What to do after your first ding: B-Schooled episode 307

In this installment of Paths Less Traveled, Josh Silverman takes Stacy through his twisty turny journey to business success, from failed actor, to Evite founder, to CEO of Skype, Shopping.com and Etsy. Josh Silverman is Etsy's Executive Chair and formerly served as Chief Executive Officer from May 2017 to December 2025, leading Etsy as it built a platform that empowers creative entrepreneurs around the built a platform that empowers creative entrepreneurs around the world. He has been a member of Etsy's board of directors since 2016. Josh's two decades of leadership experience include growing consumer technology companies and scaling global marketplaces. He previously served as President of Consumer Products and Services at American Express, CEO of Skype, and CEO of shopping.com, and he held various executive roles at eBay. Earlier in his career, Josh co-founded Evite, Inc. where he also served as the company's CEO. He is currently on the board of directors of Shake Shack, Instacart and TechNet. etsy.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuasilverman/

In this replay, Erika talks with Anthony Penna, a fellow SBC admissions consultant who spent 10 years with the Wharton School in Career Management and as Associate Director of Admissions for the full-time MBA program. As Anthony served on the implementation and design team for Wharton's Team Based Discussion (TBD) interview format, this episode focuses on his insight advice for MBA candidates who will be interviewing with Wharton.

Lisa is the CEO and Founder of Gradvantage, a career advisory firm addressing the unique professional needs of young adults. Gradvantage, provides a valuable platform to coach college students and graduates to discover their ideal career paths and navigate the steps to confidently get there. She is also Founder of WomInsight, a company focused on the professional development of women making career transitions. Lisa has over 30 years coaching college students, young adults, career transitioners, and entrepreneurs on professional development strategies. Additionally, Lisa has been a professor, Strategist-In-Residence, and student mentor at Iona University, University of Pennsylvania College of Arts & Sciences, The Wharton School of Business, and Columbia University where she helps students connect classroom learnings to professional and entrepreneurial opportunities. Lisa is also the CEO of Business Boosters Consulting, a business strategy consulting firm and was a Co-Founder of The Acceleration Project (TAP), a nonprofit harnessing the talent of professional women to accelerate small business growth. Prior to her current work, Lisa worked as a business strategy consultant at American Express, Accenture and Towers Perrin. She has developed courses, facilitated workshops, and created mentoring programs in entrepreneurship and career development for corporations, economic development agencies, nonprofits and educational institutions. Lisa is actively involved in the nonprofit community, having served as Board Chair of the Scarsdale Adult School, a Board Member of the Women' Enterprise Development Center, and leading student mentoring initiatives on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania and Iona College. Lisa received a BA in International Relations from Penn, an MBA from Wharton, and an MA in International Affairs/Spanish from the Lauder Institute. https://mygradvantage.com/

Your first ding can be devastating. This replay gives suggestions on how to process it and what it means.

In this episode, a former University of Chicago Booth MBA admissions officer shares her insight on Booth's new essay set.

This episode recommends various ways business school applicants can edit down their MBA essays without compromising the power of their stories and anecdotes.

Suzanne Ginestro is a seasoned CPG executive leader with over 27 years of marketing expertise across the food and beverage industry. She is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for Califia Farms and leads a 35-person marketing organization that encompasses brand management, creative services, communications, and consumer engagement. Suzanne's previous roles include Chief Marketing Officer at Quest Nutrition, Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer for Bolthouse Farms, and marketing leadership roles at Red Bull North America, Pinkberry Ventures, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, and Kraft Foods. Suzanne currently serves on the board of Zevia (ZVIA) and has previously served on other corporate and non-profit boards, including Humm Kombucha and Village School. Suzanne earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University and her MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Round 1 of the 2026-27 MBA application cycle is soon drawing to a close, and along with those deadlines comes a surge in self-sabotaging applicant behavior. This episode covers 3 things you should do before submitting, as well as 3 mistakes you should avoid making after your materials are in.

Paul Altman is a Partner and Managing Director and joined The Sage Group at its inception in 2000. He focuses on consumer M&A transactions, advising high-growth lifestyle brands on transactions across multiple subsectors, including e-commerce, specialty retail, apparel & accessories, home, CPG, wellness, and beauty & personal care companies. He attended University of Michigan Ross for a joint BBA and law degree, and went to Wharton for his MBA. www.sagellc.com

Attention GRE and GMAT test-takers! Did you know there are certain words in a given reading passage that can help you quickly figure out the correct MBA admissions test answers? Well, there are, and we call them "indicator words." Indicator words are among the most powerful tools for solving several types of verbal questions on both the GMAT and the GRE. In this episode, SBC's Director of MBA Test Prep, Anthony Ritz, walks through what indicator words are, what they do, and how they are used to solve problems. The episode concludes with a full example question, in which Stacy Blackman herself applies these lessons to produce the correct answer using only two words from the argument. If you prefer to watch this episode (as screens are shown with test questions), you can find it on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/stacyblackmanconsulting Learn more about SBC's MBA Test Prep services here: https://www.stacyblackman.com/testprep/ The example question discussed during the episode is: Historian: Newton developed mathematical concepts and techniques that are fundamental to modern calculus. Leibniz developed closely analogous concepts and techniques. It has traditionally been thought that these discoveries were independent. Researchers have, however, recently discovered notes of Leibniz's that discuss one of Newton's books on mathematics. Several scholars have argued that since the book includes a presentation of Newton's calculus concepts and techniques, and since the notes were written before Leibniz' own development of calculus concepts and techniques, it is virtually certain that the traditional view is false. A more cautious conclusion than this is called for, however. Leibniz' notes are limited to early sections of Newton's book, sections that precede the ones in which Newton's calculus concepts and techniques are presented. In the historian's reasoning, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles? (A) The first provides evidence in support of the overall position that the historian defends; the second is evidence that has been used to support an opposing position. (B) The first provides evidence in support of the overall position that the historian defends; the second is that position. (C) The first provides evidence in support of an intermediate conclusion that is drawn to provide support for the overall position that the historian defends; the second provides evidence against that intermediate conclusion. (D) The first is evidence that has been used to support a conclusion that the historian criticizes; the second is evidence offered in support of the historian's own position. (E) The first is evidence that has been used to support a conclusion that the historian criticizes; the second is further information that substantiates that evidence.