Elliot Smith

Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University

“I’m a public servant, civil engineer, inventor, and aquapreneur committed to water security and affordability.”

Hometown: Middleburg, Pennsylvania

Fun fact about yourself: My favorite fish is the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa

Undergraduate School and Degree: Wayne State University, BS in Civil Engineering

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? OHM Advisors as a Municipal Engineering Consultant

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Motmot in East Lansing, Michigan

Where will you be working after graduation? Motmot as Founder and CEO

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: MBA Leadership Award for Class of 2024, President of MBA Entrepreneurship Association, and Vice President of MBA Association

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Acceptance into and completion of the National Science Foundation (NSF) National I-Corps Program with my start-up, Motmot.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Planning and Strategy Committee Member for MI-American Water Works Association (AWWA).

Why did you choose this business school? I chose MSU’s B-School because of the smaller class and cohort sizes. The decision allowed for a more intimate learning environment and an investment into deeper relationship building with both peers and professors.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor is Ken Szymusiak. Professor Szymusiak aids in helping both undergraduate and graduate students in starting their ventures, and does it from a place of academic structure, persistence, and immense support. He has been a huge force in my time within the program to garnering the traction that the startup has had.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course in the MBA program was Strategic Management with Guy Shani. It was an experience that connected my past as a consultant into more established principles of B-School level consultancy and robust cases to deepen foundational roots.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back, I’m proud how I orchestrated and fully immersed myself into the program, but I do wish that I could have cross-pollinated with the Engineering and Entrepreneurship Departments sooner. Starting a venture can span years, and looking back I could have connected with the entrepreneurship resources sooner.

What is the biggest myth about your school? The biggest myth was being told that half our time was going to be devoted to class and studies and the other half was going to be for networking and social gatherings. We had limited networking opportunities and were absolutely consumed with case competitions and the rigorous pace of the program. It was a 98-2 split easy. We’re not a party school like we were told – at least not in the MBA program.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? The walkability is amazing. We have pedestrian connections all over campus, with a ton of pathways that parallel the Red Cedar River. It’s a gorgeous city with a high density of trees, natural water streams, and we’re surrounded by rural towns.

What surprised you the most about business school? Being accepted into B-School is the first step to a long path of rejections. It is surprising to see and experience the quantity on interviews for internships and post-graduate careers. It’s a competitive market and being able to be resilient and growth-centric is key.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Chris Millen, hands down is the classmate that I most admire the most. Chris is the grittiest and most resilient student in the program. Outside of being from the Navy, where he was confined in a submarine for months at a time, he also elected to join a full-time MBA program where he lives over an hour away and welcomed two babies during his time here. He has a growing family, two hours of drive time – four days a week, and is regularly active in MBAA, officer positions and extracurriculars. Chris Millen is everything I hoped to see in a classmate before sending my B-School application and I’m honored be in the same graduation class.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? My top two items on my professional bucket list are the following:

1. Help the municipal and utility space with their drinking water infrastructure asset management so they can garner more control of their system and leverage their revenue model to effectively save for Capital Projects.

2. Continue to grow and develop role within the national section of American Water Works Association (AWWA).

What made Elliot such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?

“Elliot is a trailblazer, developing and scaling his business endeavor while continuing to succeed academically in the MBA program at a high level. While other students have pursued entrepreneurial endeavors during their MBA years, Elliot has brilliantly managed both pursuits while leading our entrepreneurship student organization and supporting our curricular expansions in entrepreneurship.  For the first time, the Broad MBA has a concentration in entrepreneurship, rich in the academic skills that can provide depth to a new startup. Elliot’s insights into the entrepreneurial journey were a key piece in realizing this new opportunity for our students.

Elliot will be an outstanding business leader, and we are thankful for having had the chance to support him on his path. His success will provide inspiration to our future entrepreneurs in residence, and we look forward to future collaborations!”

Wayne Hutchison, Ph.D.
Managing Director
Full-Time MBA
STEM MBA

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2024