Owl Have You Know

Rice Business
  • 5.0 (28)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Semimonthly

Owl Have You Know is Rice Business’ podcast created to share the experiences of alumni, faculty, students and other members of our business community – real stories of belonging, failing, rebounding and, ultimately, succeeding. During meaningful conversations, we dive deep into how each guest has built success through troubles and triumphs before, during and after they set foot in McNair Hall. The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of the business school at Rice University (Rice Business) and is produced by University FM.

  1. 5d ago

    A New Chapter for the Rothko Chapel feat. Alecia Harris ’23

    For Alecia Harris ’23, art is as essential as breathing, and it’s something everyone deserves to have access to. So she’s turned that belief into a career that sits at the intersection of art and business, with a mission focused on making art accessible. After years working in arts programming and visitor engagement at Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts, she earned her Professional MBA from Rice Business, then pivoted into private wealth management at J.P. Morgan, where she built a client book of art collectors and museum donors. Now, as chief development officer at the Rothko Chapel, she’s channeling all of that experience into leading fundraising and development for one of Houston’s most iconic cultural institutions, during a pivotal moment in its history. Alecia joins co-host Brian Jackson ’21 to discuss her winding path from art history to finance and back, what “radical hospitality” means in practice, how her MBA gave her the 50,000-foot view she needed, and why Houston’s next generation of patrons must step up to steward the city’s world-class cultural institutions into the future. Episode Guide: 00:00 Meet Alecia Harris 01:09 Finding Art History 02:29 Art Without Intimidation 05:02 Radical Hospitality 06:26 The Rothko Chapel 07:39 Renovation and Light 09:13 Why Get an MBA 12:21 From Arts to JPMorgan 14:26 MBA Learning Curve 15:46 Art Advantage in Banking 21:37 Development Role Day to Day 23:43 Leadership Across Sectors 28:17 Travel for Art 31:08 Houston Hidden Gems The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Why arts shouldn't be a luxury  5:41: If you stand in front of a piece of work, often Rothko paintings, like people talk about having your Rothko moment, like people are moved to tears. They have these transformative experiences in front of it. Why shouldn't that be available to everybody? And for me, even when I was working in, at JPMorgan, and I was working in finance, I had to have access to art every day because for me, it's like breathing. And I think good art holds a mirror up to society. It helps you process universal truths. It helps you connect to people. It's so important to me. It's not a luxury. It's something that I think everybody has to have access to it. And so anything that I can do to make people feel as if they also have an ownership over this, they have a right to access it, that's something that I'm very motivated by. The 50,000-foot view of leadership 23:15: I never would have had that 50,000 square foot view or really been able to understand how all the different pieces came together if I hadn't gone to business school. So I'm so, so fortunate that I have that perspective. One, just the scope of programs that we learned at Rice, but then also getting that experience working at the bank and now being able to bring all of that to this very worthwhile organization is incredibly meaningful. Why curiosity makes better leaders 23:55: For me, there's not really the qualities that I look for in a leader that I don't look for and think are worthwhile in just general human beings. Like this curiosity and openness, a willingness to listen. I think we can learn so much from unexpected places, take inspiration from unexpected places. I'm somebody that's a big info gatherer, and I'll take something and it's like I don't really know what I'm going to do with that or why I needed to know that right now, but I'll put it, you know, in my back pocket. And then those moments when you're able to make the connection later and it kind of unlocks new meaning or new opportunity, those are always really rewarding.Show Links:  Rothko ChapelMoody Center for the Arts | Rice UniversityTranscriptGuest Profile: Alecia Harris | Rothko Chapel

