Professor Shikhar Ghosh

Shikhar Ghosh is a Professor of Management Practice in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit. He currently teaches and is the course head for Founders’ Journey in the elective curriculum and is also the Faculty Co-Chair of the HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. He formerly taught and served as co-course head of The Entrepreneurial Manager, required for all 900 1st-year MBAs.

Shikhar has been a successful entrepreneur for the last 20 years. He has been the founder and CEO or Chairman of eight technology-based entrepreneurial companies and was the past Chairman of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MTLC) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) – two leading entrepreneurial organizations. He was selected by Business Week as one of the best Entrepreneurs in the US, by Forbes as one of the ‘Masters of the Internet Universe’ and by Fortune as the CEO of one of the 10 most innovative companies in the US. Companies he founded were selected as both the ‘hottest’ and ‘coolest’ emerging companies by business publications.
Shikhar joined the Boston Consulting Group after getting his MBA from HBS in 1980. At BCG he focused on organization and innovation in large organizations. He was elected a worldwide partner of the firm in 1987. Shikhar left BCG in 1988 to become CEO of Appex, an early-stage venture backed company that built the inter-carrier infrastructure for the US mobile phone industry. Appex provided centralized services that enabled independent mobile carriers to operate as a single seamless network. Appex’s services included call forwarding across carriers, fraud prevention services, billing and customer service. Appex was bought by EDS in 1990. By the time Shikhar left in 1993, Appex’s revenues exceeded $100 million with an order backlog of over $1 billion. It was selected by Business week as the fastest growing private company in the US.
Shikhar founded Open Market in 1993. Open Market was one of the pioneering companies in the commercialization of the Internet. It built the first commercial infrastructure for enabling secure commerce on the Internet and provided the software and services that enabled companies like Time Warner and AT&T to offer their services on the Internet. Open Market was one of the first Internet companies to go public. It was selected by numerous business publications as one of the companies that helped to make the Internet what it is today.
Since leaving Open Market Shikhar has been the founder, CEO or Chairman of several companies in the wireless, payment, Internet marketing, and on-line retailing industries. He has worked in all facets of the entrepreneurial process – starting companies with technical teams, providing and raising capital with venture capitalists, buying and selling companies, or taking them public and closing down unsuccessful companies. He has been a keynote speaker in numerous conferences on innovation, entrepreneurship, digital media and on the future of the Internet.

Moderator

Tiffany Pham

Founder & CEO of Mogul

Tiffany Pham is the Founder & CEO of Mogul, the leading platform for diverse talent worldwide. A coder, she developed the first version of Mogul, which now reaches millions across 196 countries and 30,470 cities and provides HR software and services to hundreds of Fortune 1000 clients like Amazon, IBM, Nike, T-Mobile, and Intel to attract this talent. Headquartered in NYC, Mogul was named one of the 100 Most Exciting Startups by Business Insider, Best Website for Finding Top Talent by Inc. Magazine, Top Website for Marketing Your Company Online by Forbes, and has been honored by the City of Fort Worth, City of New York, and City of Paris.

Tiffany was named one of Forbes

Speaker

KJ Miller

Co-Founder and CEO, Mented Cosmetics

KJ Miller is the Co-founder and CEO of Mented Cosmetics, a pigment-first beauty brand celebrating women of all hues. Since its 2017 launch Mented has achieved rapid growth by helping women feel seen and empowered with its inclusive shade range. KJ led the company in securing over $4M in venture funding, and has been featured in several publications including Forbes, Fast Company and The New York Times for her authentic, relatable approach to entrepreneurship.

Speaker

Andrew Forman

Co-Founder, CEO Givz

Andrew is the Co-Founder and CEO of Givz. On a mission to help companies drive sales and avoid discounts while building their brand image, Givz is a leading impact marketing technology platform that converts discounts into donations.

Prior to Givz, Andrew spent 6 years in investment banking and was the treasurer of a nonprofit organization. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Mathematics and Economics from Hamilton College. He lives in New York with his wife and 1-year-old daughter and loves playing any sport/game whenever he has the chance.

Speaker

Allie Egan

Founder and CEO of Veracity Selfcare

Allie is the Founder and CEO of Veracity Selfcare, a next-generation beauty and wellness brand empowering women to understand the connection between their skin and their broader health through convenient at-home testing and a holistic, data-driven approach to product innovation. Prior to founding Veracity, Allie was the CEO of the women’s fashion brand, Cynthia Rowley where she led the transformation to DTC and more than doubled the business in two years. She has extensive experience in the beauty industry through her time at some of Estee Lauder’s best brands, including Origins, Clinique, and La Mer. She also has broad consumer experience and exposure through her time as an investor at L Catterton. She holds a BS in Finance and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School.