Folahan Akinyemi

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

“Entrepreneurial CPA passionate about public infrastructure, financial health, community, and human connection.”

Hometown: Woodbridge, Virginia

Fun fact about yourself: I have used the Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) program to visit 75% of all 800+ bikeshare stations, with a goal of hitting 100% this summer. I am a CaBi Bike Angel who moves bikes for exercise, small perks, and free membership.

Undergraduate School and Degree: George Mason University Bachelor of Science in Accounting

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? CohnReznick LLP, Senior Audit Associate – Financial Services

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Halcyon Venture Partners – Venture Fellow. As a Venture Fellow, I leveraged my background to perform financial due diligence on early-stage social impact startups, helping the investment team evaluate deal flow and founder scalability.

Where will you be working after graduation? Founder – Akin Accounting. I am going to continue scaling my business while exploring leadership roles in organizations that bring finance to uplift communities.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Leadership

• Vice President of Finance, Student Government Association – Full-time
• Vice President of Finance, Black MBA Association

Employment

• Startup Ambassador
• Student Ambassador
• Leadership Communications Graduate Assistant
• Small Business Corp Consultant – Justice & Sustainability Associate
• Pivot Program Teaching Assistant

Fellowships

• The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, Liaison and Member
• Georgetown MBA Leadership Fellow
• Venture Fellow – Halcyon Venture Partners

Community

• Mentor, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the National Capital Area

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? My proudest achievement is serving as a Student Ambassador. Working alongside the Admissions leadership team (shout out to Anne, Grace, Rondha, and the team) has allowed me to play a direct role in shaping the future of the Georgetown student body. Being a resource for prospective students is incredibly rewarding as I get the chance to help people through one of the most critical decisions they may make. In this role, I was able to give back to the community that has had such a profound impact on my own growth as a student, entrepreneur, and leader.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Building my own accounting firm from what started as a whim into a functioning business over the last four years. I am proud of the organic growth I have been able to achieve both when I was working full-time and now as a full-time student. I have gotten the chance to take the skills I have honed over my professional career and support small businesses and young professionals to solidify their financial foundation. I am excited to finally apply my full dedication and MBA insights to scale its impact across the region.

Why did you choose this business school? I am a ride or die DC resident, and the Georgetown alumni network is the strongest in the region. I knew that to scale my business here, I needed a school that combined a top-tier curriculum with a deep commitment to the local community, ethical business, and diversity. There are many amazing business schools, but what really resonated with me was the people. The faculty, staff, and students right off the bat were people that I genuinely enjoy being around because of their care for being authentic, candid, supportive, and most importantly, understanding that all of this is to go back and support our world. Dean Almeida said it best: “Do Well. Do Good. Globally.”

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Evelyn Williams. I have worked with her every semester I have been at McDonough. She is an amazing professor because she teaches you not only how to be a creative leader but one that focuses on principles, ethics, and the people you serve. In her class, Design Thinking & Service Consulting, I worked on a project for the Norwegian Embassy promoting their technical and cultural values specifically as it related to fish. We went through the Design Thinking process to generate ideas that focused on the individual end users. It even resulted in seeing one of our ideas implemented in a local Whole Foods. It was the ultimate real-world experience that the program has been teaching us from the beginning.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? I already talked about Design Thinking, so another one of my favorite courses was Negotiations taught by Professor Catherine Tinsley. Prior to the MBA, I have been weak when it comes to negotiations. This class was a perfect blend of action and theory. Each class involved role-playing scenarios where we had to apply the frameworks of deal-making in real time. Professor Tinsley is an incredible force in the classroom. She is intense in a way that keeps the simulations grounded and authentic, pushing you to understand the why behind every move. I left this class feeling stronger in my ability to handle a deal with a permanent toolkit of resources I can use to prep for every negotiation in my future career.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite tradition is KEGS (Keeping Everyone at Georgetown Social). While the free food and drinks at the end of the week are a nice perk, KEGS’ true value is the platform it provides for the communities across our program to showcase their identities, personalities, and culture. Hearing war stories from our veterans, watching the drag show hosted by Out@MSB, participating in line dances with the Black MBA Association, or supporting the Net Impact Club’s silent auction, KEGS is where we celebrate who we are as a community. From Lunar New Year celebrations to everyday camaraderie, it is the perfect place to build bonds outside the classroom and truly soak in what it means to be a Georgetown MBA student.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would be more intentional about why I say yes to things. I put my heart into every opportunity at Georgetown, and I do not have a single regret. The program is only two years long, so I went in with the attitude that this was the chance to both hone skills but also try new things while learning from a diverse set of people. My curiosity was satiated but this left me exhausted. In the future, I want to prioritize depth over breadth to ensure I am resting enough and have the right balance to give my best to all my goals.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? The power of the long-term model. Coming from an immigrant Nigerian family, I did not grow up understanding the stock market or long-term financial planning. I am so proud of the work my parents did to support myself and my brother, but I had a blind spot. I am a CPA so I am comfortable with numbers but that was in debits and credits but the stock market, bonds, etc. were a mystery to me. In classes like Finance and Financial Modeling, I was given both the tools, clarity, and confidence to model my financial life in Excel with sound financial decisions, replacing that blind spot with a clear, logical path to security. Professor George Comer even gave us a template to map out our retirement plans that I rely on if I ever get lost again.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? I was already from the area and all in on DC. However, being here for my MBA has shown me a different side of the city. What I love most is that DC is the most diverse, unique place I know. People often knock it for the “What do you do?” culture, but I love that question because the answer I get is always fascinating. It is a transient city, which means you are constantly meeting people from diverse cultures who bring fresh perspectives and cultures to the table. This city highlights that this diversity is exactly what makes the city thrive, and it is why I plan to stay right here post-MBA.

