Ah, the b-school application journey... where to begin? As I explored business schools and weighed the merits of each program, location was a huge factor in my decision of where to apply. As I mentioned in my intro blog, I'm from Hawaii, but have been living and working in Washington, DC for the last four years. Based on my past experience, personal preference, & my future goals of switching careers and joining the tech industry, I came up with three simple qualifications for each school location:
1) in/close to a city
2) significant tech industry presence nearby
3) no harsh winters (I'm not a fan of the words "polar vortex")
My short list included Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley Haas, and UT Austin McCombs. Soon after I started to think about business school, I was tasked with organizing a business roundtable series for Business Forward, the organization I worked for. Each meeting brought together 20-30 key business leaders from a specific city and 6-8 senior Obama Administration officials. Each group met at the White House to discuss a range of topics critical to creating jobs and promoting economic competitiveness in their respective cities. It was when I began to put the group together from Los Angeles that I first heard the term, "Silicon Beach." (No, not the plastic surgery kind of silicon... the Silicon Valley kind of silicon.) Foolishly, I had always assumed that LA was mainly entertainment and tourism. However, as I sat in that meeting, I realized that LA is full of social disrupters, entrepreneurs, tech gurus, and mega tech investors. I learned that Los Angeles is quickly becoming a tech start-up hub that fosters innovation. Many of the largest tech companies have a presence there. By the end of the meeting, I was hooked. LA easily met all of my location criteria. Turns out that you don't have to go to northern California to have your silicon cake and eat it too.
Felicia Escobar, Senior Policy Advisor, Domestic Policy Council, White House, discusses H-1B visas and immigration reform with a Silicon Beach tech entrepreneur.
Silicon Beach business leaders meet with White House officials.
