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The OneHaas alumni podcast is honored to have Allan Spivack, philanthropist, community builder, and business leader, share his career path insights on today’s episode.
Allan spent much of his childhood fascinated by how his dad ran their family home furnishings business. But he was also curious about how businesses could be used for social good. After getting his JD MBA from Haas, he combined his two passions into RGI Home which he led for more than 30 years.
He and host Sean Li chat about Allan’s upbringing in New York, his unique business approach to RGI Home, and how a passion for community and social impact led him to study Middle Eastern politics and how that experience still influences his social entrepreneurship today.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:On his relationship with his father
“I remember pretty vividly spending a lot of time with my dad when I was quite young…My dad was not just an engineer, but he was also an inventor. So I would sit in his work room with him and marvel at the mystery of the inventions that he was coming up with. Then he fought for a couple of patents and I didn't really know the content of what he was doing, but it looked so interesting and innovative. And that was my introduction to bringing a different point of view to product and his point of view as well.”
On his decision to get his JD MBA
“I've always been somebody who attempted to be a student always and this was a chance for me to catch up to what I missed when I was in undergrad.You know, having taken the kinds of classes that I thought would matter once I got into business the quantitative side of things. So, law was gonna teach me how to think one way, but I felt business school would teach me how to think a different way. And together, it would provide me with the best, most well-rounded education.”
Some of the challenges he faced running RGI Home
“How to run a business with no money. That was my first challenge. Along with that, running an international business by fax, no email. So you're faxing overseas or whatever, and you know, people who don't even speak your language and trying to figure out how to be able to integrate, you know, the various offices with the U.S. based offices.”
On his lasting legacy
“Since I was young, you know, I've always thought about transforming societies. I can never quite understand why people couldn't figure out how to connect with each other. And also I thought that somebody like myself who had a fortunate upbringing and also had the fortune to be really educated, to go to places like Haas, build the business, had a responsibility to do more. So when I went to build a business, it was not just about industry. It was also about the ability to be able to give back to the communities that I was working in.”
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileRGI Home | HistoryTitan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron ChernowGood to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
Today’s guest on the OneHaas alumni podcast is Jeff Wang, the head of business at Codeium and co-founder of RocketFuel Education.
Jeff grew up in Chicago with a passion for experimenting with the latest cutting edge technology. After some unfilling corporate jobs, Jeff got his MBA at Haas and jumped head first into the startup world. From there, he found a new passion for crypto and AI and started writing his own newsletter filled with keen market analysis.
Jeff and host Sean Li chat about his unique view o n the crypto and AI markets, what Jeff views as the best uses of AI currently, how those uses could shift in the near future, and if the overall impact of AI on our world is net positive or negative.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:What he got from his time at Haas
“Open doors is probably the biggest kind of value that [Haas] can bring and meeting people that also were in the spirit. And I think at least like two or three of the opportunities after just came from other classmates who were trying to build something. And I think that's saying something that, yeah, opening doors is not because of going to a class. It really is like people that you interact with and have common values or common alignments of what you want to build.”
On what RocketFuel Education is
“We converted that into kind of like lessons on the crypto markets. And now it's more like crypto macro and AI markets and just like really understanding what's going on. And then again, being predictive.
And if I'm accurate, sometimes that's great. And sometimes I'll be wrong, but I think over time, just having the understanding. And really understanding how markets work on RocketFuel Education, that is why people stick to it.”
How he got the idea for RocketFuel
“If you join these crypto communities, you actually get some really good insights as to what is upcoming that nobody else is going to be joining. If you go to these crypto conferences, you meet people that are actually the CEOs of these projects. And you can see if they're like for real or not. Or you could even meet the CEOs of projects that had not even been released yet. And you could actually invest in those companies as well. So you can get an edge by just being very early. And a lot of those interactions like kind of compelled me to be like, ‘Hey, spending all this time doing all this research, at least I should put a brain dump of that somewhere.’”
On how AI is going to help humans
“Everywhere that we are stuck in right now, like even if it's due to physics or if it's due to just manpower, right? Anywhere that humanity has slowed down. I think AI is just going to speed it back up again. I mean just think about like, if I could add more, headcount to any problem that humanity is facing. I think AI is kind of that solution, right?”
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileJeff's education platform: https://rocketfueledu.com/Jeff's AI blog: https://jeffwang.substack.com/Codeium: https://codeium.com/Twitter: @jeffwangcrypto
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
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On this episode of OneHaas, entrepreneur, advisor, and investor Albert Lee shares his career journey from finance to the startup world and his invention of the app, MyFitnessPal.
Born to Korean-immigrant parents, Albert grew up in a small town outside Albany, New York. His dad worked as a scientist at a research and development laboratory right next to Albert’s high school – a school with a reputation for producing successful entrepreneurs.
Albert chats with host Sean Li about co-founding the health app MyFitnessPal, why his approach to entrepreneurship has a lot to do with solving everyday problems, and how his time at Haas helped him reinvent himself.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:On his unique high school experience
“Our school actually, you know what's kind of crazy is, has a couple other very successful entrepreneurs that have gone through it. So prior to me, a guy named Colin Engel, who founded iRobot, the company that makes the Roomba, actually went to my high school. And after me, actually Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, went to my high school as well. So it's kind of this small high school in the middle of nowhere, but has this sort of background of being affiliated with all of these like inventors and scientists. And so there, I think it fostered some entrepreneurial activity.”
On the invention of MyFitnessPal
“My brother and my sister-in-law were getting married and they had decided to have a beach wedding in Mexico. And my brother was like, man, I am not in good shape. He's like, you know, I really want to look good for this wedding.
So they went to a gym, they went to see a trainer, they started working out. And the trainer said, you know, it's great, this is definitely important to get him to a fitness plan. But if you really want to reach your goals before this wedding date, you're also going to have to think about what you're eating. And so the way that I want you to do that is to keep a food journal. And here it is. And he literally presented my brother with this, like, paper and pen diary plus, you know, a little reference guide that had some generic information about foods and calories…And so my brother took that. I think he felt like logically it made a lot of sense to do this thing, but just couldn't believe there wasn't a better way to do it.”
On his approach to entrepreneurship
“You can start very organically from your own experiences and say, okay, well, what is the stuff in everyday life that I'm doing, seeing, feeling that just doesn't feel quite right to me? You know, are there products that I'm using that I don't like? Are there experiences that I'm having that don't make any sense? And I think my brother and I had determined that the latter way of trying to build something was much more aligned with how I think we think and we operate and how we feel motivation. And it comes a little bit from the selfish place, which is like, well, I have this problem and I kind of want to solve it, you know, and it doesn't look like anybody else is going to solve this. So I'm going to try to do it on my own.”
On how his experience at Haas shaped his mindset
“I think one of the magical things about being a business school student is sort of this, you get this kind of new identity where you are. You're kind of something, but also nothing, you know? And I don't mean that in a disparaging way, but it's sort of like you have this opportunity to sort of reinvent parts of who you are and expose yourself to a lot of different things. And just like immersing myself in a community of people who, many of whom had entrepreneurial aspirations, just completely changed my personal mindset.”
Show Links:LinkedIn Profile
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
This month, OneHaas is honored to welcome Noor Gaith to the podcast. Noor is the co-founder of Jaffa Coffee Roasters, named after the city, and specializes in artisanal coffee experiences.
Noor and his brothers grew up in the Bay Area but come from a big Palestinian family. Raised by immigrant parents from Palestine and Jerusalem, Noor learned the importance of education and following your heart and passions at an early age. By 16, he was already running his own business selling iPhones.
Noor brought that entrepreneurial spirit to Haas where he honed his talents for marketing and brand positioning. After graduating, he found himself at Square and it was through this job he found a new passion: coffee.
Host Sean Li chatted with Noor about his journey from iPhones to coffee, how the creation of Jaffa is rooted in his family’s culture, and what sets their coffee apart from all the other artisanal coffees on the market.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:On his dad’s decision to leave Palestine and head West
“My dad left Palestine in the ‘80s after the Oslo Accords. And, basically not seeing any potential for us to have any opportunity for, you know, like a life of education and career in Palestine. He was the, I wouldn't say odd one out in his family, but he's the only one who didn't see himself staying, because he was the educated one. He was the one who wanted to study engineering and like he made that happen by finally getting a visa and leaving Palestine.”
The early beginnings of his entrepreneurial spirit
“In high school, I was buying candy bars from Costco and I would sell them, resell them at school. And then I started selling iPhone cases. And people would just buy them from me. They just knew that I was like the jacket guy. I was like, what do you want? And I didn't do it for vanity or like even really for money. I just kind of thought, I'm like, why isn't everyone doing this? Why isn't everyone turning a profit or making arbitrage? And my brain just understood buy low, sell high and provide value. People want candy. People want lemonade.”
The specialness of Jaffa Coffee
“Coffee roasters in San Francisco are the vanguards. They bring some of the best. As you go up North, you'll find that in Oregon and Seattle, they lack color. It's a very white world in coffee roasting. There hasn't been really one like coffee roaster that has been Palestinian in the Ivy League status of like Ritual, Blue Bottle, Stumptown. That doesn't exist. What we're doing is like the Michelin star equivalent of coffee.”
On his passion for coffee
“I would do this as a hobby. It was like my library. I would go and I'd order a latte and I'd order a cortado and I'd sit there and I would just think about coffee because it was fun to me.”
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileJaffa Coffee Roasters
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
In this episode of OneHaas, meet alumna Tricia Tran, Senior Field Marketing Manager of the financial services and Fintech group at ServiceNow. She’s also the founding co-President of the Berkeley Haas Women in a leadership Alumnae network.
A child of Vietnamese immigrant parents, Tricia grew up in the Bay Area with her heart set on one day attending UC Berkeley. Her family instilled strong values of education and hard work in her from a young age.
Host Sean Li chatted with Tricia during Women’s History Month. The pair discuss Tricia’s amazing story of emigrating to the U.S. from Vietnam as a baby and the challenges her family faced along the way. They also chat about her experiences working as an Asian American woman in Asia vs. the U.S. and the alumnae group she started for Haas women called Women in Leadership (WILA).
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:On the challenges her parents faced when trying to leave Vietnam
“It was one of those moments where the decisions you make will alter your life. My dad had the choice to either keep waiting and risk the months of planning to get caught, and not be able to escape or leave for freedom and risk never seeing his wife and his daughter possibly ever again.”
How her parents adapted to their new life in the U.S.