    A New Chapter for the Rothko Chapel feat. Alecia Harris ’23

  2. Jul 8

    How a Side Project Became Texas’ Best Coffee Roaster feat. Kenzel Fallen ’12

    After building a career in enterprise risk management and rising to senior leadership in banking, Kenzel Fallen ’12 and her husband Tio turned a shared passion for specialty coffee into Three Keys Coffee — a roastery and cafe focused on sustainability, creativity and music. What started as a side project during COVID has since landed on the shelves of Trader Joe's and been named Food & Wine's “Best Coffee Roaster in Texas.” As CEO of Three Keys Coffee, Kenzel is combining her Rice MBA training with her risk management mindset to navigate the daily challenges of owning a rapidly growing business. On this episode, she joins co-host Brian Jackson ’21 to chat about the inception of Three Keys Coffee, why entrepreneurship was a surprising path for her, and how Rice Business provided the right launchpad. Episode Guide: 00:00 Meet Kenzel Fallen 01:02 How Love Brought Her to Rice Business 05:27 From Risk to Coffee Entrepreneurship 09:13 Shopping Your Values 12:00 Working as a Couple 14:59 COVID Launch and Growth 18:08 Sourcing and Supply Chain 21:35 Jazz Brand Inspiration 25:03 Awards and Recognition 30:41 Coffee Impact and Purpose 35:04 What's Next for Three Keys 37:31 Distinguished Alumni Honor 39:10 Advice for Aspiring Founders The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Your network is your education 04:36: Sometimes when people hear that, you know, your network is your net worth, it's almost more of a sense of, someone can just get you an introduction, or they can get you in a room. And it's not so much about having adjacency to people. I think that's more, that's like social climbing, right? But when you network, I see that as sharing. I see that as exchanging information and insights. And so, for me, when I think of that phrase, like "network is your net worth," I look at that as enhancing your education, enhancing your perspective, enhancing how deeply you understand the world and society that we live and work in. And sometimes you do have to rely on a lot of different experiences and perspectives. And for me, that's how that network expands. Bringing the cafe experience at home 22:50: Jazz was actually one of the genres that helped with the advent of, you know, vinyl albums. You know, people wanted to be able to take that live music experience but be able to enjoy it and celebrate it at home. Prior to some of the early jazz recordings, there really was just, like, classical music that had actually been put on vinyl. And so jazz allowed people to bring home that concert and that live band experience, and that's the same thing that we kind of wanted to do with coffee. It's like, "Hey, you don't have to go to a shop. You get the right beans. You understand how to make them. You can have that cafe experience at home." And so kind of drawing that parallel as well in the way that we wanted to create coffee and share coffee with people. The email that changed everything 25:25: I remember getting an email that was like, "Hey, we're thinking about doing, you know, highlighting different coffee shops. Can you send us some pictures of your shop?" And it was from Food & Wine, but I'm just thinking, "Oh, they're just going to highlight a bunch of folks." I had no clue. I truly had no clue until the announcement was made that we were named. They had us on the list as the best in Texas. We were just, I mean, mind-blown. Show Links:  Three Keys CoffeeTranscriptGuest Profile: Kenzel Fallen | Rice BusinessKenzel Fallen | LinkedIn

    How a Side Project Became Texas’ Best Coffee Roaster feat. Kenzel Fallen ’12

  3. Jun 24

    The Startup Using AI To Rethink Energy Storage feat. Emma Konet ’24 and Jacob Mansfield ’16

    Two Rice alums are shaking up the renewable energy world with Tierra Climate, an AI-powered energy storage platform that’s quietly reshaping how the power grid works. Co-founded by Jacob Mansfield (BA ’16) and Emma Konet (PMBA ’24), Tierra Climate is driven by a shared belief that the transition to clean power needs to happen faster. Both have been passionate about the energy space since early in their careers, and when they saw an opportunity to use AI and software to accelerate the deployment of storage on the grid, they committed fully, leaving stable careers behind to build something that could make a real impact on climate change. They join host Brian Jackson ’21 to trace their unlikely path from Citibank trading desks to startup life. They open up about the underlying anxiety of early-stage founding but why entrepreneurship is still worth it, how large-scale batteries are being underutilized on the grid, and the ways the Rice network keeps showing up. Episode Guide: 00:00 Introductions & Origin Stories 06:29 Founding Tierra Climate 11:39 Customers & the Energy Storage Market 16:36 The Startup Journey 23:11 Taking the Leap & Building with AI 29:29 The Rice Network & Industry Trends 35:33  What's Next & the Texas Pilot The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Magic happens when you commit20:13: [Jacob Mansfield] I had a professor in business school that said that magic happens when you commit. There’s some sort of like lucky space of serendipity that you invite, and you talk to people, and you clearly come from the space and you understand their pain points, and yet you’ve kind of left all of that world to try to solve the problem. I think that’s pretty compelling for folks. I think it’s committing at inception, but it’s like a continual process of commitment throughout the entire journey.On finding the courage to go all in 18:48: [Emma Konet] I think going into that program, I’m not sure I ever would’ve quit my job and foregone health insurance and taken the big risk, because I was scared. I mean, I was genuinely like, "Oh, like, that feels really risky. I’m not sure my risk tolerance is there." But through the process of my MBA, I think because Rice is so focused on entrepreneurship, that’s kind of in the veins of the MBA program throughout. I basically got convinced that it wasn’t as big of a risk as I thought, and I think throughout that program, it just made me realize, you know what? Just do it. Like, it was kind of the "just do it, just take the leap" mentality that pushed me over the edge, and I’m very glad that I went full-time on this.  On building something that matters 16:11: [Jacob Mansfield] Emma and I used to joke early on this concept of existential dread, which I’m sure founders can relate to. You know, when you work in a big organization, it may get some little nervousness around, like bonus day or when you hear, there’s going to be some reorg. But generally speaking, I wasn’t concerned, going in day in and day out, that Citibank would be in existence. It was one of the largest companies in the world. And so I think the difference is when you start a company, you do have, like, those butterflies in your stomach or that kind of like, okay, like, I want to make sure that what I’m building is going to amount to something and be meaningful.Show Links:  Tierra Climate“Clean Energy’s Missing Link” | Rice MagazineTranscriptGuest Profile: Jacob Mansfield | LinkedInEmma Konet | LinkedIn

