Good Morning, Harvard Business School!

Harvard Business School student Philip Blackett speaks into his podcast microphone.

MORE TO BUSINESS SCHOOL THAN CLASSES AND CASE STUDIES

So, starting a podcast channel to free up some time for sleeping, studying, socializing, and networking: check. Providing a helpful resource for potential B-school applicants: check. What’s left?

“I love helping people . . . I also like entrepreneurship,” Blackett says in an interview. “Is there a way to piece these things together?”

AND PHILIP BLACKETT’S SPONSOR IS… PHILIP BLACKETT

Yes, apparently. At the end of each podcast, Blackett gives a shout out to the sponsor, a company offering interview-preparation materials called Magnetic Interviewing. And that firm would be… his own company.

HBS, Blackett says, “is a great testing ground. You almost would feel silly not to take advantage of the resources that are available to you, if you have an idea.”

On the Magnetic Interviewing website, Blackett hypes his cred, asserting that he’s “aced interviews for Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania (and Wharton School of Business), Brown University, Yale University, Citigroup, and Wachovia (Wells Fargo).”

NO MONEY, NO PROBLEM

Magnetic Interviewing offers seven free videos focused on interviews for jobs, colleges, and graduate programs. The videos are for people who want help, but don’t necessarily have the budget to pay for materials or hire a consultant, Blackett says, adding that he put that content up after high school counselors he’d consulted suggested he provide some value to people for free.

For those wanting more, the company sells a range of products, from a $47 strategy guide to a custom online mock interview for $197.

Blackett sees his company competing with admissions consultants, by offering a specialized service around interview preparation, and says Magnetic Interviewing is already generating revenue, after its June launch.

“Our main goal is not so much to generate as much profit as possible, it’s more about how many people we can help,” Blackett says.

For the future, Blackett says he may start to include on his channel interviews with students from other business schools, to provide a broader view.

HBS spokesman Brian Kenny says the school’s marketing and communications team pays attention to students’ web publishing. “Like every organization we follow online conversations about our brand and the experience people are having with us,” Kenny says. Blackett, Kenny adds, “has found a unique way to share his experience and observations.”

STUDENTS EXPECTED TO UPHOLD VALUES WHILE EXPRESSING THEMSELVES ONLINE

School officials would never interfere with a student’s freedom of expression, but “students are expected to adhere to our community values of mutual respect, honesty, integrity and accountability,” Kenny says.

“We expect students to adhere to these values in their public discourse – which means respecting the privacy of their classmates and the confidentiality of discussions that take place in the classroom.”

And it seems Blackett isn’t planning to spill anything scandalous. “On some measures / topics,” he says, “I have to keep a ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ mentality.”

DON’T MISS: BEST B-SCHOOLS FOR ENTREPRENEURS or D-DAY AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL