4. Answer a question you wish we’d asked. (400 words)
I wish the xxxxxx Admissions Board had asked me “Why do you love superheroes so much?” to which I would reply, “Wow, how on Earth did you know that I love superheroes??”
All kidding aside, like most kids I liked Batman and Superman growing up but it wasn’t until the movie Batman Begins came out in 2005 that my fascination with superheroes went from casual interest to full-blown obsession. Batman Begins tells the “origin story” of how a young Bruce Wayne became Batman, and I loved seeing the long and arduous spiritual journey that he had to go through before he become the crime-fighting caped crusader that we’ve all come to know him as.
Like a young Bruce Wayne, I have always had an almost-pathological need to make this world a better place in the best way that I can, but for the longest time I struggled to figure out what that “best way” was. It was only after my serendipitous introduction to the world of innovation and entrepreneurship that I was able to experience firsthand the awesome power and scale of technology, and I realized then that THIS would be how I would “save the world.”
You see, what all superheroes have in common is that they start off as normal, ordinary citizens living normal, ordinary lives, but they somehow end up having these new “superpowers” thrust upon them which they never earned or asked for, and are left to deal with the enormous responsibilities that these powers entail.
The more superhero stories I watched and read, the more I realized that in the real world, the real superheroes are people like you and me who were lucky enough to be born in a free and developed society, with parents who were able to look after them and provide for them a quality education – we did nothing to “earn” this kind of life and the sad truth is that there are not that many of us in the world. We are part of what Warren Buffett famously referred to as the “Lucky Sperm Club,” and it’s our duty and responsibility to make the most of these fortuitous gifts in order to make the world a better place for the billions of people in this world who were left with the short end of the stick.
So while I’m not exactly “faster than a speeding bullet” or “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” I have been blessed with certain real-life “powers” that are unique to me, and which I will use to the fullest to become the superhero entrepreneur that I’m meant to be.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Selected B-School Essay #2
Prepare a cover letter seeking a place in the xxxxxx MBA Program. Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions. (500 words or fewer)
Dear Mr. Rod Garcia,
I am writing this with the hopes of earning a spot in the Fall 2012 entering class at the xxxxxx School of Management, and through this letter and my essays I hope to provide an added dimension of insight and understanding into who I am, what I’ve been through, and why me being at xxxxxx would be one of the best things that’s ever happened to either of us.
A quick scan of my resume and you will see that it doesn’t exactly scream out “future entrepreneur,” but that’s exactly what I want to become, and while I could certainly try to do it without going through business school, I think a xxxxxx MBA would help immensely. Boston itself is obviously an academic Mecca and home to the second biggest entrepreneurial ecosystem in the world after Silicon Valley. At xxxxxx I would be within walking distance of all the mentors, resources, and fellow aspiring entrepreneur peers that I could ever want. And having visited and done my research on other business schools in the area, it’s clear that xxxxxx would be a much better fit for my aspirations, with its “mens et manus” credo, strong engineering culture, and huge emphasis on experimenting, failing, and iterating in order to create practical solutions to the world’s problems. This point was driven home for me when I visited xxxxxx's Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center this past summer and got to see firsthand the passion, energy, and excitement that the staff there exuded.
My entrepreneurial aspirations are driven by an almost-pathological need I’ve had since childhood to make this world a better place in a large and scalable way, and inspire others to scale and replicate what I started even after I’m gone. This desire also explains my almost comical love of superhero mythology, because like the fictional superheroes that I idolize, I too am ready and willing to sacrifice my own personal pleasure and hopes of living a “normal life” in order to dedicate my life to “fighting injustice.”
