Careers in Startups: The First Role After MBA and What Comes Next

Many MBA students interested in startups begin their careers in roles like Chief of Staff, Business Operations, or Strategy. But what do those jobs actually look like and how do they evolve into leadership roles?

Join the Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club for a panel featuring startup operators from Ramp, Junction, Kiln, and Pogo who will share how their careers developed after entering the startup world.

Panelists will discuss:
- What early startup roles actually involve
- How careers evolve from generalist roles to leadership positions
- What skills matter most in fast-growing startups
- How to choose the right startup to join
- Lessons learned from scaling companies and navigating startup careers

Lunch will be provided!

Panelist Bios:
Alex Onsager is a startup founder and operator with extensive experience across multiple early-stage companies. He previously founded and served as CEO of Character, a consumer home-improvement brand, and now leads B2B growth at Pogo, a fintech helping consumers earn rewards from sharing their data. Earlier in his career, Alex worked in consulting at Boston Consulting Group and holds an MBA from Kellogg and a BA from Northwestern.

Jackson Irwin is the strategy and operations lead at Junction, a healthtech company building APIs that integrate wearable data and lab services to help healthcare platforms scale faster. Prior to Junction, he spent four years at Epic, one of the largest healthcare software companies and holds an MBA from Ross.

Sophie Weber works in Business Operations at Ramp, where she’s spent the last 4 years helping drive strategic initiatives at one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in the U.S. Prior to Ramp, she worked at Better and spent four years in consulting at Oliver Wyman, building experience across strategy, operations, and high-growth technology businesses. She holds a BA from Northwestern.

Brighton Youd is the Chief Growth Officer at Kiln, a flexible workspace company serving startups and growing teams across the western U.S. After initially joining Kiln as Head of Sales and Marketing in 2018, Brighton has since expanded his role to lead broader growth initiatives across the organization.

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