When I started business school at 29, my life did not look the way I once imagined it would.
In my early twenties, I had startup success and assumed I would keep raising capital, building companies, and stacking exits. My career did not unfold that way. By the time I decided to come back to school, I made a simple commitment to myself: If I was going to spend two years here, I wouldn’t coast or treat classes as checking the box; I’d treat them as high-value opportunities.
I have always learned better by doing than by observing. So, I entered Fuqua with a plan. Whatever I learned in the classroom, I would actively practice through something of my own.
That “something” became Washletics.
When I arrived on campus, Washletics was still an idea. I was preparing to prototype a personalized laundry detergent. I was struggling with how personalization would scale, but I decided to at least create sample packaging and test the formula I had originally developed for myself.
When classmates saw the sample packs, they wanted to try them. Across different geographies, fabrics, skin types, and washing machines, the feedback was surprisingly consistent: “Adrian, it just works.”
Having something real, even at an early stage, changed how I experienced class. Every lecture stopped being abstract. Every framework became a potential input into a decision I actually had to make.
That is when I started to appreciate the number of levers helping me make the most of my time at Fuqua.
In a Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Duke I&E) branding session with Shep Moyle, I realized I had been anchoring my identity to shiny objects instead of clearly articulating who I am and what I am building. For most of my career, I leaned on credentials when introducing myself. Georgetown. Ex-Google. Fundraised in Silicon Valley. Those data points worked. They signaled competence.
While there is still a place for credentials, I stopped relying on them as validation after that session. Whether pitching Washletics or interviewing for roles, I began leading with conviction and clarity instead of résumé bullets.
That shift made my communication cleaner and more honest.
Financial Accounting was not intuitive for me. Preparing a statement of cash flows was the hardest part of the course. After performing below average on the midterm, I went to office hours to ask what I could do differently for the final.
After we discussed strategy, my professor asked what I was recruiting for. I told him I was interested in product marketing in tech, and that I was also building a detergent brand. I showed him my sample packs.
The first thing he said was, “Great name.” Then he said, “If you’re building this, you absolutely need to take Managerial Accounting.”
Managerial Accounting has been even harder for me than Financial Accounting, but I trusted his recommendation. More importantly, I have been extracting lessons that directly inform how I think about pricing, cost structure, and scaling Washletics.
Attending office hours is a lever people underestimate. While office hours can be a great avenue for grade improvement, they are also access to invaluable perspectives. When you bring something real to those conversations, the advice gets sharper.
During Winter Term, I took Managerial Improvisation, a week-long workshop. It stretched me by forcing me to sit in discomfort and stay present.
In the first class of Leadership Communication 2 in the spring, we were asked to deliver a three-minute persuasive presentation. One of the prompts was: What is a product that will change your life?
I chose to pitch Washletics. It was the first time I presented it publicly. I stayed in the moment. I told the story honestly. I paid attention to what resonated and what made people lean forward. That classroom moment lowered the emotional stakes of future ones.
When I was invited to pitch at Duke Venture Group’s Ignite competition, I already had a foundation. I refined the story, tightened the message, and stepped on stage prepared. I was the slotted for pitch 13 out of 17 teams. By pitch 8, I started to get antsy, realizing that I wasn’t nervous but eager to get out there.
I ended up placing second. The judges’ biggest feedback was about my engaging storytelling and presentation quality.
This win wasn’t rooted in natural talent. The success came from the compounding effect of practicing in lower-stakes settings before stepping into a bigger one.
If levers are tools available to shape your MBA into what you want it to be, they can be different for everyone. Competitions and networking events are visible levers. But the underrated ones are often inside the classroom. Examples could include:
Each of those moments provides data. Do people understand it? Are they confused? Are they excited? Do they lean in?
The value of my first year has not come from theory alone. It has come from the ability to pressure test theory quickly, in many small ways, and adjust.
I came into business school believing that ideas matter most when you use them. What I did not fully appreciate was how many opportunities there would be to do exactly that.
When you treat the classroom as a lab instead of a lecture hall, things compound. Confidence compounds. Clarity compounds. Skill compounds.
For me, Washletics has been the vehicle. But the larger lesson has been about approach. The MBA can be a two year pause before your next chapter. Or it can be a place where you actively build, refine, and pressure test in real time.
I chose the latter.
And I am just getting started.
The post No Stone Unturned: My First Year at Fuqua appeared first on Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog.
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How does this impact your International MBA decision?
I'd be glad to learn your thoughts on this story : No Stone Unturned: My First Year at Fuqua
In my early twenties, I had startup success and assumed I would keep raising capital, building companies, and stacking exits. My career did not unfold that way. By the time I decided to come back to school, I made a simple commitment to myself: If I was going to spend two years here, I wouldn’t coast or treat classes as checking the box; I’d treat them as high-value opportunities.
