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Columbia Business School: Resume Checklist
A checklist to ensure your resume meets the bar for Columbia Business School.
8 Make or Break Founder Decisions
Every startup journey is filled with tough choices—but some matter more than others. In this session, expert coach and founder Angela C. will walk through the eight critical decisions that can determine whether your company scales successfully or stalls. Drawing on firsthand experience and lessons learned, she’ll share practical advice you won’t find in a textbook. Whether you’re still refining your idea or actively scaling your venture, you’ll leave this session with clarity on which decisions to prioritize, how to approach them, and how to avoid the pitfalls that trip up many founders.
MBA Application Sprint (September 30-October 2) Kickoff
Join us for the kickoff panel of Leland’s MBA Application Sprint (September 30–October 2)! In this opening session, top Leland coaches and former MBA admissions officers Claire R., Bill C., Faisal K., and Karla M. will discuss what it takes to put together a standout MBA application. They’ll cover key components of a successful application—from shaping your essays and tightening your resume, to interview prep and building a cohesive story. You’ll walk away with actionable strategies and a clear sense of how to spend the weeks ahead so you can approach deadlines with confidence.
Inside the Grad Admissions Office from ex-Stanford Graduate Admissions Committee Member
An ex-Stanford Graduate Admissions Committee member reveals the unwritten rules of application review. Learn exactly what adcoms discuss and look for in a candidate.
Graduate Admissions Committee Structure & Roles
Stop guessing how your application is reviewed. Understand the structure, hierarchy, and roles of the graduate admissions committee to strategically frame your candidacy.
Writing the “Why MBA?” Essay
Learn to clearly articulate why you need an MBA now, why each school fits, and how it connects to your long-term vision.
Statement of Purpose Writing Guide & Examples
Learn what separates a good essay from a great one and deconstruct winning SoP essays written by admitted students.
AI-Proofing Your Career
Join this session to learn how to manage your career in a world increasingly run by AI. Expert coach Audra Z. will walk through what AI can--and can't--do now and how these trends extrapolate into the future. Then she will dive into what you can do to adapt and stay at the top of your game, including incorporating AI into your workflow, developing/deepening transferable skills, and leaning into the things that we, as humans, do best. This workshop draws on Audra's extensive experience with AI and AI safety communities, including work at xAI, the Center for AI Safety, Cornell Tech, Arkose, and Penn Engineering.
AMA: Life of a Principal PM + AI Tools to Learn
Ever wonder what it's like to be a Principal Product Manager? How about navigating the daily changes with AI and vibe coding tools? Or sitting on leadership teams and influencing senior executives on roadmap changes or shifting user needs? In this 30-minute AMA, I answer as many of your questions as I can about all things being a Principal Product Manager and navigating the daily changes with AI in our jobs, including: - What I’ve learned in 12+ years of product management across 4 large companies - How to grow your career and position yourself for promotions - The AI tools you should be learning to 10X productivity as a PM This session is for you if: - You’re a current PM trying to level up - You’re thinking about moving into product management - Wondering what AI tools PMs should be testing and learning in their jobs
How to Buy a Small Business
Thinking about entrepreneurship through acquisition or curious about how search funds work? In this session, you’ll learn the ins and outs of buying and running a business from Search Fund expert and coach Nicoletta N. Whether you’re exploring search funds as a career path, an investment opportunity, or a way to become a CEO, this event will give you practical insights and actionable takeaways on how to navigate the process of buying a business.
Mock McKinsey PEI with 2 McKinsey Alums
The McKinsey Personal Experience Interview (PEI) can be just as challenging as the case—if not more. In this session, two McKinsey expert coaches James H. and Christina B. will walk through a live mock PEI, showing you exactly how top firms evaluate leadership, impact, and problem-solving in behavioral interviews. Whether you’re just beginning your prep or refining your final stories, this event will give you a front-row look at how to succeed in one of the most critical parts of the McKinsey interview process.
Columbia Business School: Crafting Strong Application Materials
An overview how to uniquely tailor your Columbia Business School application to be school specific.
Columbia Business School: Essay Prompt Walkthrough Guide
Guidance on how to approach Columbia Business School's essay prompts.
How AI Helps: From Drafts to Decisions
Learn how AI supports planning, writing, and problem-solving with clear human guardrails and practical examples.
What Makes a Good Stock Pitch
These slides include tips and examples for how to communicate your market view, differentiated view, monetization plan, risks, and rewards to investors.
How Might We Framework Summary Guide
Reference covering what HMW is, how to write HMW statements step-by-step, good vs. bad examples with explanations, common mistakes to avoid (prescribing solutions, being too vague, ignoring research), insights for creating your own HMWs, and validation checklist. Use this to turn each key insight into 2-3 different HMW framings and select the most inspiring ones.
Synthesizing Interview Discoveries into Useful Insights
Learn how to consolidate interview data, identify patterns (problem, solution, pain point, language, and buyer patterns), prioritize insights using frequency × urgency framework, validate your JTBD statement with real customer language, and make three critical decisions: Is this worth solving? What's the MVP? Who do we build for first?
Customer Discovery Interview Guide: Questions, Structure & Best Practices
Complete interview reference guide with all key questions organized by interview stage (context, jobs to be done, future state), red flags vs. green flags to watch for, and preparation checklist. Use this before every interview to stay focused on learning truth rather than seeking validation.
The Jobs to Be Done Framework
Learn what Jobs to Be Done means, how to write effective JTBD statements using the three-part formula, and see real examples from companies like Notion, Airbnb, and Spotify. Understand why knowing the "job" reveals your real competition and transforms how you think about your product.
What is Customer Discovery?
Learn the core principles of customer discovery, why it's the foundation of successful startups, and how it differs from market research or user testing. Understand why founders must lead discovery themselves and common myths that lead entrepreneurs astray.
