Meet the MBA Class of 2023: Edward Kent, University of Chicago (Booth)

Edward Kent

University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

“Aspiring entrepreneur looking to enhance his skill set to make a difference in the world!”

Hometown: London, UK

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a big fan of cocktails and am on my way to completing a Master of Spirits qualification.

Undergraduate School and Major: Coventry University, Business Management

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Founder, The Golf Foundry and The Mixologists Club

What word best describes the Chicago Booth MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far and why? The obvious would be friendly, generous, or some adjective that condenses ‘pay-it-forward’ into a single word. While true, lots of people will say this so I will say: Engaged. Everyone I have met has been bright and plugged in to what’s happening around them. You have their attention and they are sincerely interested in you.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Chicago Booth’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The flexible programming. I can’t overstate this. I want to take entrepreneurial electives and I don’t want to wait until year two to start taking them. I know I have a lot to learn about start-up strategy and Booth has fantastic faculty in this concentration. With their help I will be able to further improve my business model; they have a track record of personal success and of helping others succeed. As an entrepreneur, the value in this proposition is obvious. However, think of the possibilities as an investment banker, a strategic consultant or a Big Tech PM looking to enhance or learn industry specific and highly applicable skills before that all important summer internship! What better way of ensuring you get the return offer than going into the business with an understanding of what it is you will be doing?

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Chicago Booth? Too many to name! I can’t wait to attend Sports Analytics class with Professor Kevin Murphy, I am really excited about negotiations with Professor Wu and I cannot wait to see how American ski slopes compare to the Swiss Alps with the Ski Club!

When you think of the Booth philosophy, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? I cannot deviate away from the obvious here: ‘Evidence based’. The temptation would be to say quantitative, but it is more than that. Data is, of course, central, but it is the foundation for the real proposition that the school offers. How to effectively and deliberately analyze that data to tease out the value behind what it portrays is what the school is really trying to teach its students.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Securing funding for The Golf Foundry. The idea called for several million pounds to build out a world class sports facility and the requisite IT structure. I had a good team around me, but I was worried my own lack of experience would make it a non-starter. From conception, we had poured a year-and-a-half of hard work into the venture and it was emotional getting the final approval to sign lease documents, give contractors and web-developers the go-ahead, hire staff, and generally begin the process of fulfilling my vision.

How did COVID-19 change your perspective on your career and your life in general? COVID-19 was a disaster for an indoor golf performance venue/data-farm. The concept relied upon footfall. Without the footfall, we wouldn’t have the golfers to analyze. Without the golfers to analyze we wouldn’t have the datasets to work on the real aim of the business: effective data utilization in the golf industry. I was humbled. I had spent 18 months working hard on the idea and had just secured funding. Then, in a matter of weeks, it became eminently obvious to me that the sensible thing to do was to stop dead in my tracks. It was a tough pill to swallow and the months that followed – letting contractors and staff go and closing down operations – were not fun. However, I was keenly aware that as tough as I was finding it, people around the world were having it a whole lot worse.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation?  I had never really stopped up until this point in my career and when I put everything down on paper I was shocked at what I had written. I wanted to see if what I was doing was still right for me, so I set up some informational chats with professionals in various occupations, mentors and friends. I wanted their perspectives on life to see if anything jumped out at me. The outcome was that I knew I wanted to go back to entrepreneurship, but that I needed to enhance my skills and learn more if I were to have the success and impact that I wanted to have with my projects. Many of the chats had pointed me towards an MBA and the more research I did, the more I realized Chicago Booth was the place for me!

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Harvard, CBS, Yale

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Chicago Booth’s MBA program? Get to know yourself and convey that person to the Admissions Committee. If you are looking at going to an MBA program, you probably have a fantastic story and big dreams as to what the future holds. Share this person with the school.

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