“She learned how to cook and she learned it by memory. She remembered the flavors of the dishes that she had in Vietnam and she recreated those from memory. They both had several careers in restaurants, in condiments, in the steel business, in jewelry. There were several businesses that they had and I saw them pivot and try new things, and have success and sometimes failures, but they always learned from that.”
Her experience working in Asia vs. the U.S.
“Even though I was working in a key hub for Asia, like Hong Kong, you looked around and there were a lot of people of Asian ethnicity working there, but none in leadership. And in fact, when I interviewed with the head of our group, who was a Westerner from the UK, she remarked in awe, she said, ‘You speak beautiful English.’ When you feel that you are Asian, but you're also American, there's all these facets of you. You're a woman, and you go to a different country with a different background and people have these biases and they have these assumptions and it's important, I think, but hard to call those out, right?”
On the creation of WILA
“I was struggling professionally and personally, and I wanted a space where I could seek out other Haas women who I knew could understand and provide some perspective. I knew I wasn't alone in feeling this. And today, WILA is thriving and we continue to serve our mission.”
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileWomen in Leadership Alumnae
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
The OneHaas alumni podcast is thrilled to welcome Eileen Kwei, the Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer of Artisan Partners, a global investment management firm that offers a wide range of high-value-added investment strategies.
Eileen was born in the U.S. and spent the first six years of her life in New York where her parents furthered their studies at American universities. When they decided it was time to move back to Taiwan, young Eileen quickly realized she was not going to fit in with her classmates who all spoke and read in Mandarin while she only knew English. But she was determined to assimilate into the culture of her new home. A determination that would come in handy again when Eileen moved back to the U.S. for high school and had to re-assimilate into another culture.
Eileen chats with host Sean Li about how those cultural experiences have influenced the way she builds relationships with people in her career, her family’s rich cultural history as mainlanders in Taiwan, and her approach to mentoring and networking.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:Her experience assimilating to Taiwanese culture
“Having spent the first six years of my life in the U.S., English was my first language. I didn't speak or write Mandarin. I think thinking back to that period of time, despite how I looked on the outside, I was different, and being different was hard, and I learned that firsthand. But in hindsight, that period of time was also a very valuable life lesson for me to learn about perspectives. Don't make assumptions. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Walk in other people's shoes.”
The importance of preserving Chinese culture in her family
“My family fled from mainland China to Taiwan, but so did I think a million other people.
And my grandparents on both sides had this strong sense of responsibility to provide for those who came along with them and to uphold that culture and those values that they were accustomed to when they lived in mainland China.”
A major takeaway from her first job
“There are many ways to invest. Alpha generation or generating returns above the benchmark is possible in any market environment and to be a good investor does not just require skill, but it requires tremendous judgment.”
Her approach to networking
“I really care about people, I want to understand where they come from. I want to be able to appreciate their perspective, whether it's the same or even better or different than mine, gives me maybe a more genuine starting point and hopefully that sincerity and authenticity comes across and is reciprocated, as not just a launch pad to have that connection off the bat, but to really serve as a foundation to foster meaningful, long-standing, hopefully lifelong relationships.”
Show Links:LinkedIn Profile
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
On this episode of OneHaas, we hear about the incredible career journey of Laura Clayton McDonnell – the president of Corporates at Thomson Reuters and a board member at Signal AI and Zuora.
A first-generation American, Laura grew up in a military family from Panama with her parents always encouraging her to stay curious and never stop learning. She got her undergraduate degree at San Jose State and went on to earn her JD and MBA at Haas. From there, she worked with some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including Apple, IBM, and Microsoft.
Laura and host Sean Li discuss her experience working with tech giants, the important influence her parents have played in shaping her view of the world, and why finding your personal philosophy is crucial to your success.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:The influence that her parents’ have had on her life
“I think about that a lot, about how they came to the United States first of their family to come here. And I think about the sacrifices that they made. They left behind their family, friends, food, culture, language to create a life for a family yet to be born. And I think about the strength and the courage that they bring to the table and you know what – it actually informs the way that I think about the world.”
How she uses her personal philosophy statement every day
“When I start my day, I think about my personal philosophy and I commit to doing the best that I can. At the end of the day, I reflect and sometimes I don't do as well as I would like, but I commit to do better the next day. And so this, once again, you know, it just really influences everything, everything that I stand for, that I think about and how I live my life.”
On her decision to join Microsoft
“Sometimes you get these calls out of the blue and you almost have to say yes, because it absolutely made a difference in joining that organization. Satya had just been appointed the CEO, maybe he had been in the role for a year and a half, but he put together an incredible program to change Microsoft from being known as a ‘know it all' company to a ‘learn it all company.’”
Why the personal philosophy statement is crucial in business
“The first thing that you do when you meet a customer, [is] you're trying to build empathy as a salesperson, [and] you've got to know who you are. So you need to know what your personal philosophy is. So you're supposed to convey that. ‘Hi, my name is Laura Clayton McDonnell and I'm so glad to meet you. I'd like to share my personal philosophy and then I'd like to hear yours too.’ And then you build that connection point. Talk about those words and what they mean.”
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileGrowth Mindset by Carol Dweck
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
The OneHaas alumni podcast is thrilled to welcome Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda – a social impact entrepreneur, globally-recognized human rights expert, and a leading scholar on inclusive and accessible smart cities.
