What are your short and long-term goals, and how will a Chicago Booth MBA help you reach them?

Theater has the ability to tell universal stories that can touch the audience in a way that lasts beyond the duration of the show. It is my objective to share these stories and experiences with the world by starting up my own company to provide digital screenings for Broadway productions. The distribution of these filmed theatrical productions could take a variety of forms including cinema theaters, premium pay TV channels or a global website where content access is provided for a nominal fee. With the low cost of filming theater, expenses could be recouped by the built-in Broadway audience. With an annual audience of approximately 12 million, the business would only need a 3% penetration to cover costs assuming six filmed productions at $1 million each are placed on a digital platform each year. While live theater is confined to certain geographic regions and is expensive with the average ticket price averaging over $90, my business would create accessibility across geographies and economic backgrounds thereby increasing the customer base beyond the aforementioned theater enthusiasts.

The market for filming and distributing theater productions is untapped, and there is ample market share to procure should I be able to deploy a successful business model. To help me achieve entrepreneurial success, I plan to first gain experience at a management consulting firm directly after obtaining my MBA in order to expand my practical knowledge into strategy, branding, consumer insights and digital marketing. I have meaningful financial experience, but recognize that I am missing fundamental business groundwork which formal instruction of an MBA from Booth can provide. Booth’s flexible curriculum allows immediate access to courses that best serve my interests and provide the ability to transform my career path. The freedom to select courses and electives from the first semester to align with my new career focus and acquire skills for internships from the moment I set foot on campus is invaluable. I plan to use this flexibility to immerse myself in opportunities at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship where business disciplines are tackled with special focus on developing skills to build your own enterprise. An exciting way the center accomplishes this is by providing real-world experiences at actual startup companies in the New Venture Lab. This course allows students to interact with and aid entrepreneurs in growing their businesses and addressing challenges. I plan to also engage outside the classroom in student groups such as the Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Group and the Booth Technology Group. While I would continue my edification into the world of entrepreneurship with the former, the latter would provide me with the means to build a strong understanding of the technology landscape, facilitating my determination of the best technique to film and format the content for my business. Upon visiting the Harper Center this September, I realized only at Booth can I receive the technical rigor of key business disciplines coupled with the flexibility to design my own academic and social communities to best suit my future goals.