Since graduating college, I have been lucky enough to have two major challenges/opportunities which have allowed me to truly test myself and prove to myself that I have what it takes to succeed in the future. The first was successfully becoming a top performer at a large Korean company despite the never-ending stress of working in a foreign language every day and in what to me is (still) a very counterintuitive working culture. The second was when I was put in charge as the product manager of a game-changing new online banking app called “Wishlist” that would make saving for one’s various financial goals aka “Wishes” amazingly fun, simple, and easy
In both of these situations, I had to work with zero prior relevant experience or knowledge, lots of resistance and opposition from people around me, and too many obstacles to name here. The only thing that got me through both of these challenges was good old-fashioned hard work, humility, and a willingness to make mistakes and dive headfirst into uncomfortable and potentially humiliating situations
This type of mental toughness is the result of some major growing pains and internal psychological battles I had to fight during my college years, including an on-and-off gambling addiction and a bout with depression that had me on the brink of not even being here today to write this letter.
If I do end up joining the xxxxxx community, what I would hope to impart and contribute to my esteemed peers is not anything from my resume or work experience, but rather my many experiences having thrived in the harshest of new and foreign environments, and the strength and indomitable spirit I’ve gained from having fallen over and over in the past and having had to pick myself back up, each and every time.
Dear Mr. Rod Garcia,
I am writing this with the hopes of earning a spot in the Fall 2012 entering class at the xxxxxx School of Management, and through this letter and my essays I hope to provide an added dimension of insight and understanding into who I am, what I’ve been through, and why me being at xxxxxx would be one of the best things that’s ever happened to either of us.
A quick scan of my resume and you will see that it doesn’t exactly scream out “future entrepreneur,” but that’s exactly what I want to become, and while I could certainly try to do it without going through business school, I think a xxxxxx MBA would help immensely. Boston itself is obviously an academic Mecca and home to the second biggest entrepreneurial ecosystem in the world after Silicon Valley. At xxxxxx I would be within walking distance of all the mentors, resources, and fellow aspiring entrepreneur peers that I could ever want. And having visited and done my research on other business schools in the area, it’s clear that xxxxxx would be a much better fit for my aspirations, with its “mens et manus” credo, strong engineering culture, and huge emphasis on experimenting, failing, and iterating in order to create practical solutions to the world’s problems. This point was driven home for me when I visited xxxxxx's Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center this past summer and got to see firsthand the passion, energy, and excitement that the staff there exuded.
My entrepreneurial aspirations are driven by an almost-pathological need I’ve had since childhood to make this world a better place in a large and scalable way, and inspire others to scale and replicate what I started even after I’m gone. This desire also explains my almost comical love of superhero mythology, because like the fictional superheroes that I idolize, I too am ready and willing to sacrifice my own personal pleasure and hopes of living a “normal life” in order to dedicate my life to “fighting injustice.”
Since graduating college, I have been lucky enough to have two major challenges/opportunities which have allowed me to truly test myself and prove to myself that I have what it takes to succeed in the future. The first was successfully becoming a top performer at a large Korean company despite the never-ending stress of working in a foreign language every day and in what to me is (still) a very counterintuitive working culture. The second was when I was put in charge as the product manager of a game-changing new online banking app called “Wishlist” that would make saving for one’s various financial goals aka “Wishes” amazingly fun, simple, and easy
In both of these situations, I had to work with zero prior relevant experience or knowledge, lots of resistance and opposition from people around me, and too many obstacles to name here. The only thing that got me through both of these challenges was good old-fashioned hard work, humility, and a willingness to make mistakes and dive headfirst into uncomfortable and potentially humiliating situations
This type of mental toughness is the result of some major growing pains and internal psychological battles I had to fight during my college years, including an on-and-off gambling addiction and a bout with depression that had me on the brink of not even being here today to write this letter.
If I do end up joining the xxxxxx community, what I would hope to impart and contribute to my esteemed peers is not anything from my resume or work experience, but rather my many experiences having thrived in the harshest of new and foreign environments, and the strength and indomitable spirit I’ve gained from having fallen over and over in the past and having had to pick myself back up, each and every time.
Selected B-School Essay #1
Please describe a time when you had to make a decision without having all the information you needed. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)
I have always loved the game of poker because where many people see it as a form of degenerate gambling, I see it as a perfect simulation of real life, taking risks, and trying to innovate. The thrill (and terror) of poker lies in the fact that you cannot see what hand your opponents are holding; thus you are constantly playing amidst extreme uncertainty such that there is almost never a “correct” or “perfect” move, because even the most well-played hand can still be vulnerable to bad luck or the illogical play of your opponent, not unlike a well-made, cool new IT product that never quite gets off the ground.