After immigrating to the U.S. at seven years old and navigating life with a disability, Dr. Pineda graduated from the Haas School of Business in 2002 and has since gone on to advise Fortune 500 companies, negotiate international sustainability agreements, founded and run the foundation World ENABLED, and is an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Sciences.
Dr. Pineda chats with host Sean Li about moving to the U.S. from Venezuela, the different opportunities that gave him, his work to enact social change in the world, and why building inclusive environments benefits everyone.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:The impact that moving from Venezuela to the U.S. had on Dr. Pineda
“My mother was told that I would not be able to be educated, that I would not be able to have a job, I would not be able to form a family. And all of those ended up being not true, because it wasn't my physical limitations that constrained me but the lack of public policies, the lack of institutions, programs, and laws that allowed somebody like me to thrive. That all changed when I came to California.”
How Dr. Pineda is enacting worldwide social change with his work
“We're not going to fix these challenges by only pointing out what's wrong with the world, but rather what's investing in what's right with the world. So what we've invested in, in a partnership with the city of Amsterdam, was a three-year project on leveraging AI to map access barriers. Now that's important for disaster risk management and for emergency preparedness, as well as for infrastructure upgrading and climate adaptations.”
How listeners can make an impact and support Dr. Pineda’s mission
“We can each become advocates for more inclusive innovation, no matter what sphere we work in. I think sharing my research around AI, this playbook on inclusive cities, the autism-friendly design guidelines, as well as some of the work we're doing to build a global advisory council on inclusive innovation becomes ways that the very talented Haas community could connect with real systems change.”
Dr. Pineda’s thoughts on ensuring AI is used as a force for good in the future
“I think we need to open up our hearts. I think we need to be grounded with who we are as individuals, what we value, and really create a more intentional approach to how we direct our attention. Because what you appreciate, appreciates, right? If we're in a fear economy, we're feeding fear. For an economy that's investing in more integrated, holistic approaches, we're building those.”
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileThe Victor Pineda FoundationWorld EnabledMy Disability Justice Youtube seriesVictor Santiago Pineda’s book: Building the Inclusive City: Governance, Access, and the Urban Transformation of Dubai Other recommended reads in this episode: Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life) by Kat Holmes Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanThe Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
In commemoration of Native American Heritage Month, Indian Country Executive Michael Garrow joins the OneHaas podcast to talk about his cultural heritage, his career, and his time at the Haas School of Business.
Michael is a member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in upstate New York and grew up on the reservation. After spending some time in an aviation career, he applied to Haas to get his MBA so he could give back to his community.
Michael and host Sean Li discuss what it was like growing up on a reservation, the current challenges facing Native American communities, and how Michael has been able to use his MBA to help his tribe economically.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:Why he decided to change careers and get his MBA
“I just started wanting to learn more about the finance and operations side and help the tribes. That really was my passion was to be able to give back to the community. When I applied to Berkeley, that's what I said I was going to do. And that's what I had always done with the reservation is helping youth and trying to develop the economy of the tribe because there's nothing really here. It's economically depressed.”
How gaming changed the economic landscape for tribes
“It gave our parents jobs, or in my case, us jobs, so our children had somebody to guide. Meaning like, they could see like a career path… You can get a job in a casino, and you can go get your education. But what's interesting with the Mohawks is a lot of people went to Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, back in the 1800s. So we are one of the most educated tribes, like reservations, where people have education. It's a big part of our culture is getting your education. So growing up was tough because there was not much opportunity.”
How his generation keeps the next generation involved and connected to their culture
“I think a lot of that responsibility lies in the home with the parents and making sure they get out. For the Mohawks, a big part of our culture is the sports, you know, unplugging them and they're involved in sports and they have a positive outlet rather than drugs, alcohol. So I think doing things with your children as they're growing up. So when they're teenagers, you have a relationship with them, so they'll listen to you better.”
His advice to young Native Americans about the value of college
“I've talked to a lot of tribal youth and said, ‘Oh, I don't want to get in debt.’ And I would, almost like a spreadsheet, explain to them how it makes sense to get in debt for a university. How you would be better off. I always say, ‘Well, you can get your sneaker at Walmart or you can get a Nike sneaker. Which one has more perceived value? Well, the Nike does.’ And then go, ‘Well, that's about education. You go to a top university, the top employers hire there. And so that's why you need to work hard to get into these universities.’”
Show Links:LinkedIn Profile
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
It’s Veterans Month, and this episode of OneHaas welcomes a special guest and a special guest host. Last month’s guest, Cassandra Salcedo, MBA ‘21, speaks with her former classmate and military veteran Joseph Choi, an account executive at Amazon Ads.
As the son of a Korean military vet, Joseph grew up always wanting to go into the service. After attending the Naval Academy, he landed one of the few and coveted spots with the Navy Seals and spent nine years in the service before enrolling at the Haas School of Business.
He and Cassandra discuss his parents’ journey to America from Korea, the intensive training he went through with the Seals, lessons he brought from the military to business school, and his current role at Amazon.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:Common misconceptions people have about military service members
“One big misconception is that those who decide to join the military are very close minded, narrow minded, and not very intelligent people…Or sometimes that it’s troublemakers who decided to join the military.”
What inspired him to go to business school
“I'm going to be real honest here. A lot of military folks when they get out of the military have no idea what they want to do. And I was one of them. I had no idea what I wanted to do. However, thankfully, because of a lot of those ahead of me who got out were great mentors in this sense where a lot of them do go to business school. So it's not uncommon to see a lot of military folks go to business school.”