I have always learned better by doing than by observing. So, I entered Fuqua with a plan. Whatever I learned in the classroom, I would actively practice through something of my own.
That “something” became Washletics.
Starting With Something Real
When I arrived on campus, Washletics was still an idea. I was preparing to prototype a personalized laundry detergent. I was struggling with how personalization would scale, but I decided to at least create sample packaging and test the formula I had originally developed for myself.
When classmates saw the sample packs, they wanted to try them. Across different geographies, fabrics, skin types, and washing machines, the feedback was surprisingly consistent: “Adrian, it just works.”
Having something real, even at an early stage, changed how I experienced class. Every lecture stopped being abstract. Every framework became a potential input into a decision I actually had to make.
That is when I started to appreciate the number of levers helping me make the most of my time at Fuqua.
Lever One: Identity and Clarity
In a Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Duke I&E) branding session with Shep Moyle, I realized I had been anchoring my identity to shiny objects instead of clearly articulating who I am and what I am building. For most of my career, I leaned on credentials when introducing myself. Georgetown. Ex-Google. Fundraised in Silicon Valley. Those data points worked. They signaled competence.
While there is still a place for credentials, I stopped relying on them as validation after that session. Whether pitching Washletics or interviewing for roles, I began leading with conviction and clarity instead of résumé bullets.
That shift made my communication cleaner and more honest.
Lever Two: Office Hours and Hard Subjects
Financial Accounting was not intuitive for me. Preparing a statement of cash flows was the hardest part of the course. After performing below average on the midterm, I went to office hours to ask what I could do differently for the final.
After we discussed strategy, my professor asked what I was recruiting for. I told him I was interested in product marketing in tech, and that I was also building a detergent brand. I showed him my sample packs.
The first thing he said was, “Great name.” Then he said, “If you’re building this, you absolutely need to take Managerial Accounting.”
Managerial Accounting has been even harder for me than Financial Accounting, but I trusted his recommendation. More importantly, I have been extracting lessons that directly inform how I think about pricing, cost structure, and scaling Washletics.
Attending office hours is a lever people underestimate. While office hours can be a great avenue for grade improvement, they are also access to invaluable perspectives. When you bring something real to those conversations, the advice gets sharper.
Lever Three: Practicing Before It Counts
During Winter Term, I took Managerial Improvisation, a week-long workshop. It stretched me by forcing me to sit in discomfort and stay present.
In the first class of Leadership Communication 2 in the spring, we were asked to deliver a three-minute persuasive presentation. One of the prompts was: What is a product that will change your life?
I chose to pitch Washletics. It was the first time I presented it publicly. I stayed in the moment. I told the story honestly. I paid attention to what resonated and what made people lean forward. That classroom moment lowered the emotional stakes of future ones.
When I was invited to pitch at Duke Venture Group’s Ignite competition, I already had a foundation. I refined the story, tightened the message, and stepped on stage prepared. I was the slotted for pitch 13 out of 17 teams. By pitch 8, I started to get antsy, realizing that I wasn’t nervous but eager to get out there.
I ended up placing second. The judges’ biggest feedback was about my engaging storytelling and presentation quality.
This win wasn’t rooted in natural talent. The success came from the compounding effect of practicing in lower-stakes settings before stepping into a bigger one.
What I Mean by “Levers”
If levers are tools available to shape your MBA into what you want it to be, they can be different for everyone. Competitions and networking events are visible levers. But the underrated ones are often inside the classroom. Examples could include:
- Choosing to present your own idea instead of a case company when flexibility allows.
- Using office hours to discuss your real challenges.
- Treating simulations and assignments as rehearsal, not requirement.
- Testing how people react to your explanation of something you are building.
Each of those moments provides data. Do people understand it? Are they confused? Are they excited? Do they lean in?
The value of my first year has not come from theory alone. It has come from the ability to pressure test theory quickly, in many small ways, and adjust.
Building While Learning
I came into business school believing that ideas matter most when you use them. What I did not fully appreciate was how many opportunities there would be to do exactly that.
When you treat the classroom as a lab instead of a lecture hall, things compound. Confidence compounds. Clarity compounds. Skill compounds.
For me, Washletics has been the vehicle. But the larger lesson has been about approach. The MBA can be a two year pause before your next chapter. Or it can be a place where you actively build, refine, and pressure test in real time.
I chose the latter.
And I am just getting started.
The post No Stone Unturned: My First Year at Fuqua appeared first on Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog.
More...
How does this impact your International MBA decision?
I'd be glad to learn your thoughts on this story : No Stone Unturned: My First Year at Fuqua