Student Stories

Abby Katz

Abby Katz is a Senior Marketing Manager at Mavrck, a Boston-based influencer marketing software company.

"I found the content of the course to be extremely informative and applicable to the real challenges of being a leader. I loved the frameworks and the case study model of the course, and I thought the course was very manageable on top of a full-time job."

Jennifer Moret

Jennifer Moret is a Financial Analyst working in the trust industry in Switzerland.

"The course has given me the confidence to know that my suggestions have a solid business basis."

[With Business Analytics], I discovered a new-found love of data analytics. I was fascinated to learn about ways we can use data to systematically seek an answer to a specific business question or predict the outcome of a scenario given past behavior. This new interest has motivated me to pursue a career in data science (a field that combines statistics, analytics, and business knowledge), which I have begun to work toward since I finished [the course].

Richard Pitts

Medical professional looking to learn about sustainable business practices

"As always, the case studies are eye-opening. The content is superb, and the presentation of the case is superb as well."

Elizabeth Narehood

Vice President of Technology at Region 2000 Business and Economic Development Alliance

I really appreciate how Professor Christensen introduced high-level complex theories and broke them down into digestible chunks. When applied to real-world examples, the concepts are brought to life.

Anita Umoh

Making the shift from the corporate world to entrepreneurship.

I loved the case study on Intuit and the Quickbook App. It was something I could relate to, and it helped me to understand and know that fear can be good because it fuels your passion to keep you moving forward.

Nicholas Grecco

Educator and Healthcare Administrator

The course has made me think more carefully about how I could create a competitive cost structure and make appropriate plans before entering the market. [Conjoint analysis] has also helped me think about what product features my consumers would really value and how to highlight those features. Having a better business vocabulary and understanding the underlying concepts has really helped me to contribute more productively to conversations and decisions.

Jocelyn Johnson

Working in Marketing/Social Media for an edtech startup in NYC

But in the few years I have been out of school, I have found that being able to understand key business principles is essential, especially in the startup world.

Learning about concepts through real-life cases was my favorite part of the program. The cases really helped transform abstract concepts into observable situations one could learn from.

I found value in the real-world examples in Data Science Ready. With complicated topics and new terms, it's especially beneficial for learnings to be able to tie back new or abstract concepts to ideas that we understand. This course helped me understand data in this context and what algorithms are actually trying to solve.

Natacha

Natacha explains how CORe is helping her advance her career in finance.

Carolina Ragolta

MBA Student at Stanford Graduate School of Business

I majored in engineering and minored in economics as an undergraduate, but the content of Business Analytics and Economics for Managers showed me new ways for using the theoretical foundations I already had.

Ryan Dumlao

Electrical Engineer in Pharmaceuticals, pursuing an MBA in the fall of 2016

I had never experienced such an immersive platform online, and could argue that it was more effective at building and solidifying knowledge than some of the in-class courses I took in college.

I now have a better understanding of sustainability and which companies are doing it right. I’m armed with talking points proving that sustainability is good for business, the environment and its people.

Mayank Dubey

Marketing and communications professional looking to learn about sustainable business practices

"The course has completely changed me today. I feel like a new person, with a new thought process, driven by purpose, committed to doing the right thing."

Elizabeth Malkin

Working at a tech startup in Cambridge, MA

I spent much of my college career fervently annotating novels and loved every minute of it but knew that my focus post college was going to be business.

Bethany Larsen

An aspiring MBA student planning for a career in social entrepreneurship

Those skills are all very useful, but I think my biggest takeaway from CORe is a new perspective on complex business challenges. This lens has given me a more balanced perspective on sensitive topics like LIFO reserves, minimum wage, and drug pricing that will make me a more informed citizen and wiser leader.

Sustainable Business Strategy should be required learning for everyone, regardless of their sector or beliefs about business. Professor Henderson’s approach empowered me with a fundamental understanding of economic systems, in the U.S. and abroad, in order to make it possible for me to question the assumptions upon which they are built and challenge me to rethink how we construct entities—public and private—to ensure long-term success.

Jason Bender

President at Lomont Molding, LLC

I decided to sign up for Leading with Finance because I not only wanted a refresher on the principles of finance, but also wanted to take a more proactive and deeper approach to my companies financial positioning.

Learning from Professor Wheeler is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A superb teacher, he shows students how to become masterful negotiators.

I would be very surprised if the concepts that we talked about in the course are not core to our strategic planning process this year… I expect that we will have a lot more conversation about the course going forward.

The course surpassed my expectations…I actually regret not having more time to fully utilize all the optional features!

After taking Professor Wheeler’s course, we step back, slow down and discuss strategically and thoughtfully what our counterparts may be thinking on the other side of the table. We have a better cadence for our preparation.

HBS Online was an invaluable and essential education. The information provided, the quality of the presentation, and the high-level engagement among students surpassed my expectations.

Thanks to Business Analytics, I learned to apply statistical analysis to real world problems. For instance, I am currently doing a research project using regression analysis to see if we can predict emergency department demand on any given day - important for staffing and resource allocation.