His advice to prospective business school students
“I think what's more important is, you know, instead of taking that depth and trying to dive into academics, use that time to get to know your classmates, to try new things, expand your reach, do things that you wouldn't have done normally because I think it's also a safe time to take risks.”
Insights he’s taken from the military and business school into his current job at Amazon Ads
“The job in itself is usually quite simple in comparison to people. People are the hardest. Human relations are the hardest thing to work with, to navigate around and deal with. And I think that is something across the board that I've seen consistent. In the military, with my last role, with the current role, is that in anything and everything, humans are the most complicated, and hence that's why communication is so important, having empathy is so important.”
Show Links:LinkedIn Profile
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
This month on the OneHaas podcast, we’re celebrating Filipino Heritage Month with Cassandra Salcedo, a Product Marketing Senior Lead at Salesforce.
Cassandra is a first-generation Filipina American whose parents emigrated from the Philippines in search of the American dream. It was this story that propelled Cassandra's adventurous career path and ultimately led her to Haas.
She and host Sean Li discuss what it was like growing up in a traditional Filipino household and her trips back to the Philippines, her diverse career path from accounting to commercial banking to social enterprise to tech product marketing, and how she made it her mission to meet and spend time with nearly every single one of her Haas classmates before graduation.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:When she took the first big career transition
“During my social impact fellowship, I had the opportunity to travel to the remote parts that most people in the world have not heard of in Ecuador and Peru and meet people from these regions and hear their stories about what they're using their loans for and how they're using it to propel them forward and got to tell those stories through different blogs, through different interviews that the organization I was working for could do.”
What it was like to visit the Philippines and reconnect with her family heritage
“They built up this whole community… It doesn't exist anymore today, but there's a family gas station that was called the Salcedo gas station. To see so many people in my family that I had never met before not really having a lot of things and enjoying life and just laughing with each other. That's when I think it sparked for me my appreciation for all the sacrifices that my parents had made.”
Why she was drawn to Haas over other business schools
“I remember very vividly at the first Haas info session I went to and there was a slide there that showed the career paths that people at Haas go into post graduation. And of course there was, you know, the traditional paths of banking, tech, but it was actually quite a linear graph across different industries. I felt like a lot of the other schools, it was primarily one, but that graph actually really stood out to me because I wanted a school that did that and I also wanted a school that was small enough to build a community.”
On her initial introduction to the Haas community
“I actually received a hundred percent response rate from all of the Haas alumni that I cold messaged on LinkedIn, which I thought was a telling sign of the community and people actually wanting to give back and share their experiences out of the goodness of their heart and just wanting to help.”
Show Links:LinkedIn Profile
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
OneHaas’ commemoration of Latinx Heritage Month continues with an interview with Adrien Lopez Lanusse, the former vice president of consumer insights at Netflix.
Adrien’s intersectionality between being Latinx and gay gave him a certain kind of insight into the culture within corporations and the impact of those companies’ products on the consumer.
He and host Sean Li delve into the art of consumer insights, how Adrien’s upbringing shaped his work ethic, and what it was like to watch Netflix grow into the behemoth company it is today.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:Why he was drawn to a business career from an early age
I was very curious. And in our household, being in a multicultural household, we consumed products and services very differently than my friends. And I was always curious as to why or how does culture drive or influence us as consumers?
On how to ensure consumer insights work is inclusive
I think finding the level of granularity is part of what leads to some of the insightful ideas. So, for example, oftentimes, a company will talk about their consumer in a monolithic way. And by not looking at some of the nuances of the different segments, the different types of consumers, you're balancing things out and missing some of the opportunities.
How the Haas Thrive Fellows program is empowering future Latinx business leaders
Latinx representation in business, particularly in the executive ranks, is a challenge…They've created this program to help educate, prepare, and motivate folks from underrepresented groups to apply and succeed in business schools, hopefully, Haas. And we want to reverse the trend in declining applications from underrepresented ethnic and racial groups. So programs and efforts like these, I think, are really important to increase representation in the executive ranks.
On what his promotions have meant to him in his career
The fact that someone recognized my value and decided to promote me was something I wouldn't have imagined earlier in my career. Growing up in a Latino household where we're taught to be humble, to be grateful for what we're given, I think, leads to a lot of us not being good at self-advocacy. And it's something we need to work on to increase our representation in the executive ranks. So, all the promotions that I've gotten, I never take them for granted, and I'm incredibly grateful for them.
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileHaas Thrive FellowsThe Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni
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To celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, the OneHaas podcast welcomes Patty Juarez, the executive vice president and head of Hispanic and Latino Affairs at Wells Fargo Bank.
Patty found her passion for finance and banking at an early age, growing up in Mexicali, Mexico, watching her father run his business. After moving to the U.S. at age 11, education became a top priority for Patty and her siblings. When it came time to apply for colleges, Patty knew Haas was the school for her.
She and host Sean Li discuss her childhood in Mexico and how her life changed after moving to the U.S., the work she’s done at Wells Fargo to increase capital access for minority business owners, and how she got her nickname of “the people’s banker.”
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:What it was like to leave Mexico at a young age
As a sixth grader, I felt like it was the end of the world, like moving away from my birth country. Even if it was just across the border, really a few miles away, it just felt like a huge change. Of course, you know, you leave your friends behind and you start a whole new world in the U.S.
