From Consulting Firm To Admissions Platform: Stacy Blackman’s Next Big Bet

Stacy Blackman, founder of the MBA admissions consulting firm that bears her name, on launching a mobile app admissions platform: “Most of these websites haven’t changed much in years. Blogs, banner ads, static advice. We wanted to build something more useful”

Just weeks after announcing SBC Lab, its pre-application incubator for MBA hopefuls, long-time MBA admissions consulting firm Stacy Blackman Consulting is rolling out another eyebrow-raising initiative: a mobile app designed to bring admissions planning, interview prep, and AI-guided advising into a single platform.

The app, available this week in the app store (with Android coming soon), marks the latest step in the firm’s effort to modernize MBA admissions consulting beyond traditional one-on-one advising.

“We have so much data,” Blackman, the firm’s founder, tells Poets&Quants. “Thousands and thousands of applicants over 20-plus years. We realized we could do something much more dynamic with it.”

A DIGITAL HUB FOR MBA APPLICANTS

The app will include three primary components. One is a free planning tool called Launchpad, where users can enter academic and professional background information to generate a suggested school list, application timeline, and candidacy analysis.

Applicants will also be able to adjust their target schools and receive feedback on the balance and competitiveness of their list. The platform will populate key admissions deadlines and centralize essay prompts and basic admissions guidance.

Another section of the app will function as a centralized content hub, housing sample essays, interview transcripts, articles, and episodes of the firm’s long-running B-Schooled podcast.

AN AI LAYER BUILT ON YEARS OF ADMISSIONS DATA 

Blackman says the broader goal is to make the admissions process more navigable and less fragmented for applicants who currently bounce between blogs, spreadsheets, school websites, and disconnected planning tools.

The third layer is an AI-driven advisory tool trained on the firm’s internal admissions archive, including anonymized applicant profiles, essays, interview experiences, and outcomes.

Unlike generic AI chatbots, Blackman says the tool is designed to reflect the firm’s own historical data and admissions experience. It will not write essays for users, but instead guide applicants with prompts, feedback, and interview preparation based on patterns drawn from years of consulting work.

FROM DATA ARCHIVE TO PRODUCT STRATEGY

The app launch follows the April debut of SBC Lab, a program that helps MBA applicants create real-world projects before they apply to business school. Together, the initiatives signal a broader shift in strategy for one of the admissions industry’s oldest firms.

Blackman says the consultancy began rethinking its platform after recognizing the scale of its accumulated admissions data and the changing expectations of applicants entering an AI-shaped admissions landscape.

“Most of these websites haven’t changed much in years,” she says. “Blogs, banner ads, static advice. We wanted to build something more useful.”

The app is completely free through the end of August, allowing applicants to utilize all features, free of charge for Round 1 applications.

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