
Alissa O.
Stanford MBA Reapplicant Success l Expert in Nontraditional Paths
Studied at McDonough School of Business (Georgetown)
Works at You Should Smile More Productions
Available Monday at 2:00 PM UTC
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Alissa's Coaching Offerings
Reapplicant Strategy - Reapplying to your dream MBA program
$9,500
Comprehensive MBA Application Package — Land Your Dream Program
Expert help on your MBA essays, recommendations, resume, and more
Starting at $8,00020h+ of coaching
Nail the Stanford GSB Interview
Everything you need to nail the Stanford GSB interview
Starting at $538.353h+ of coaching
Custom hourly · $185/hr
Get help with Recommendations, Application Strategy, and .
Alissa’s MBA Qualifications
10+ people coached for MBA
I’ve been on both sides of the MBA admissions process, including getting rejected one year and accepted the next, and that experience fundamentally shapes how I coach. I earned my MBA from Stanford GSB after initially being turned down, and I know firsthand that success isn’t about becoming “more impressive,” but about becoming clearer, more honest, and more intentional in how you tell your story. I especially enjoy working with nontraditional candidates who have taken risks, pursued unconventional paths, or are charting their own way forward. Before business school, I worked at McKinsey & Company and later led large-scale operations at Rocket Internet and Uber across multiple countries. Since then, I’ve founded and scaled mission-driven companies, including the country's largest worker cooperative, raised capital, served on boards, and won a Tony as a Broadway producer. I coach applicants to articulate not just what they’ve done, but why it matters, how they think, and who they are as leaders. My approach is candid, strategic, and deeply personal. I help you identify the through-line in your experiences, pressure-test your goals, and craft essays that sound like you, not a consultant-written version of you. I’m particularly well-suited to working with nontraditional candidates, reapplicants, and those navigating career pivots, because I’ve lived those paths myself.
Alissa can help with:
Recommendations
Application Strategy
General Exploration
Interviews
Supplementary Materials
Work Experience

Co-Founder
You Should Smile More Productions
November 2023 - Present
You Should Smile More Productions is a Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning production company that invests in culture-defining plays and musicals on Broadway while elevating underrepresented voices. Current: - Maybe Happy Ending (Tony Award Winner: Best Musical; New York Times Critic’s Pick) - Operation Mincemeat (Tony Nominee: Best Musical) - Chess - Commercial advisor to Theatr (peer-to-peer ticket resale platform) Upcoming: - GRIM! (La Jolla Playhouse, Fall 2026) Past: - The Queen of Versailles (New York Times Critic's Pick) - The Notebook (Grammy-nominated) - Communion (Cell Theatre, off-Broadway)

Founder
Camillus Partners
September 2022 - January 2025
Ran search fund looking to buy, lead, and grow a human-centered care business.

Co-Founder & Managing Director
The Drivers' Cooperative
August 2020 - December 2021
Built from scratch into the largest worker cooperative in the country. Specializes in transportation for Medicaid patients and people with disabilities.

Founder & Managing Director
Dynamo Advisors
February 2017 - December 2018
Dynamo Advisors develops growth strategies, operational processes, and investor materials for early and growth stage tech companies operating across Africa.
Head of Operations, East Africa
Uber
August 2016 - March 2017
Head the recruitment, onboarding, and support of tens of thousands of driver-partners across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Manage the launch of new products in East Africa and competition response across SSA.

Managing Director, Jumia Food, Rwanda
Jumia Group
August 2015 - July 2016
Manage Rwanda's largest e-commerce company, a mobile and online food delivery platform.
Business Analyst
McKinsey & Company
September 2013 - April 2015
Developed investment strategies for a leading private foundation, with a focus on agricultural development and primary health care financing in Ethiopia and Nigeria.
Education
McDonough School of Business (Georgetown)
BSFS, Regional Studies, Africa
- Summa Cum Laude - Peer-elected commencement speaker for the School of Foreign Service

Stanford Graduate School of Business
Master of Business Administration - MBA
2018 - 2020