At Queen's University I wrote a lot about start-ups. I decided that I would write start-up like this, with the dash. Not startup nor start up. Start-up.
And now I am involved with start-ups again. First for my master thesis at the Heraeus Corporate Development department. We are developing a technology scouting strategy and are naturally looking at start-ups. I am using Yahoo! Pipes and Twitter for a part of the project, let's see if it works.
Then I was contacted by a start-up looking for managerial talent to invite as founding members. It is in the area of social networks, which I find very interesting.
And today I read the following article at VentureHacks which deals with the situation above, so a link is appropriate.

I have a job offer at a startup, am I getting a good deal? Part 1

And all Mannheim MBAs are invited for lunch at EO at 12:30 today.


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The "Business and Corporate Taxation in Europe" was one of the modules that I decided not take here at Mannheim Business School. We have 10 courses to choose at least 6 from. I know it is important to understand taxation mechanisms and strategies, but I figured that, if this becomes important to me one day, I'll know how to learn it on my own.
That meant that the week was class free for me. But not free. I focused on my starting job search, which needs a lot of time and effort to start well. The good thing is that, so far, so good. I have had some really positive responses to applications and conversations I had in the past months and believe that getting a job won't be a problem. Getting THE job though, is another story.

The week and the picture series started in Frankfurt, where I was invited for an initial interview with a PE (Private Equity) firm. The interview went well and it was good to have a feel of the kind of environment that will await me, if, as I intend to, get into Venture Capital or PE. In June we will have the second round, with other partners, so I guess that they liked what they saw.


On Tuesday I went to the excellent Konaktiva career fair in Darmstadt. It is organized by students, but extremely professional and organized.

I especially enjoyed the pannels where they brought 5 companies together, gave each company 5 minutes presentation time and then opened the floor for questions from the audience. A very good way of getting the feel of the companies, especially the smaller ones one doesn't get much info about from the media.
I was lucky and the Tuesday was the consulting day, so I was able to talk to several companies and get relevant recruitment contact information.

And during the fair I met a former colleague of mine from Brazil. He got into the Escola Politécnica during my last year there and came later to Darmstadt to do his double degree in Germany and Brazil. At the time he was here, we did not meet and I thought that he had long ago gone back to Brazil. So it was a surprise to meet him again in Germany. As cliché as it sounds, the world is really a small place.

I was back on Tuesday evening for the recruitment presentation of BASF at MBS. It was a good and interesting presentation and I enjoyed to talk with the global VP of procurement, a very open minded guy.
The rest of the week I invested in getting things done and applying for different companies, after doing the necessary research of the firms. This takes much more time and energy than I expected, and I wasn't really satisfied with my progress. But yesterday morning I had a very productive day, so it compensated some.

On Friday afternoon the whole class was invited to a company visit and fancy dinner in the evening.
The tour started with the very interesting Visitors' Center, a kind of an interactive museum about chemistry and BASF. I had loads of fun and, if time permits, I might go back to see it with more time.
Very nice was their multimedia table pictured below. I noticed that they used multiple media projectors in several installations and who designed these system really had some very nice ideas. Not to mention that the implementation was excellent.

But the dinner afterwards was the important event for those, like me, who are interested in working for the company (BASF has VC and New Business divisions). It was held in the fancy Casino, the company owned restaurant just outside the complex, in Ludwigshafen.

It was a good opportunity to talk to some of the employees at BASF and to some really senior recruiters, with the knowledge that you were pitching to somebody who really new what kind of people they wanted and what positions were available.

And it was not only a fancy dinner, but a really enjoyable one, where I had the opportunity to talk a lot to some of my MBA colleagues, including an American exchange student, in a different setting.
The only pity was that I wasn't able to go to Heidelberg meet a good Brazilian friend and catch the great hildesheimer blues band "B. B. & the Bluesshacks".

But, all in all, it was a good week, with even an offer to work part time as an MBA coach and GMAT trainer for aspiring MBA candidates. I don't know yet if I will be able to make time for it, but, if the pay is good, it will be an interesting way to put some of the knowledge I have gathered in the last year to good use. Let's see how it goes.

This was my study room for the Cross-cultural Management exam on Friday. The weather was nice, but not as warm as I had wished, so I retreated to the class room after a few minutes.

