Wharton Entrepreneurship Conference

I attended my first Wharton Entrepreneurship conference in February. The theme of the conference was ‘Entrepreneurship in a rising economy’.

My favorite speaker was Andy Dunn, Founder and CEO of Banobos, a company that designs men's pants. Andy’s spoke to a packed room and was a thoroughly engaging speaker. He ran his session as a case study, in which he took students through the process of starting a company and asked them questions about what they would do in the entrepreneur's position.

He conveyed many lessons that I found useful. Most importantly, if you’re hoping to start a business in business school, the best thing you can do is meet people and network. Also, Andy discussed the merits of having a ‘contratrian’ viewpoint. This means trying to do things the opposite of how everyone does them to separate and differentiate your business from the competition.

The e-conference was apparently less exciting than in 2009, where the keynote speaker was Donny Deutsch (from CNBC’s Big Idea with Donny Deutsch). However, I do think that the conference could be shortened to be more impactful and that the conference theme could be highlighted a bit more. As always, I recommend more ways to elicit quality audience participation. Still, I'm glad I went and enjoyed meeting several student entrepreneurs.

Book Reviews: Nabokov, Thompson, Camus

Over the last few months, I have read several books from the 1950s:

Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson

The Plague, Albert Camus

The Rum Diary, Hunter S. Thompson

Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita is the story of a middle-aged man who has a strong desire for 'nymphets', or girls between the ages of 12 and 16. At times Lolita touched upon complex, brooding, and taboo feelings; however, in the end it fell well short of its potential. The moments where it truly spoke to the reader where overshadowed by many more pages of unnecessary details and trivialities.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter Thompson

After a disappointing read in Lolita, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was just what the 'gonzo' 'doctor of journalism' ordered. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a drunken and drug-fueled romp through 1950s LA and Las Vegas (and the road between the two) about.....nothing really. Or maybe it's about how the drug movement of the 60s had gone sour, or it is a meaningless search for meaning. I later watched the movie and concluded that the book was much better. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an impressive novel about the 'extreme', and I highly recommend it.

The Plague, Albert Camus

To catch my breath from Thomson, I read The Plague by Albert Camus. The Plague is set in 1950s Oran, Algeria, and is the story of a city that is quarantined due to an outbreak of the plague. The novel discusses the philosophies of several characters towards life and religion. The Plague was similar to Lolita in that it had great potential, and at times it touched upon key sentiments; however, the characters were hollow and the brooding atmosphere that Camus wanted to develop simply didn't materialize. Still, I was inspired to visit Oran and Algeria, and almost booked a trip there this summer.

The Rum Diary, Hunter Thompson

The Rum Diary, written by a 22-year old Hunter Thompson about a 30-year wandering journalist in San Juan, Puerto Rico, did not disappoint. Though just 22, Thompson displayed keen insight to capture the mind of a 30-year old so well. Copious amounts of rum were consumed during the novel, with the signature drink being 'rum and ice' for about 75 cents on average. This whetted my appetite and I decided to try the drink myself, but for about $7 at the local bar. Thompson aptly captured the experience of westerners in San Juan who ultimately fail to understand and adapt to their new surroundings. At times there are glimmers of understanding, but for the most part the western journalists, who are all on the run from something, have to keep on the move.

Wharton Winter Welcome Weekend

The emotional thrill ride that was Wharton Winter Welcome Weekend (WWWW) came to an end this morning. For two days, about 150 Round 1 admits to the Wharton MBA program, including me, were congratulated and shepherded through various welcoming events.

On Thursday morning, we were officially welcomed to Wharton by senior folks in Wharton administration and were treated to lunch. I was fortunate enough to sit at a table with the Director of Admissions, J.J. Cutler. Most of our talk revolved around sports – baseball and football. After lunch, the admits broke into mini-cohorts – I was assigned to Cohort B. We broke into smaller teams and competed with other teams to use Tinker Toys to build as tall a structure as possible – apparently we’ll be doing stuff like this on the learning team retreat. I reluctantly stepped away from the activities for my CTT Commercialization class at 4pm, had a few slices of pizza at the monthly CTT meeting, and headed into Center City to La Viola for a Healthcare Management (HCM) dinner. After dinner, we went to Ladder 15 for some drinking (15th and Sansome).

On Friday, I attended an information session on Financial Aid in the morning. I then attended industry sessions on healthcare and entrepreneurship before attending a talk on global programs – Global Immersion Program (GIP), Global Consulting Practicum (GCP), and International Exchange Programs, including the Insead program. The best part of the weekend came next: Wharton Live. Admits were treated to 2 stand-up comedy acts, 2 comedy skits (one about Partners Club and the other about the Financial meltdown), a performance by Bateria (a Brazilian drumming group), and 2 songs by the Whartones. One of them was just awesome – it was, surprise, surprise, about the economic recession. I’m trying to figure out what the original song is called…The night’s festivities ended with yet another social at Fado (15th and Locust), where we once again took over the bar.

On Saturday morning, I attended a brunch hosted by the India club at New Delhi restaurant (40th and Chestnut).

It was a fantastic weekend, so much so that I just paid my deposit and enrolled online for the Wharton MBA Class of 2012! I am planning to attend the Spring Welcome Weekend, if only to hear Wharton Live once again.