    The Startup Using AI To Rethink Energy Storage feat. Emma Konet ’24 and Jacob Mansfield ’16

  4. Jun 10

    Why Every Med Student Needs an MBA feat. Pablo Coello ’25

    When Pablo Coello began his medical training, he noticed a persistent gap in healthcare: clinicians and administrators often weren’t speaking the same language, and the result was inefficiency that directly affected patient care. That realization ultimately led him to pursue a dual MD/MBA through Baylor College of Medicine and Rice Business. Now an orthopedic surgery resident at UC Health, Pablo brings a dual perspective to medicine — one grounded in clinical practice and another shaped by business training. That combination allows him to think not only about individual patient outcomes, but also about system-wide decisions that affect hospitals and communities. In this episode of Owl Have You Know, hosted by Maya Pomroy '22, Pablo shares why more physicians need business fluency, how teamwork at Rice reshaped the way he practices medicine and what it means to look beyond the exam room to the health of an entire community. Episode Guide: 00:00 Meet Pablo Coello 01:14 Why Pursue an MBA Alongside an MD 03:26 Early Path to Medicine 04:13 Harvard Research Summers 06:33 OR Inefficiencies Spark Change 11:00 Inside the Rice MD MBA 13:28 Biggest MBA Takeaways 17:01 Advice for Med Students 22:16 Defining Success Long Term 25:33 Closing Thoughts The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Why a hospital is an entity in a community 17:51: Medicine is so much more than just what you do in a clinic, in the OR, in the hospital in general. A hospital is an entity in a community. It's not just a place you go. I've noticed this even…especially now that I'm actively practicing and training. There are people that actively need your help. And if you broaden your skills, eventually your level of impact is not just going to be on a patient-to-patient basis. It's on a community as a whole. And that's why I got my MBA, and that's why I would argue as any med student in the Houston area, any med student in general that has access to a business school, especially one as good as Rice, in their backyard or anywhere close, should ideally, if it's financially possible and the timeline works out, get an MBA so that they can have that impact in their community eventually.Medicine is a team sport 14:02: Medicine is a team sport. You hear that all the time because we interact with other teams all day, every day. As an orthopedic surgery resident, our field is very specialized. So as a result, we get called by a lot of people, and we have to also call a lot of other people to help us manage things that we simply do not know how to manage. And I think having learned what I learned in the MBA helped a lot in terms of managing a lot of different things at once, different voices, if you will, in the clinical setting, which I did not really expect, to tell you the truth. But it helped because I learned also to not rely on myself as much. On fixing the structures that fail patients 08:53: The supportive structures around the OR and other clinical aspects are simply not where they should be; we are failing the patient, and we are doing that over and over and over and over again. And it's affecting the overall health of the community. It's affecting the overall opinion of the community on the healthcare system, and it's costing the hospital—whatever hospital—thousands of dollars a day, every day for eternity. So I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I got this MBA because I wanted to be like this knight in shining armor, and I was going to solve all the problems, because I'm not. That's unrealistic, and I get it. But I want to be part of the solution, if you will. Show Links:  Transcript Guest Profile: Pablo Coello | LinkedIn