For example, I didn’t even know what a “product manager” was at the time, but that’s exactly what I became in late 2010 for a new online banking app called “Wishlist” that would make saving for one’s various financial goals aka “Wishes” amazingly fun, simple, and easy. The underlying concept of “Wishlist” seemed like a no-brainer – Everyone wants to save more money, so who wouldn’t want to use a product that can make it easier and more fun to do so? But even so, there were plenty of times where I felt absolutely terrified that the Wishlist I was making would never find a market and would become a spectacular failure. But then I realized that this was the same kind of terror I felt when faced with a decision to go “all-in” at the poker table, knowing it was the right move to make but afraid of the potential repercussions of getting unlucky. So I soldiered on and launched my “Wishlist” this past December 19th and while the jury is still out on its ultimate success, I built it as well as I possibly could have and all I can do now is see what the “cards” (i.e. customers) have to say about it.
I’ve played what feels like millions of hands of high-stakes poker, and I’ve taken calculated risks with millions of dollars of my employer’s money, but I know that going forward I will be dealing with a level of risk unlike anything I’ve experienced before. By becoming an entrepreneur, I will truly be going “all-in” with my life and putting at stake my youth, lots of my own and my future investors’ money, and the hopes of having a “normal,” comfortable lifestyle, all for the payoff of being able to pursue my dreams and make the world a better place.
I’m thrilled because I’ve finally found something I can do for the rest of my life, but I’m also terrified because I have no idea if I really have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, and even then I could just get really unlucky. But it’s times like this where I know now to take a deep breath, remind myself that this is the right move to make, confidently push all my chips into the middle, and wait to see what Lady Luck has in store for me.
I have always loved the game of poker because where many people see it as a form of degenerate gambling, I see it as a perfect simulation of real life, taking risks, and trying to innovate. The thrill (and terror) of poker lies in the fact that you cannot see what hand your opponents are holding; thus you are constantly playing amidst extreme uncertainty such that there is almost never a “correct” or “perfect” move, because even the most well-played hand can still be vulnerable to bad luck or the illogical play of your opponent, not unlike a well-made, cool new IT product that never quite gets off the ground.
For example, I didn’t even know what a “product manager” was at the time, but that’s exactly what I became in late 2010 for a new online banking app called “Wishlist” that would make saving for one’s various financial goals aka “Wishes” amazingly fun, simple, and easy. The underlying concept of “Wishlist” seemed like a no-brainer – Everyone wants to save more money, so who wouldn’t want to use a product that can make it easier and more fun to do so? But even so, there were plenty of times where I felt absolutely terrified that the Wishlist I was making would never find a market and would become a spectacular failure. But then I realized that this was the same kind of terror I felt when faced with a decision to go “all-in” at the poker table, knowing it was the right move to make but afraid of the potential repercussions of getting unlucky. So I soldiered on and launched my “Wishlist” this past December 19th and while the jury is still out on its ultimate success, I built it as well as I possibly could have and all I can do now is see what the “cards” (i.e. customers) have to say about it.
I’ve played what feels like millions of hands of high-stakes poker, and I’ve taken calculated risks with millions of dollars of my employer’s money, but I know that going forward I will be dealing with a level of risk unlike anything I’ve experienced before. By becoming an entrepreneur, I will truly be going “all-in” with my life and putting at stake my youth, lots of my own and my future investors’ money, and the hopes of having a “normal,” comfortable lifestyle, all for the payoff of being able to pursue my dreams and make the world a better place.
I’m thrilled because I’ve finally found something I can do for the rest of my life, but I’m also terrified because I have no idea if I really have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, and even then I could just get really unlucky. But it’s times like this where I know now to take a deep breath, remind myself that this is the right move to make, confidently push all my chips into the middle, and wait to see what Lady Luck has in store for me.
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