Where her passion for finance began
I always knew I wanted to be a banker. It's almost like since I was a kid, I was the bank. Monopoly, I was the bank. If we played like little store, I was always the bank. I always handled the cash. And I always had money. I would save my money from birthdays and things. I would lend my money if my grandmother was short or whatever, and then she would pay me back. And if I'd give her $20, she'd give me back $21 or $22. And she taught me about interest when I was a little girl.
On her idea to diversify commercial banking
I just wondered how much more business we could get if we did it, right? If we actually came to clients in a culturally relevant way, if we recruited talent that looked like our client base, you know, how much more successful could we be? And that was the basis of me launching diverse segments, which really propelled my career to new heights at Wells Fargo.
How she hopes to make a difference for minority business owners
My goal is to have no access to capital gap, right? So that any business owner can get the financing they need and there's no bias in the decisioning process that leads to them getting turned down for a loan. And that's not gonna be something that's maybe gonna be solved in my lifetime, but I'm damn gonna try really hard to help it along.
Show Links:LinkedIn Profile
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
Our spotlight on first-generation alumni continues with a conversation with Cassidy Nolan, the co-founder and managing member of Mach 1 Hot Sauce.
Growing up, Cassidy struggled in school. But joining the Marine Corps after high school helped him find his drive and discipline that ultimately led him to Haas.
Cassidy and host Sean Li discuss his family roots in the kitchen, his military intelligence work for the Marines, how his education at Haas helped shape the idea for Mach 1 Hot Sauce, and why it’s the hot sauce that pairs well with anything.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:How his time in the military helped with school
Post-Marine Corps, I never found trouble in school. I learned how to study, I learned how to be disciplined. There weren't any distractions like what I used to have when I was younger. It was like, here's the work, and 50% of the job is just showing up, right? 30% of the job after that is participating in class, and then 20% is actually doing the homework and the test and the quizzes because if you do, if you show up and you ask questions, you're gonna learn and retain so much of it.
One of the things he loved most about Haas
If you made it to Haas, chances are you're curious, you're not afraid to ask questions. You're not afraid to go out on a limb and say, ‘Well, I think it's this.’ There weren't a lot of politics that got in the way. Like a lot of the time, we're just looking at brass tax…and I felt like the dumbest one in the room, and I loved it because it meant I had the most to gain, you know?
The push he gave himself towards Mach 1 Hot Sauce
Look, if you don't jump off on this hot sauce thing, you're never gonna do it. Because you've always been scared to do it. You know what I mean? Because you're married, you have kids, and if not now, when? And that's such a hard thing, I think, for a lot of entrepreneurs or people who wanna be entrepreneurs is that fear of failing. But I think I just got to a point in time where the fear of not trying was greater than the fear of failing.
What makes his hot sauce stand out
There's a dichotomy that exists between either it has flavor, but there's no heat, or it's just complete dry heat, and there's no flavor. And I really believe that we created a hot sauce that can pair with your food because it has a lot of flavor upfront. And then the heat rolls on in the back so you can still have your food and not have it be overpowered by the hot sauce.
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileMach 1 Hot SauceSteve Jobs’ 2005 Commencement Speech at Stanford University
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This month, the OneHaas podcast is highlighting first-generation alumni like Carolina Picazo. She’s the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Spectrum Equity – a private equity firm focused on growth capital for internet-enabled software and information services companies.
Before Spectrum Equity, Carolina spent 15 years at Deloitte working in tax services. Even as a child growing up in a Mexican immigrant family in San Francisco, she always had an affinity for numbers. That passion only grew in her accounting classes at Haas.
Carolina and host Sean Li discuss her parents’ immigration story from Mexico, why she initially hid her college applications from her father, and how she went from taxes to now holding a top executive job at Spectrum Equity.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:On why she was drawn to a career in accounting
Math was a strong suit of mine. You know English was harder for people like me whose parents don't speak fluent English or speak conversational fluent, but not super fluent, not a large vocabulary. So it's a lot harder. So, you know, you tend to go towards what you feel you're good at, right?
Her first impression of classes at Haas
My high school was crazy. It's even crazy now. It's a pressure cooker place. The whole time you feel like you're not good enough. When I went to Berkeley and I took classes, I felt like I belonged. I felt like I was prepared, and it wasn't a crazy pressure cooker situation.
How her mom views her career
What makes her happy is the fact that I am an independent, self-reliant woman who is financially successful.
I think that to her as a woman that grew up in the ‘50s and ‘60s, having a daughter who isn't dependent on someone else is really important to her. The other thing she says she's very proud of is the fact that I have three children who are successful. My youngest daughter is 19. But she's successful. I mean, my mom views her as successful. And she's like the continuation. She's like, ‘You did your career and you did all that, but you were able to balance raising three daughters who in and of themselves can be independent and strong and successful women.’ She said, ‘That's not easy. And that's all you.
The advice she gives her daughters
It's a very long life after you graduate, and you need to feel like you have the tools to do something that satisfies you. Reality is you can't live without earning a paycheck, so find a way to earn a paycheck. And find a way to do it with something that makes you happy and makes you feel like you are intellectually satisfied.
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileSpectrum Equity Bio
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
Our conversations for Pride Month continue with musician and composer Adrienne Torf. She and a few classmates co-founded the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual MBA Students Group, known today as Q@Haas.