Chaat House

893 E. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA
(Intersection of Wolfe and E. El Camino Real)

The Indian restaurant market in the Bay Area may be crowded, but Chaat House (http://www.chaathouse.net/menu.htm) stands out as an excellent North Indian snack food restaurant. Over winter break, my cousin, who has been frequenting the establishment for the last 5 years, insisted that his mom and I give Chaat House a try. So, we went to Chaat House for lunch and ordered Chana Bhatura, Sprout Bhel, Bengan Bhartha, Sarason ka Saag, Aloo Paratha, Hara Bhara Paratha, Gulab Lassi, and Chaas.


The food was excellent, reasonably priced, and just the right amount for three hungry people. I was surprised by the food’s freshness and mildness (not too pungent or spicy). Of the above items, my favorite was Chana Bhatura. The atmosphere in Chaat House was also laid back and pleasant. We sat near the TV and watched song and dance numbers from old Hindi movies.

Give Chaat House a try if you’re in the mood for some light snacks that remind you of food from the old country.

Deal or No Deal?

During Winter Break, I watched an unusually high number of game shows since my grandmother, who loves game shows (and cheesy Indian soap operas), was at home. The most interesting one, by far, was Deal or No Deal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deal_or_No_Deal). Why? Because I can’t figure out if the show is pure genius or pure stupidity.

On the one hand, the game is just a measure of contestants’ risk tolerance. When more briefcases with large dollar amounts are opened, the probability that the contestant possesses a briefcase with a low dollar amount is higher; and vice versa. Contestants usually choose to reject the first few offers, either out of greed or a love of being on TV.

On the other hand, the genius of the show might be in how the deal is calculated. The deal seems to be computer-generated; if so, the Banker is there only ‘for show’. At first, I thought that the deal was just the expected value of the remaining amounts. The expected value is the remaining dollar amounts x the probability that they will be selected. But, this turns out not to be the case. I sat with my laptop and Excel open a few times while watching the show and the deal turned out to be lower than the expected value. Clearly, a more advanced algorithm is at work. The algorithm probably changes, as do the rules of the game, from time to time.

To his credit, Howie Mandell is an entertaining host. And while most game shows are high energy (The Price is Right, Family Feud, etc.), this one is larger than life given all its melodrama. But to me, nothing is more satisfying than watching a greedy contestant reject a deal and end up with a low amount. It’s like watching NASCAR for the car crashes!

Alamere Falls

Tucked away on the California coast at Point Reyes (just north of San Francisco), Alamere Falls offers some of the best scenery that Northern California has to offer. I first visited Alamere Falls in the summer, three years ago, with several friends from SAP. I was awestruck by the coastal beauty.


With those images still fresh in my mind, last week, I went back to Alamere Falls with a friend visiting from Philly. The trek was still beautiful - but this time in a wintery sort of way. The sky was overcast and the temperature was in the low 50s / high 40s. One of the good things about going in December, and later in the day, was the lack of people. We began the hike at 12pm, later than we would have liked, having gotten lost a few times en-route (we overshot the Sir Francis Drake exit by 20 miles off 101, just north of Sausalito). After a few hours of hiking, we reached the falls around 3pm. We relaxed, had lunch, and played some Frisbee. I also climbed down to the beach to get a better look at the falls. Unfortunately, the water level was disappointingly low. At 3:30pm, it started to drizzle, and we started back to the car. It was dark for most of the return hike. At about 6pm we reached the car and headed back home.


As far as coastal treks in Northern California go, Alamere Falls is one of the best. The view alternates between glimpses of the ocean and forests / brush in the hills. Unlike hill or mountain treks, the elevation changes only gradually in this trek. It feels more like a long, relaxing walk.

Catching up

Time flies - when you're having fun or when you're really busy. In my case, it has been the latter for the last several months. Hence the lack of blogging. After coming back from Cancun, I got right into the swing of things at school and haven't had any time to catch my breath - that is, until now.


I started with five classes and dropped one (advanced cell biology) to get to four: advanced molecular genetics, intro to genome science, intro to bioinformatics, and drug discovery development. After seeing my grades, I probably dropped the wrong class (molecular genetics didn't go so well). I also worked two part-time jobs - I continued my internship at Yaupon Therapeutics and started a new job at Penn's Center for Technology Transfer (CTT). As a CTT Fellow, I provide assessments on new inventions disclosed to the CTT. It's been a great experience - I'm learning how to look at new inventions from technical, business, and legal perspectives. In addition, I've been working on running the Biotech Investment Group with two other Wharton students.


Now I'm enjoying my winter break and am slowly gearing up for my return to Philly in a few weeks. Next semester is shaping up to be almost as busy as the last one. Whereas I focused on genetics last semester, this semester will be more about devices, my current interest, along with healthcare software. I'm scheduled to take Brain / Computer Interface, Tissue Engineering, and a CTT class (not for credit) on Lab to Market. I'm also hoping to take Healthcare Systems and another healthcare management class, though I'm not sure which one yet.


As for New Year's resolutions, I haven't completely decided on them just yet. But for one, I'm hoping to blog more than once every 6 months. Happy New Year!