What business leader do you admire most? Ramit Sethi, the author and entrepreneur behind I Will Teach You To Be Rich. As a CPA, I have always appreciated his logical, no-nonsense approach to personal finance that focuses on living a Rich Life through life efficiency and automated systems rather than focusing on restrictive budgeting. His emphasis on personal finance has shifted how I view my own financial horizon and what it means to be wealthy. Beyond his financial frameworks, I admire that he is incredibly genuine, authentic, and understanding in his approach. He is a leader who is truly willing to teach others how to design their own Rich Life. I aim to bring that same level of clarity and commitment to my clients.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? In my Advanced Oral Presentations class, we used AI to support and stress-test our arguments and structure behind our thought processes during the preparation phase.

On the administrative side, I have to shout out JackBot, the Program Office’s AI bot. It has been an invaluable resource for getting immediate answers to questions about the curriculum or extracurriculars.

The biggest insight I gained is that while AI is an incredible tool for efficiency, it has its real limits at the finish line that needs a human’s touch. AI can perfectly structure a thought process, but it cannot (nor do I want it to) replicate genuine human connection required to truly engage with an audience. The most effective way to use these tools is to let them handle the how of the data and structure, so I can focus on the why and the authenticity. In a changing educational landscape and world at large, knowing how to use AI is great but understanding how to maintain your own unique voice while using it is essential.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Alicia Reynolds. We met during the first welcome weekend before classes even started, and she has been a constant in my MBA journey ever since. We have navigated being in the same cohort (Go Grays!), serving on the board for Black MBA, and working together as Consortium Liaisons and student ambassadors and we even went to Brazil for our Global Business Experience. What I admire is that she is an amazing professional who landed an incredible role, but she also shows up for people. Alicia is one of those rare people who is as smart and capable as they come, but still prioritizes being a supportive, fun, and genuine presence. She has been an inspiration and friend to me throughout the program, and she is a relationship I know will last long after we walk across the stage this May.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? I want to scale Akin Accounting into a cornerstone for DMV small businesses and professionals. I want to become the go-to CPA and advisor for the entrepreneurs who drive the Washington, D.C. economy. A practice that moves beyond compliance and tax preparation to provide real financial strategy is my ultimate goal. I want to help local business owners move from surviving to thriving by giving them the same level of clarity and care that I have learned here at Georgetown.

From an administrative level, I want to champion financial literacy at a systemic level. Whether it is through serving on a board or working in a local administration, I want to use my CPA and MBA to bridge the gap for those who were never taught the rules of the financial game. Financial security is a foundational human right, and I want to lead initiatives that help people from all walks of life secure a good financial foundation so they can focus on their own dreams rather than their debts.

What made Folahan such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Folahan Akinyemi is the kind of student every MBA program hopes to have: smart, positive, resourceful, and deeply engaged, with a strong sense of service to others and a consistent commitment to strengthening the community around him. Throughout his time at Georgetown McDonough, Fola has demonstrated a rare combination of responsibility, curiosity, leadership, and genuine care for the people around him. A Consortium Fellow with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from George Mason University, he represents the very best of the Georgetown MBA spirit: collaborative, globally minded, and committed to serving others.

My team and I had the opportunity to work closely with Fola while he served as Vice President of Finance for the Student Government Association (SGA). In this role, Fola managed the financial planning and execution for various student initiatives, including the Global Festival and the McDonough Cup. His attention to detail and strong sense of accountability ensured that budgeting, expense tracking, and post-event reconciliation were handled accurately, highlighting his discipline and professionalism.

Beyond SGA, Fola also contributed to the MBA academic experience as a Leadership Fellow and as a Graduate Assistant for the Executive Challenge. In these roles, he has been hands-on, engaged, and consistently willing to support faculty, staff, and students alike. Fola is the type of student who does not simply fulfill responsibilities. He actively seeks ways to contribute, frequently checking in with staff and faculty to learn how he can help and offering thoughtful feedback on how to improve the MBA student experience.

I also had the opportunity to travel with Fola and a group of MBA students to São Paulo, Brazil, as part of the Global Business Experience. Even during travel, Fola showed the kind of calm, positive leadership that makes him so special. In a moment that could have easily turned stressful, he arrived in São Paulo and realized he had lost his phone along the way. Rather than panicking, he remained calm, asked me to teach him a few useful Portuguese words, and managed to solve the problem and purchase a new phone despite not speaking Portuguese. This is just one example of Fola’s ability to focus on solutions, a skill that will serve him well in his future career.

Fola served as a Venture Fellow at Halcyon Venture Partners for his MBA Summer Internship. Leveraging his accounting background, he conducted financial due diligence on early-stage startups in the Health, Climate, and Equity Tech sectors. Post-MBA, he is scaling his accounting firm, Akin Accounting, while seeking finance leadership roles within the startup ecosystem to support organizations that use financial strategy to drive community impact.

I know that Fola will continue to do amazing things in his professional and personal life not only because he is smart, engaged, and positive, but because he genuinely cares about serving others and making a positive impact on the community around him.”

Juliana Olm
Assistant Dean, Strategy & Operations
MBA Program Office
Georgetown University McDonough School of Business

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