Adrienne has been a piano player her entire life, but after getting her undergraduate degree in Political Science at Stanford, she saw an opportunity to help fellow self-employed musicians build their businesses. She just needed to acquire the business skills before she could share them with her community of self-employed creatives. Getting her MBA at Haas sparked a second set of interests, and she spent the next 30 years in the for-profit and nonprofit worlds while still recording, performing and composing music.
Adrienne and host Sean Li discuss her recent retirement from nonprofit CFO work and full-time return to music and composing, what it was like forming an LGBTQ student group at Haas in the ‘90s, and the current threat facing LGBTQ rights.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:Her tough decision to either stay in school or go on tour
My father, ever the entrepreneur and, I think, really an insightful parent, cut me a deal. He said, “You finish school. You've only got a year to go, finish your undergrad, and I will pay your rent for a year after you graduate. So you can work as a musician without worrying about where you're gonna sleep at night.”
What drew her to business school
I wanted to come back to the community of artists, of which I was a member, with wisdom, with knowledge, with resources. And over time, I have been able to do that, but not as directly as I had intended when I started at Haas.
The challenges her student group faced in the ‘90s
When we wanted to get the word out that we were having meetings, many of the other men who were gay and who wanted to be connected to this group insisted that we not put announcements about the meetings in their mailboxes, which anybody could poke into if they wanted to. So we had to fairly clandestinely post notices about our meeting times and places on bulletin boards where these guys would sneak by and get the information.
What she hopes people will do this Pride Month
Spend half an hour reading about all of the legislation in all of the states that is designed to silence the voices of queer and trans people that is designed to deprive everybody of books and films and curricula that keep us visible, and that are already making it impossible for trans people to access the medical care that they need in order to be physically healthy as who they are. Read that stuff, and I hope you will be compelled to do something about it.
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileAdrienne’s music on Spotify and Apple Q@Haas
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
Happy Pride Month! To celebrate, Mark Buchanan joins the podcast to talk about his work in LGBTQ advocacy and community empowerment.
After graduating from Haas with a degree in finance and accounting, Mark spent 22 years at Apple as a finance and sales executive. But now, he runs Buchanan Advisory, where he helps diverse leaders reach their full potential.
Mark and host Sean Li discuss Apple’s one-of-a-kind culture, how coming out helped Mark in his professional life, and what people can do to be a better ally this Pride month.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:Why Mark decided to leave Apple and start Buchanan Advisory
It was a journey about how to help develop people and help develop leaders and help people find a voice to be better leaders. And so that really inspired me after I left Apple to start another chapter of how can I give back and help others be successful? So that's what led me to starting Buchanan Advisory was, I think I can help other leaders be more successful and focus on diverse leaders, focus on the LGBTQ+ community and really help them be successful, and be a mentor, a confidant, an advisor, and help people reach their full potential.
On the importance of being your full, authentic self
The more I came out and was comfortable being myself in front of everybody, the more empowered I was and the more happy I was, which actually helped me in my professional career as well.
How to support and be an ally to the LGBTQ community
I think learning and being a student of DEI and belonging is important for all allies. And I think participation, you know, with Pride Month coming up, it's an opportunity for allies to learn, celebrate, be a part of it. And I think the more people are willing to be open minded and learn about the community, the more a better ally they can be, and be self-reflective.
Why an organization like Openhouse SF is so needed
There's still a lot of adversity for the LGBTQ+ community who become seniors. Some of them feel like they have to go back into the closet because there aren't enough elder care services or communities that are accepting of LGBTQ plus seniors, believe it or not.
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileBuchanan AdvisoryOpenhouse SFStartOutGaingels
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Our celebration of AAPI month continues with a conversation with Celeste Fa’ai’uaso. Celeste is a senior program manager at Google and has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. She attributes her academic drive to her parents’ passion for education.
Celeste’s father grew up in American Samoa before moving to the mainland for college, and her mother, who is Mexican American, was raised by a single mom in Compton, CA. Her parents and older brother were instrumental in shaping her into the determined individual she is today.
She and host Sean Li discuss her upbringing, her father’s Samoan roots, how Pacific Islanders are a separate demographic group than Asian, and how companies can do better to support their AAPI employees.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:How she discovered her passion for mechanical engineering
My dad had a lot of tools and I found out how to use a screwdriver maybe when I was like six or something. And once I found that out, I was really curious on how things worked. And so I started to take things apart in my house.
I’d get a phone and take it apart or get a radio and take it apart. And I think at first it was cute, but then my mom was like, if you're gonna take something apart, put it back together.
Why she chose Berkeley over other schools
Haas is the perfect school for me because of the community. It's such a small group and such amazing, caring people … You are with people who believe in you. They're not sizing you up. They're actually interested in who you are as a person and what are your goals, and they want you to achieve your goals.
On the Pacific Islander erasure that can happen during AAPI month
Oftentimes when I see commercials or initiatives, I don't see Pacific Islanders, and that really makes me sad, makes me angry because I'm thinking this month is supposed to highlight us and even in this month, I don't see me or my people, and I just don't want people to forget the PI whenever they say AAPI or Asian and Pacific Islander.
A piece of Pacific Islander history she’s especially proud of
My Polynesian ancestors were the best mariners in the world, in human history of sailing the Pacific Islands way before Europe or Vikings were doing what they were doing. Like I've heard the distance they've sailed is equivalent to traveling from south of Mexico to Alaska. They traveled by using the stars, the currents, looking where birds were landing, and they were covering the Pacific Ocean way before people from Europe and covering a lot more space in the ocean than Vikings.