The second day in Montreal was really cool. During the day we had a great time at the park, as you've seen. In the evening we went out to eat at a Jewish deli called Schwartz's, on Saint Laurent Street. But, at arriving there, we saw that it was a very simple place, which didn't comply with the expectations of part of the group for a 'Saturday night dinner. So we ended up in another restaurant on Duluth Street, which was a great choice. I just don't remember its name.
At this point Silvia joined us, and it was great to meet a familiar face from Brazil. We probably had the longest conversations we've ever had so far.
On Sunday we went for a walk at the port and the old city centre, which was nice. We ate at La Popesa near Notre Dame and went back to get the car. We drove to the Olympic stadium and said our goodbyes to Montreal. Just in time, because the weather changed completely and we drove back to Kingston under a very persistent rain. Rain! In January!
Oh, yes. Before coming back to Kingston we drove again to Schwartz's and half of us got smoked meat sandwiches, which are great!

080215 Montreal

080216-17 Montreal

Co-op life means that you have to help out in the kitchen for 3 hours a week. This first week I was scheduled for only two hours today, before lunch. The menu consisted of vegetarian (right) and chicken curry (left).
I didn't do much. Chopped green and red peppers and then mixed it all in the big pans. It wasn't exactly mind blowing, but it wasn't devoid of fun.
Because I had classes already at 12, I skipped lunch which I replaced with two great sandwiches I prepared before leaving the kitchen. I also didn't like the prospect of eating curry with peppers, so I was content.


I attended the marketing class today. I am not enrolled on the course, but am happy that I am allowed to sit in on classes. Or audit, as they say over here. The class was good, the teacher is certainly great. But it was draining, six continues hours of marketing material I am already familiar with. But we had breaks and it is always good to listen to a new viewpoint by an experienced lecturer.
Tomorrow the morning is free. Or almost. There is some preparation to do for Problem Based Learning and Financing New Ventures.

The dinner was really nice, I enjoyed my food quite a lot. A good suggestion is to take one of the sandwiches in Arabic bread and a salad. It costs less than a full meal and is food enough for one.

From 071101 Syndic...

071101 Syndicate Habibi

Just for the record, on Thursday, most of our syndicate group went to Coventry to have dinner at the Habibi restaurant. It was really nice, going out after the exams. Pictures to follow.

Yesterday we had the visit of Grace Schomber, programme manager from Mannheim. She presented the electives and we had a good feedback chat plus dinner with her and Sam. I really hope to see many people from Warwick showing up in Mannheim in the summer, it will be great!

And after the very nice dinner (there is, after all, a decent restaurant on campus!) we all went to meet the rest of the class at the Varsity Pub. Strange stories with sheep happened there. But what happens in the bar, stays in the bar.

And, finally, in 15 minutes I am meeting Singean and others to go collect some data for our Operations Management project. I didn't complain too much that we will be analysing the operation of an indoor ski slope! And I thought that I would only put my feet on a board in 2008! Gotta get a quick shower, see you later.

moutarde basket
Originally uploaded by dr_loplop

If there is something that I have to have in my fridge wherever I am, it is my Dijon mustard à l'ancienne. I just love the way it is strong without being too hot. And the rough texture because of the whole grains is an added thrill.
So, if that low price, low quality, low flavor cheese pasta from the can isn't cutting through, but you don't have time to cook anything else, mix some moutarde to it, and, voilà, it does become a bit more interesting.
Don't expect miracles, though.
The brand I usually buy is the Maille, the one I first tasted and liked.

Well, one of the aims of this MBA blog is to record some practical information which might be useful for future MBA candidates. So I'll start in Mannheim, after having spent a week there.
It is of course important to have an idea of the costs for food and beverages. And these costs are difficult to find on the internet.
The first meal I took at the EO, which is the smaller cafeteria in the castle, very trendy and well thought of. There you also have WLAN access, so people go there to study and work while drinking a coffee. But it is a bit noisy during lunch hours.
If you go there and pay cash, you'll pay the normal price. If you get an eccum card and load it with credit, you get the discounted price, 20% off. Since I didn't have my card on Tuesday, I payed the normal price.
I spent about €9,50 for this first meal. It was a good meal with salad, pasta and meat. Additionally, I drank a Bionade, which is a German soft drink I recommend. Well, it is not cheap, but it isn't expensive either. My aim is to spend less than that in the future, but it was OK on Tuesday, since it is very conveniently located, a good place to go if you don't have much time.
I also bought sandwiches there on Friday, at about €2,50 each. The sandwiches were excellent, I have to say.
Another option in Mannheim is the main cafeteria, or Mensa. There you have 4 different menus, including vegetarian. I don't know the prices exactly, but I guess you can eat for less than €5,00 without beverage.
We went once to eat at an Indian fast food. I paid around €5,00 with beverage (or Getränk), which was a good price. The restaurant is located about 3 blocks from the Villa, and I ordered the small dish, which was more than enough for me, and quite tasty.
Well, that's it for now. I hope this blog develops well and the info is useful.