    Why Every Med Student Needs an MBA feat. Pablo Coello ’25

  5. May 27

    Great Work Alone Won’t Get You Promoted feat. Professor Jonathan Miles

    Professor Jonathan Miles’ path to teaching organizational behavior at Rice Business is anything but conventional. Before entering academia, he earned a degree in computer science, worked in IT and even launched a comic book store — experiences that shaped his perspective on leadership, influence and human behavior. Today, Miles is known for challenging students to think differently about power, workplace dynamics and ethical decision-making. A co-adviser at the Virani Undergraduate School of Business and voted “Teacher of the Year” by our undergraduate business students, he has built courses that push both MBAs and undergraduates to confront uncomfortable truths about what it really takes to lead and succeed. In this episode, Miles joins host Maya Pomroy ‘22 to discuss why so many talented people struggle to advocate for themselves, what his comic book store taught him about entrepreneurship, and why influence is often misunderstood. He also shares his perspective on AI’s growing impact on the workplace, the future of Rice Business and his hope for bringing undergrads and graduate students together in ways no business school has done before. Episode Guide: 0:00  Introduction & Teacher of the Year Award 2:29  Growing Up: Family, Influences, and Early Life 4:40  The Winding Path: Journalism to Engineering to Computer Science 7:40  The Value of Exploring Outside Your Major 9:57  From IT to Teaching: Discovering a Calling 15:56  Teaching Power & Influence at Rice 17:55  The Biggest Misconception About Influence at Work 22:15  Professionalism & Ethics: Why People Break Their Own Moral Frameworks 25:04  AI in the Workplace: Hype, Risk, and the Road Ahead 30:19  What Jon Hopes Students Take Away 32:27  The Comic Book Store: Lessons in Entrepreneurship 37:46  The Future of Rice Business & the New Building 40:50  Closing and Conclusion The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Why hard work alone won’t get you promoted 20:24: I find it interesting that, in the eight years I've been teaching it here at Rice, I don't think I've ever had a class where the majority of people in the class, when I talk about the things that hold them back from power, won't raise their hands and say, "Yeah, at least one of those affects me." And, you know, things like—we call it the just world hypothesis—the idea of like, oh, well, you know, merit exists, and if I do a really good job, I will rise in the organization because people will notice. And we talk about the fact that our research is pretty clear that that's not true. We have years of research on this that says your boss doesn't have any idea what you do, and your boss's boss certainly doesn't. And so this idea of you have to advocate for yourself, even though it doesn't feel great to you. Leaders vs. bad managers 36:09: What I told my students is, "I'm not here to make you into great leaders. Some of you will be great leaders because you have that natural piece, and I'm going to teach you this, and if you follow and do this information, you'll become a great leader. But I guarantee you, if you just follow what I say, you won't be a bad manager. You won't be a bad leader." And I've had enough bad leaders over the years that my crusade is to get rid of them, to try and, try and teach people so that we don't have them. And I'm hoping that the people who come out of here with Rice MBAs, and even our Rice undergrad degrees, have the understanding of how to be a manager that does the right things. What Jonathan hopes for the future of Rice Business 45:19: I hope that we can maintain doing that because we could provide our undergrads with a tremendous ability to get a great education, and one that they're not going to get in an undergrad program elsewhere, from people who really know what they're talking about and are good at teaching it. Show Links:  Transcript Guest Profile: Jonathan Miles | Rice BusinessJonathan Miles | LinkedIn

