James V.

James V.

5.0

Stanford GSB | Fintech COO | Helping social entrepreneurs grow

Studied at Stanford Graduate School of Business

Worked at Shara

Available tomorrow at 5:00 PM UTC

Usually responds within 3 hours

Protected by the Leland Experience Guarantee

Available tomorrow at 5:00 PM UTC

Usually responds within 3 hours

Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.

James’s Entrepreneurship Qualifications

Experience level: Executive

Open to working with clients outside the U.S.

James has helped clients get into these companies:

As the COO of Shara, I have a deep understanding of building financial products for SMEs in emerging markets like Kenya and Nigeria. Prior to Shara, I co-founded and served as CEO of Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, where I led the organization's expansion to multiple countries and worked with leading organizations such as the Gates Foundation and the World Bank. My expertise in entrepreneurship and my experience in scaling organizations make me well-equipped to help aspiring entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of starting and growing their own businesses. Whether you need guidance on strategic vision, market positioning, or scaling strategies, I'm here to support you every step of the way. Let's connect and discuss how I can help you achieve your entrepreneurial goals!

James can help with:

Hiring

Ideation

Compensation Strategy

Fundraising

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About James

Hi there! I'm James, Stanford GSB class of 2022, looking to help everyone who comes from a less conventional MBA background break into the top schools and pursue their dreams. Prior to business school I started the Busara Center (www.busaracenter.org), a behavioral science consultancy based out of Nairobi meaning I had ZERO idea what business school was and how it could help me achieve my goals. I benefited from a variety of informal mentors to maximize my success as I applied to business school and want to pass those learnings on to as many people as I can. Post-GSB I've been working as an tech entrepreneur, launching Africa's leading digital bank (shara.co), and focus my coaching on helping students who have entrepreneurial passions maximize their experience at business school to drive social impact and new business offerings. I look forward to working with you!

Why do I coach?

Coaching is such a critical function to success. If you don't have anyone in your network who has been an MBA / coached an MBA - I know how you feel. I have been there! The application process is confusing, opaque, and full of information asymmetry, and I hope we can fix that! Through my coaching you will get detailed information I wish I had during my application process, as well as detailed guidance on how best to maximize your chance of getting into your dream school!

Work Experience

Co-founder & COO

Shara

September 2021 - September 2023

Redefining SME finance in emerging markets. Raised $40m from top-tier VCs to build out Africa's premier digital-first bank.

Co-founder & CEO

Busara

January 2015 - June 2020

Busara deploys world-class behavioral economics labs to help practitioners solve behavioral challenges to program, product, or policy design in the Global South. We also partner with leading academics to advance the behavioral science agenda in development. Our work has been featured in the Economist, the Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs and helped drive program design for leading organizations including the Gates Foundation, Safaricom, the World Bank, and various government agencies. In my role as Co-Founder / CEO, I was: • Responsible for the strategic vision and overall positioning of the organization. • Oversaw the expansion of the organization from 8 employees and $100,000 in revenue to 135 employees with over $12 million in annual sales from over 90 unique clients. • Expanded our geographic presence from Kenya to full offices in Nigeria and India, teams in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania, and project work in over 20 other markets. • Served as technical advisor to multiple venture funds (Acumen, Omidyar Network, Village Capital) targeting startups for seed and Series A stage investments in emerging markets. • Principal in setting up a Policy Innovation Unit within Nigeria’s National Social Investment Office (NSIO) on programs valued at $286 million targeting 9.7 million beneficiaries. • Launched 4 new behavioral science labs in collaboration with American University of Cairo, Lagos Business School, American University of Beirut, and Ashoka University

Consultant

World Bank

March 2014 - December 2014

Managed a global study on how context shapes behavioral biases in Peru, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Indonesia, and Pakistan for the 2015 World Development Report.

Research Manager

Innovations for Poverty Action

March 2013 - February 2014

Managed a series of lab and lab in the field projects on the psychology of poverty with Professor Johannes Haushofer.

Research Associate

Innovations for Poverty Action

June 2012 - February 2013

Worked with Professors Simone Schaner and Jon Zinman of Dartmouth College to manage data collection and analysis for a research project understanding nudges to promote financial inclusion. Published in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics in 2018 as “The Persistent Power of Behavioral Change: Long-Run Impacts of Temporary Savings Subsidies for the Poor”.

James was also given offers to work at