Dave Nelson

Meet Dave, a Disruptive Strategy participant who took the course to improve his decision making.

…beyond mastering the basics of economics, analytics, and financial accounting, you learn Excel. For a philosophy major like me, to be able to put that on a resume…invaluable.

Professor Wheeler's course gave me a new and profound perspective on negotiation. Whether I am trying to convince my daughter to go to bed on time, discussing a contract with a manufacturer, or organizing large scale military exercises with thousands of troops and dozens of aircraft - deftly employing the right negotiation technique can be the difference in success or failure.

Marc Zavarella

A US Army Veteran studying at Columbia University and hoping to pursue a career in medicine/healthcare

The principles I learned in CORe are fundamentally important to a successful business, and taking this program ensured that I mastered these concrete pieces of the puzzle.

Daily, I use the accounting principles succinctly enumerated by Professor Narayanan. I especially use what I learned in the volunteer work that I do as a board member for two nonprofit organizations.

Esra Ugurlu

Business Development Manager at Sanita Farma Healthcare Logistics

My certificate gives me a competitive advantage and the opportunity to contribute to the success of my company in a unique way. Moreover, a Harvard certificate opens news doors wherever I choose to work in the world.

I found the overall CORe experience to be…eye-opening. Each of the courses took deep dives into companies of all shapes and sizes to exemplify how core business concepts are applied…CORe took the idea of learning business principles to the next level

Maggie Robb

Head of Operations at Spire Inc.

While I have a deep business background, I was not well versed in several important aspects of entrepreneurship like investment structure, fundraising, and valuation. Entrepreneurship Essentials covered these topics well and I was surprised at some of the additional takeaways I had.

Reading a balance sheet was completely alien to me. Since taking Financial Accounting, I’ve been keeping track of my company’s annual reports, and the accounting that I learned helps me in understanding where the business may head in the future. I’ve also been tracking a few other companies for investment purposes, and I’ve realized that I can make more informed decisions with my improved knowledge of company financials.

Raymond Porch

Employee in Boston Public Schools who took Management Essentials to develop and improve his managerial skills.

My favorite part of the program was interacting with my cohort members where I received valuable shared experiences, feedback and was able to be a thought partner around strategies and best practices in varying scenarios.

Anna Ngarachu

Data analyst for an economic research firm in Johannesburg, South Africa

I think what I took from CORe or what I enjoyed was how it shaped me to think and apply all concepts simultaneously.

I thought I knew the subject relatively well and it would be a refresher. I was in for a surprise. After the first module, I realized that I did many things wrong. The most chilling thought was about missed opportunities. The course is giving me a good structure to understand organizational behavior.

I was worried that the courses would move too quickly for me to master each concept, but the instructors, the materials, real-world case studies and the class interaction allowed me to truly understand the fundamentals of each…

Ozgur Taskaya

User Acquisition Manager at Adcash

We live in an ever changing world and in order to keep up and become successful, continuous education is a must-do.

This was by far the most interactive course I have ever taken. I loved that the modules and field work put me in real-life situations, and the meetings with my professor and classmates tied it all together. It was a privilege to be part of it.

A few weeks into the course, accounting terminology came alive as I realized why accounting is the language of business. I can now talk confidently with clients and understand the business aspect of their problems.

Sohaib Ahmed

Chief Operating Officer for an exam preparation company using CORe to gain fundamental business skills.

I just wanted to understand the fundamentals of several business domains well enough to navigate and delegate, while still having the flexibility to run my business and do other things. CORe was the perfect fit in this regard.

Desirée Kaplan

Writer looking to pursue a career as a chief sustainability officer

"I am early in my career and am looking for a path to becoming a chief sustainability officer or sustainability manager with a company I can align my values with. This class seemed like the perfect opportunity to give me the right tools to learn more about this field."

This program…created so many “ah-ha” moments for me. Even if you've taken similar courses before…CORe walks you through the way of seeing these subjects through the eyes of a manager. It was truly an amazing experience!

Colin Meagle

CEO of Continuum Group, a Global Digital Agency

From the moment I started studying I knew there were theories and methodologies that I could apply to the Continuum Group. From a macro scale, it helps me understand where the different elements of the group sit in their respective markets and how they interact, grow, compete, disrupt, and really nail the job to be done for our customers.

Daniella Patrick

Meet Daniella, a Disruptive Strategy participant who took the course to become a disruptor and innovator.

The course shifted my worldview: what the most pressing problems are, who comes up with solutions, and how we get there. Professor Henderson pushed hard for us to think deeply about systemic change when it's easy to be satisfied with small wins. Though the course is focused on the private sector, in my public sector job, I often reference the learnings when considering how best to work with businesses so we can leave the world better than we received it.

…it was a great experience being able to interact with so many intelligent students all over the world…it's a perfect combination of teaching from the professors and help from all of your classmates.

Yefei Jin

An entrepreneur improving education for English language learners

By recognizing that every student brought with her or him a wealth of lived experiences, HBS Online empowered me to learn much more from peers than I had imagined.