    Great Work Alone Won’t Get You Promoted feat. Professor Jonathan Miles

  6. May 13

    The Skills Every Great Consultant Needs feat. David Aldrich ’15

    Following an upbringing as an expat in Jakarta, Indonesia, today’s guest is applying his unique worldview to the management consulting industry and helping clients solve complex business challenges with digital solutions.  David Aldrich, a Rice Business alum from the Professional MBA Class of 2015, serves on the Rice Business Alumni Association Board and is a practice lead at EPAM Systems, a management consulting firm where he focuses on energy and AI.  David joins co-host Brian Jackson ’21 to discuss his journey of growing up abroad and how the Rice MBA helped him pivot into consulting. They also explore how AI is reshaping the consulting industry and how Rice Business became not just his alma mater, but a lifelong community and support system.  Episode Guide: 00:00 Meet David Aldrich 02:00 Growing up in Jakarta 05:27 Landing in a Philosophy Major 07:38 Venturing Into Startup Sales at FlightAware 12:00 Pivoting to Consulting Through a Rice Professional MBA 18:09 Life at EPAM Systems 21:47 Finding Digital Solutions for Clients Through AI 28:55 What Makes a Good Consultant 31:36 The Ukraine War’s Impact on EPAM 37:09 Life Outside of Work 39:38 Giving Back to Rice 41:12 Alumni Breakfast Series 42:59 Future of AI Consulting 46:39 Closing The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: An advice for students who want to get into consulting 17:12: My advice to students that want to go into consulting is you need to get really good at the AI piece, right? Study right now and get proficient with tools like Anthropic, tools like, you know, ChatGPT’s Codex, tools like, you know, Gemini’s Nano Banana, and, like, PaperBanana, the new one that they just announced. You have to be proficient in this space and be certified in this space, too. Like, Claude just announced a certification program. You can go get certified as, like, an Anthropic Claude architect. It’s free. You can do it. Like, these are things that I think you need to have on your resume to position yourself for value, regardless of what strategy you take. If you want to go into strategy consulting or Big Four or technology, having those new skills on how to create agent capabilities for clients is going to be the table stakes to separating yourself from, I think, other people who are also looking to go into consulting. Adapting to AI with caution 26:15: I don’t think you should stop AI adoption because of that potential, but I think it’s important to understand that there’s things that you can do right now to enhance productivity by using these tool sets. There’s other things that require, I think, a little bit more due diligence, and is it the right decision to completely re-architect the way we work with agents? Because what’s good for Anthropic and how they might not be the best thing for your company long term. What makes a good consultant 29:10: A good consultant is not afraid to ask questions, to push clients, and, kind of, challenge thinking. I think there’s an art to being able to do that without offending and pissing clients off, and understanding when you have the opportunity to, kind of, push hard to get clients thinking in a different way. I think the other key part is being able to be hungry for any opportunity and not scared to learn any new topic, right? Because the nature of consulting is that you’re being thrown into a bunch of different businesses, and no matter how much you’ve worked in a specific industry or at, like, businesses, there’s always going to be something new that they’re doing, whether it’s from a technology that they’re using, a process that they’re following, the nomenclature that they’re using. Show Links:  Learn more about EPAMTranscriptGuest Profile: David Aldrich | Rice BusinessDavid Aldrich | LinkedIn

    The Skills Every Great Consultant Needs feat. David Aldrich ’15

  7. Apr 29

    To Become a CEO, You Need To Take Risks feat. Professor Yan “Anthea” Zhang

    Yan "Anthea" Zhang, the Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Chair of Strategic Management at Rice Business, has spent more than two decades researching the decisions that make or break organizations: CEO succession, corporate governance, and the gender dynamics shaping who rises to the top. On this special live episode, Zhang joins host Maya Pomroy '22 to share what her research reveals about the leap from functional roles to the C-suite, and why taking risks is non-negotiable for career advancement (especially for women). She also opens up about her origin story — from being part of the first-ever cohort at Nanjing University's business school to building a life and career in Houston — and why, after 25 years, Rice still feels like home. Plus: her latest research on AI-powered customer service, advice from her "Last Lecture" and how Rice Business Executive Education’s Executive Leadership for Women program is giving women the tools and community to rise. Episode Guide: 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 03:19 Professor Zhang’s Origin Story 05:09 Hong Kong and USC 07:46 Why Rice Feels Different 12:32 CEO Succession Insights 17:45 Executive Leadership for Women Program 19:04 Challenges Women Still Face 24:54 Teaching Global Strategy 30:06 Managing Uncertainty & Frameworks For Risk 36:25 How AI is Transforming Online Sales 38:47 Advice to Students  The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: On creating a safe space for women to grow in the workplace 19:58: For people who want to move up the career ladder, we need mentors. But a lot of times, people in more senior positions are still men, right? So, that's why both male and female mentors are all important. Because there are still so few women in senior leadership positions, right? That's why if you only rely on more senior female leaders to champion for you, to mentor you, that's not sufficient. You really need mentoring from both male and female leaders. So, I think that is why one benefit of our program is that we really target women who already have some leadership experiences. We create a safe space for them to share their concerns, challenges, and also allow them to share best practices with each other in a safe space. So, we really needed that. Why asking is important for women 17:15: [Anthea Zhang] Dare to ask, dare to take risks, dare to get into areas, functions you are not comfortable with, you are not familiar with, which are those factors that are really key. And you have to show your track record instead of saying, "I want to," having a plan or having ambition is not sufficient. You have to show the track record. Higher leadership role means greater responsibility 14:35: For people who already made it to top management team positions but still focus on more function-based roles, if you want to make it to the overall leadership role like a CEO, you have to take profit and loss responsibility. You have to expand the responsibility of your position. You know, of course, we see some people transition from CFO to CEO, but what is required for a CEO position is way more, it is way broader than, like, the CFO or chief marketing officer.  Show Links:  Executive Leadership for Women | Rice BusinessEnergy Transition Strategy | Rice BusinessExecutive Education | Rice BusinessTranscriptGuest Profile: Professor Yan "Anthea" Zhang | Rice BusinessLinkedIn Profile

