(Post) MBA Blog

Today we had the pleasure of having Richard Dellabarca over to the Judge for lunch.

Richard is a Judge MBA from a couple of years back, and like many, chose to stay in the Cambridge Bubble after graduation. He is Commercial Director and Company Secretary for Artimi, an UltraWideband start-up (headed by Jack Lang) that promises to revolutionise consumer electronics connectivity.

Although we had only 1 hour with Richard, we all felt that it was one of the most productive sessions of the term.

Richard got started with Artimi via the Entrepreneurship Summer School here at Cambridge. He met a couple of engineers working on UWB and, as he says, things just 'clicked'; there was a personal chemistry and a sense of trust that was very important to all involved.

His insight into the required skillsets of an entrepreneur was very useful. He raised money for 5 years in investment banking although he still found the MBA he picked up very useful. However, in terms of the sheer complexity of entrepreneurship, he admitted that 90% of what he knows now, he learnt while on the job, and this is coming from a qualified barrister and chartered accountant, which goes to show that entrepreneurship is certainly not the easy option.

Among the roles pointed out by Richard as suitable for MBAs in start-ups, top of the list cam Financial Director, marketing and business development. Richard highlighted the need for early credibility - even the little things like cards, letterheads and a website count.

Another couple of insights:
Quoting Jack Lang, Richard said it takes $1 to make and $10 to market a new product at start-up stage. Also, contrary to popular opinion, it may be beneficial to sell the start-up before customers are acquired and sales come in, because sales narrow the band for valuation - if you're confident in your negotiating skills, it may be better to retain and leverage valuation flexibility.

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My lord, I never thought a black tie event would cause so much fuss. We are all traipsing down to London (yay!) for a party at Sir Paul Judge's pad in Tower Hill. It'll really be the highlight of the season and is certain to beat getting 'thrown out' of the St John's party (see below) hands down.

But, a lot of the overseas guys are having trouble with the idea of black tie/dinner suit/dinner jacket etc. I never really thought about it, but really, it can be something of a minefield if you are not used to it. In fact, someone emailed round a list of definitions to help each other out. I was amazed that this was such a complex social ritual, but as my old supervisor used to say on the very subject of complex social rituals: "there you go".

Of course, everything about Oxbridge oozes exclusion, no matter what the rhetoric is. Is that a bad thing? I think there are pros and cons - it really isn't black and white, and this coming from an ex-philosopher who has little time for ideologies of the left or right. One day I will write about the nature of 'inside' and 'outside' in Cambridge, as the place is imbued with it. One day I'll even write about the secret society at Magdalene I'm trying to worm myself into, but that will probably be my last diary entry! (Come on Max, don't you know you're not supposed to try !)

So, here are just some of the definitions, taken from this website:

Black Tie means formal. Men wear tuxedos, women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.

White Tie means ultra-formal. Men wear full dress, with white tie, vest, shirt and cummerbund. Women wear long gowns.

Formal usually means the same as Black Tie, but in some trendier cities like New York or Los Angeles, it could mean a black shirt, no tie with a tux. Women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.

Ultra-formal means White Tie. Men wear full dress, with white tie, vest, shirt and cummerbund. Women wear long gowns.

Black Tie Optional means you have the option of wearing a tuxedo, but it should clue you into the formality of the event, meaning a dark suit and tie would be your other option. Women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.

etc etc

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Decadent weekends are good for the soul. They might not get you into Heaven, but Hell is starting to sound kinda fun.

Let's see what I remember...

Friday was the usual formal hall, which managed to descend into a party a bunch of us Magdaleners gatecrashed at a St Johns mansion somewhere on the outskirts of town, on the verge of a forrest. But even with our gowns it was less Harry Potter and more Cambridge Witch Project!

We soon got tired of the St Johns lot. We raided one of their bookshelves, where I discovered 'The Countess of Pembroke's 'Arcadia' '.
"Have you read it?" came the polite question from the book owner, a delicate young Johns girl, (probably from the country).
"No, but it sounds bloody weird!!" I snorted.
Oh dear, you can take the boy out of the City, but you can't take the City out of the boy.

One of us, an American, caused a ruckus with a Johns girl in the kitchen and we were chased from the mansion. I think they started shooting, not sure. We began singing what's becoming a favorite Magdalene number, (to the tune of 'She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes'):

"Oh I'd rather be at Oxford than St Johns,
Oh I'd rather be at Oxford than St Johns ...etc etc"

We ended up partying back at ours until 7. I haven't slept so late for a long, long time. Kerouac would be proud!

Saturday...
All I could do all day was work on my entry for the 50K competition. It was the only thing that even remotely motivated me.

Sunday...
Played football against Wolfson college. Lost 10-0. You read right. It was devastating. I had a good game though!

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