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfilePolynesian Wayfinders And The CosmosPolynesian Culture Center in Oahu, Hawaii Map of Pacific Islands: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia
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As part of AAPI Celebration Month, we welcome Eurie Kim to the show. Eurie is a venture capital investor, serving as Managing Partner at Forerunner. As a former entrepreneur, Eurie has deep personal appreciation for the emotional commitment and relentless passion required of a founder, allowing her to be radically empathetic to the entrepreneurs she works with while being realistic and honest in the advice she offers.
Her point of view reflects her practical nature and her penchant for seeing the big picture through the mess of fighting fires day to day. Inspired by identifying evolving consumer needs, Eurie seeks opportunities to leverage technology to optimize and innovate every aspect of life and to find the right entrepreneur with the vision to take on the challenge.
Listen as Eurie and host Sean Li discuss her South Korean roots, growing up in white spaces, pivoting from consultant to venture capital, and staying cool, calm, and motivated.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:On why she had not been vocal about her Asian roots and AAPI-related topics
My answer, very authentically, is that I don't spend all my time thinking about it. I'm just really busy living life, doing work, trying my best, and moving forward. I didn't feel like I had discrimination overtly, either for being Asian, Korean, or female, to be honest. I know it was there, but I just didn't bother with it. I just kept moving on and ignored it and considered it the exception, not the rule.
Now, with so much conversation that has happened over the years with all the AAPI hate, I felt very personally afflicted. And it's always sad that you can't really feel it until it gets that close. And I hadn't felt it until those few years. And now, it's more on my mind. And I say, representation does matter.
On the path to becoming a good venture capitalist
If you do not have an appetite for risk, you will never be a venture capitalist. Well, you'll never be a good venture capitalist.
So, for all of those listening who want to get into venture, ask yourself really, do you have the risk appetite? If you picked your next job as though that was your venture investment and your dollars was your own labor, what company would you pick? That mentality will help you get your head in the right place to speak the language.
Challenges of being a VC
I think one of the largest challenges of this job is that you don't know if you're good for over 10 years. It's not just one investment makes you a star. It's the continued ability to do this job on an ongoing basis and to have internal validation and motivation. So, it's a roller coaster industry. You need to have serious conviction in, not only the companies you invest in and the founders and the entrepreneurs you invest in, but also yourself. Because there's plenty of weeks where I'm like, I don't have a good idea. I'm not inspired. And then, there's other weeks where I can't stop myself from thinking things that are interesting. So, you have to think about it as like it's an ultramarathon, and you can't just get give yourself a pat on the back at 26.2 miles and be like, “I crushed it.” You've got 99 million miles to go.
How Eurie keeps the motivation up and going
If you can enjoy the wins of the building, when you launch a product, when you see that consumers are excited about something, when you work with a founder and you see her crush a pitch or raise that next round, those are absolutely worth celebrating, because those are the moments that I like to always say, my philosophy is all about the baby steps. The pyramids were built one brick at a time. You can't see it yet for so long, but you're building something amazing. And so, it does require you to be able to pan back.
And I don't want to say there's no validation, because there is. You have to celebrate those wins, because otherwise, I mean it's honestly too long, of a course. But the motivation comes from knowing that you took something that didn't exist and you gave it life, or you gave the founder of this idea the chance to bring it to life.
And that is amazing. That feels really, really special.
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileForerunner VenturesThe Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor FranklAtomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations -
Our conversations celebrating Earth Day continue with Adriana Penuela-Useche, a chemical engineer, startup consultant, and future investor who’s passionate about the intersection between entrepreneurship and VC as a way to create Climate Action and protect the planet for future generations.
Adriana grew up literally hugging trees in Bogota, Colombia, and wanted to find a way to combine her love of nature with her passion for engineering. With her 11 years in the chemical engineering field, her passion to go beyond herself volunteering for Engineers Without Borders and creating her new path supporting deeptech startups in the Climate tech sector.
In this episode, Adriana discusses how her family’s upbringing, immigration story, and experience at Haas shaped her, what she thinks are the biggest climate change challenges today, and the exciting technological innovations that could help with some of those challenges.
*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*
Episode Quotes:On how she has developed her love for nature and community
You can describe me as a tree hugger, backpacker, camper, because I love all of those. What I love the most is that my parents developed me in a sense of holistic sustainability viewing it as:”we don't have to only care about nature, but also care about the community that surrounds us.” And to explore that through economics. So with my dad being a mechanical engineer, tinkering of many things and my mom being an economist drove those two components in our lives and created these building blocks that I have lived throughout my life, which are “community, not competition and a continuous love for nature and those in need.”
On creating a better ecosystem for entrepreneurs
There has to be a better way to create an economic system. And then from there, knowing that, for example, in Colombia or other places like what I saw in Ethiopia with Engineers Without Borders, there is so much innovation happening in the day to day that triggers and aligns with good capital to build astrong entrepreneurial ecosystem globally, like a real ecosystem of entrepreneurs, but also develop economies as a path.
Show Links:LinkedIn ProfileBerkeley Haas Sustainability Alumni GroupThe Sustainable Development Goals Wedding Cake
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations - Vis mere
