BoB Nomination & Other Updates!

Yes! After two years of MBA Talk at my blog, I have been nominated for the Clear Admit BoB Awards for the year 2008-09. Feels pretty good and I need to fill in my ballot by 24th. I would need to take out sometime and read student blogs which I haven't been following very closely.

In other updates, I have notified at my workplace about my plans to do an MBA and hopefully be relieved by the end of May or early June. Yesterday evening, I faxed in my Kroll authorization form and they have already started working on it. My recommender got a call today morning. So they seem to be pretty efficient.

There is no news from CBS regarding loans, visa and scholarship and its already mid-April. I hope things could move faster....

Timing the market?

So, whats up with me? Nothing much really. I am actually helping out a friend setup his venture. That is, in terms of brainstorming of ideas and sharing whatever industry perspectives I have gained over last 4 years of work. Its actually a lot of fun and the process has a good deal of excitement. In this economic environment, it is going to be a big ask but we have belief in the fundamental value of his ideas and I am sure he will do well.

I have been wondering what exactly is the right time to launch one's business, given that he is ready with a plan? Should it be when the market is green and credit is free-flowing or when the chips are down and investors are selling out. Till very recently, I was convinced that getting 'in' in a good market was absolutely essential to compete with the deep-pocket giants. Its also relatively easy to get noticed in a healthy economic scenario.

But, to my surprise, a relatively large number of firms (especially tech ones) have been founded in times of extreme economic distress. What explains that? I have no clear answer but it appears that several of them hit on some ideas which were generated because of competitive economic climate. They had strong value propositions. The founders worked under the radar for a few years, establishing the network and bringing the idea to market. As soon as the situation got better they were ready to capitalize on it. I am not sure how much of that is the case, but it sure is a thing I look forward to research more on.

On school front, there is no news. The process to me looks a little too slow, especially for the early admits who don't seem to have anything to do for 6-7 months. I am itching to get my hands on that pre-MBA material ;)

My room-mate got admitted to Queens last week and got a little scholarship too. He has received bundles and bundles of materials from the university. His course-work starts in May and he is neck-deep in the visa and loan process. Looking at his exciting and extremely fast-paced stage of the process, kinda feel jealous :P

Hopefully, some news will come from CBS this week! Till then, cheers!

Housing & Other News

Well, there is not much news actually. Things have been very furious at work and its getting tiring. I have been handed over with some long-term assignments that I am sure I will need to handover very soon to somebody else. That would mean more work. I don't mind doing that as long as I get some break before school.

Speaking of which, CBS front has been relatively quiet. I put in my housing application the very first day the application opened and opted for an apartment share. This option seems to be the most popular one. Although, right till the end I was torn between an apartment shares and studios. Now, need to wait till May for further activity.

Next month promises to be more exciting. I intend to inform my manager about my plans to do an MBA in fall. He has been very nice to me and I hope he would understand. Kroll will follow and so will the loan and visa processing.

Meanwhile, the scene in the US is getting scarier every week and is giving me and my parents a lot of worries in taking that big a loan to fund my MBA. Hopefully, things will fall in place. During this time, I hope that I get some sort of scholarship which can lessen my burden and my parents' worries.

Edit: Just read Tieny's account of the Open House and it looks like so much fun. And yes, I too am impressed by the crowd of people who are going to be my classmates for the next 2 years. Pretty exciting times coming up!

Vacations & Housing

First post of the new year!

and I have already had two mini-vacations. The first one was an extension of my year-end vacation and I had a quite time at Ranchi, where my parents have lived for almost two decades. It was good to be away from work and everything else. Small cities can give you that freshness which is difficult to find in Bangalore life. Fast forward to the republic day and I made a short trip to Ahmedabad to meet some friends. And I had a pretty cool time. Although, Ahmedabad is in the only "dry" state of India.

I have hastened my search for an internship for the summer but looks like its a big ask, given the financial turmoil all around us. I read an article written by Swaminathan Aiyer today about how this recession can be the Hykenian kind instead of the Keynesian one and how both kinds need very different treatments. The more dreadful thought of the article was the fact that it may take more than a couple of years to settle this one up. That's not good news. With a scholarship always unlikely, its going to be a $150k loan on my head when I graduate and I better have some good opportunities at that time. Coming to back to India immediately after MBA is also an option.

There is constant talk in the country about whether India will be hit by the recession. I think it will be. For whatever may be the reasons, India has seen a lot of export-led growth over the last few years. Now as the west sees a much stronger urge to save and consumer spending dries up, India will be hit sooner or later and probably to the same extent as the US. The Indian stock market is already hit rock bottom and its unlikely that its going up anytime soon. Plenty of problems to think about.

There is nothing really happening on CBS front. I received a mail from Linda welcoming me to the class of 2011 after she tried calling me up several times. Although, its been nearly 4 months since I got the admit, it still feels good to be congratulated ;) Housing applications start sometime in February and thats one area where I need to do more research. Have been trying to figure out what would suit me the best.