Ricky Shell

“A Pacific Northwest native excited for the future of Seattle startups and its amazing community”

Hometown: Woodinville, WA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I studied German as my minor in undergrad and spent two months traveling throughout Germany. An amazing experience that I hope to revisit soon.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Oregon, Finance

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Revenue Operations Consultant, RevPartners

What makes Seattle such a great place to earn an MBA?

Family is very important to me. Being originally from the Pacific Northwest, this was a great opportunity to move closer to and spend more time with them.

Aside from your location and classmates, what was the one key part of Washington Foster’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school, and why was it so important to you?

Something important to me when choosing Foster was the opportunity to get involved in the Seattle startup community and meet great people. Foster has within itself, and is connected to, many organizations and people involved in the startup ecosystem.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Washington Foster?

The Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club offers a great opportunity to meet people in the Seattle startup community and learn more about what the city has to offer. With a growing ecosystem, I’m excited to be a part of the community.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:

Working with so many different clients across a variety of industries as a Revenue Operations consultant. It’s one of the things that drove me towards the startup ecosystem, giving me the opportunity to have a greater impact.

Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far:

My biggest achievement so far is getting the opportunity to be a Venture Fellow and the chance to work with Pioneer Square Labs [a Seattle startup studio and venture capital fund]. With how exciting the Seattle startup ecosystem is, working with the studio is something I’m very excited about. I can’t wait to see what the next couple of quarters will bring.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far?

Touring CoMotion Labs [the University of Washington’s multi-industry incubator] during our trek trips to different Seattle area companies. [Co-Motion Labs operates in four incubators, each concentrating on a specific sector: life sciences, hardware, technology, and climate tech.] It was a great opportunity to see the new companies and technology coming directly from the University of Washington. It’s an exciting time to be at the University of Washington, seeing how people here are directly impacting Seattle and beyond.

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