    To Become a CEO, You Need To Take Risks feat. Professor Yan “Anthea” Zhang

  8. Apr 15

    Training Tomorrow's Founders feat. Professor Yael Hochberg

    When Professor Yael Hochberg made the decision to come to Rice, she had a vision for building an entrepreneurship program like no other — it would be one for the modern era that would set the pace for entrepreneurship education going forward.  Now, more than a decade later, Rice consistently ranks number one in the country for entrepreneurship and is leading the way in world-changing innovation through hubs like the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie), which offers experiential learning opportunities and co-curricular activities. In this episode, Professor Hochberg, head of the Rice Entrepreneurship Initiative and Lilie, joins co-host Brian Jackson ’21 to discuss how she brought her vision for a modern entrepreneurship program to life at Rice, the incredible innovation that has come from Lilie over the last 10 years and what the future holds for entrepreneurship education in the age of AI.  Episode Guide: 00:00 Introduction to Professor Yael Hochberg 00:37 Her “Accidental” Entrepreneurship Origins 05:50 Why She Chose Rice & Her Vision for Better Entrepreneurship Education 09:18 Inside the Liu Idea Lab 16:22 Student Startup Wins 19:53 Alumni Network Power 22:59 Research-Driven Teaching  30:32 AI and Entrepreneurship 35:02 What's Next for Lilie 41:47 The Most Rewarding Moments The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: On the entrepreneurial spirit at Rice 39:31: [Brian Jackson] When I think about the entrepreneurial spirit that's present at Rice, I think a big driver pulling that in is the recognition we consistently get, be it Princeton Review ranking us as a, you know, the nation's top graduate school for entrepreneurship seven years in a row. When you think about that success, what do you think is the biggest driver behind it? What's making that possible?39:54: [Yael Hochberg] I think it's a combination of many things. It's our students, our amazing students who come in with the drive to create things. It's our alumni who are willing to stand behind us and support us. It's people like Frank Liu who were willing to see the resources that were necessary here on campus to, to truly support entrepreneurial ventures. It's the amazing staff and faculty at Lilie who, you know, give 90 to a hundred-hour weeks, 365 days a year to make sure that our students have the support that they need, that our faculty have the support that they need. Entrepreneurship can be taught if there’s a drive 04:43: People always ask me, what do you mean you can teach entrepreneurship? Why do you guys even bother with entrepreneurship programs? People are either born as entrepreneurs or they're not. They either have that entrepreneurial drive or they don't. I think there's something to that, and that it is true that I can't take someone without the drive and turn them into an entrepreneur. But I can take someone who has that latent drive and who is interested, and I can give them tools and frameworks that will help them be successful if they pursue entrepreneurship. I happen to be one of these people who has that drive. I like to build, I don't like sitting still. When I see problems, I don't like to simply say, “Hmm, that's really annoying.” I try to solve them. AI is changing how fast you can build and test ideas 31:02: The tools that are available today really do change how you think about things, because the tools offer you an opportunity to build things faster than you could ever imagined before, to test things faster than you could ever imagined before. We have classes where nearly all of our classes are experiential. The students are actually building something. They're doing something, they're walking through the process, and they're getting it in the wraps, right? And it may be on something stupid like Uber for cats, I don't care. I want them to learn the process and actually go out and experience it. And when the right idea comes along, they'll already know how to actually do it. Show Links:  The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and EntrepreneurshipTranscriptGuest Profile: Yael Hochberg | Rice BusinessYael Hochberg’s WebsiteYael Hochberg on LinkedIn

    Training Tomorrow's Founders feat. Professor Yael Hochberg
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5
out of 5
28 Ratings

About

Owl Have You Know is Rice Business’ podcast created to share the experiences of alumni, faculty, students and other members of our business community – real stories of belonging, failing, rebounding and, ultimately, succeeding. During meaningful conversations, we dive deep into how each guest has built success through troubles and triumphs before, during and after they set foot in McNair Hall. The Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of the business school at Rice University (Rice Business) and is produced by University FM.

Information

  • Creator
    Rice Business
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    142
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Rice Business
  • Show Website
    Owl Have You Know

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