Elliot realized he forgot to send the video. He watched the video again and realized that he sort of liked the idea of seeing the video the next morning instead of the night before when it happened. This sparked the idea for Elliot’s app called BackFlash. BackFlash differs from Snapchat because it allows you to take a picture or video and put it into a “digital time capsule.” The time capsule will hold your footage until the specific time and date you want the receiver of the footage to view it. When the time comes, whether it’s a day, week, or year, the time capsule will be available to open, allowing your friends to relive moments that you don’t want them to forget. Elliot eventually got all the details into place and contacted a developer, who was also a Wisconsin alumni. He pitched him the idea and began working on the app. About eight months later, the app was released and has been doing well ever since. As far as promotion, Elliot does a lot himself through Facebook and other social media. His app was even featured on the history channel for an app showcase.
It is apparent from Elliot’s experience that anything is possible. Elliot urges other entrepreneurs to embrace their ideas and to stick with their impulses.
Benefits of an MBA: 1. Knowledge - Knowledge is power, right? 2. Improve leadership and management skills 3. Expanding networks - Grad school is a great place to make friends and develop connections with those that have similar interests as you and could help you out later on 4. Prestige - Simply adding “MBA grad” onto a resume is impressive and stands out to employers 5. Increased confidence 6. Potential for larger salary and promotion: $90,000 - 2013 median starting annual salary for full-time MBA graduates $10,000 - 2013 bonus and additional compensation for full-time MBA graduates 10% = Growth of MBA salaries over the last decade 16% = Predicted growth in MBA hiring rates
Weaknesses of an MBA:
1. Time commitment - Completing a full-time MBA program takes two years of your life that could be spent earning the salary that your undergrad degree got you 2. Cost - Although costs vary between grad schools, the cost of an MBA is typically over a hefty $100,000 3. Leadership can’t be taught - Business school can’t teach qualities such as charisma, instinct, or persuasiveness, which are all critical to becoming a good leader
“Real-time, location based food and drink deals for users, and a mobile marketing platform that effectively connects local restaurants with customers.� - Tim Rothwell, CEO of Hooked App
MAIN GOAL:
To connect people who want to work in the investment-banking field to UW-Madison alumni who now work in major investment banking firms.
APPLICATION PROCESS:
We have an application, not because we want to limit the group, but because we want to make sure everyone in the club has a good chance of getting a job. We pride ourselves in our success rate of jobs after college, and if we have too many students, there will be less of a chance that everyone gets the job they hope for.
DIFFERENTIATOR:
The Investment Banking Club is one of the more professional-oriented clubs on campus. We’re more interested in what happens after graduation, and centered on getting an internship or job.
PURPOSE
We take networking trips to Chicago to major firms such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America that alumni work at. In addition to the trips, we have mock interviews with past students to get used to the tough job searching process.
STUDENT BENEFITS:
First of all, it gives all members an idea of what the investment banking world is like, so they are able to decide if it really is for them or not. Second, we do a pretty good job of connecting UW-Madison students with investment bankers to get a head start on job searching. In the past, we’ve been very successful with students from the club who get a job right after graduation.
18%
$233,150
18%
$187,200
18%
$178,950
16%
$149,310
16%
$146,340
26%
$130,280
1%
$122,530
14%
$116,670
23%
$116,440
10%
$113,530