One Stern MBA’s Start-Up Success
Jon Katz, an entrepreneur and student in NYU Stern School of Business’ Langone MBA for Working Professionals program believes that having an MBA is paramount when starting your own business. Katz speaks from experience as he recently launched a new company, eDivv.com, with his girlfriend and business partner Casey Casterline.
“eDivv.com is an online marketplace for trading/bartering beauty products online,” Jon describes. “We launched on January 15, 2014. Things are going really well and more than 1,600 trades have already happened in just 3 months.”
The company was recently accepted into an incubator program in Memphis, Tennessee, that offers the opportunity for mentors, business plan refinement and access to a wide range of institutional and angel investors.
Jon credits Stern for helping him launch his new venture. “Stern has been a great asset for me while building eDivv. The knowledge I gained from certain classes such as Competitive Strategy in the Marketplace, Bran Strategy and Advanced Marketing Planning helped me in forming my business plan and executive summary as well as analyzing the competition, all of the different challenges in the market and the overall industry.”
While having start-up experience in working a full-time job at Ektio, Inc, an athletic footwear company with a patented ankle support technology which his physician father invented, Katz admits that he didn’t have the foundation of an MBA education to fall back on when strategic decisions had to be made. Now he has the tools necessary for success in his own venture.
“I’ve always been an entrepreneur and I love the idea of working for yourself and putting passion into what you do on a daily basis,” Jon explains. “Before Stern I was just an aspiring entrepreneur. The Stern MBA program has transformed me into a business executive with the skills and tools that I need to succeed as an entrepreneur.”
About the Author
Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
