Pathik Bhatt

Category: Entrepreneurship

  • How AGILE Greece Strengthened My Kelley Direct Online MBA Relationships

    kelley direct in athens greeceThere are few greater joys in life than the liberation you feel after letting down your guard. You know that moment when you see their eyes widen – that smile of acknowledgement appears on the others’ faces. You are no longer a stranger, a colleague or a classmate – you are recognized for you, the individual. It wasn’t until 3 months of weekly phone and Skype calls, ongoing online chats, 1 weekend together in Philadelphia, and 4 days in Athens, Greece that this moment finally happened with my Kelley Direct AGILE study abroad team. (more…)

  • Tips for Entrepreneurs from the Founders of DP Legal LLC

    Umang DesaiI had the privilege of being Umang’s stunt partner on our college dance (raas) team. We shared many hours of practice together on the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana campus, and also two victories in national competitions.

    Now he has partnered up with another fellow Illini, Ashish Patel, Ashish Pateland together they recently founded DP Legal, a Chicago based law firm specializing in corporate law, estate planning and real estate. Ashish and Umang are excited about their new venture, and were kind enough to share things they’ve learned from their experience for others who are thinking about forming or joining a start-up here. Read on for some pro bono tips: (more…)

  • Tips for Entrepreneurs from the Founders of Elegance Decor

    elegance decor outdoor weddingIt is with great pleasure that I share this behind-the-scenes look at Elegance Décor and the founders, who are 3 the most creative minds in the wedding and event décor business. Both my wife and I went to the University of Illinois in Champaign with them and since then we have shared many great times together with this family. We were also fortunate enough to have them help us with the décor for our wedding events (even though they attended), which made everything look beautiful! But of course that’s not the point of this post. In this interview Swetal, Bhavik and Ronak Patel reveal the not-so-glamorous side of working on a start-up and share the fears that they had when they started. They have great insights for new entrepreneurs, and after reading this you will be reassured that you’re not alone if your struggle – and that it’s totally worth it! (more…)

  • Tips for Entrepreneurs from Sumeet Patel – Co-founder of BrandBacker

    Sumeet and I competed in an Indian dance competition many years ago back when I was on the Illini Raas Team and he was on Berkeley’s Raas Team. Fortunately, my team won that night – his placed 3rd. Although his dancing may not have been up to par (kidding of course), I can’t say the same about his knack for business. Sumeet has started three start-ups – BrandBacker is his latest. I got in touch with him recently to find out more about it and his other ventures. (more…)

  • 11ish Takeaways from the 2014 Higher Education Summit

    pathik bhatt kelley badges I had the opportunity to attend the SalesForce Foundation’s 2014 Higher Education Summit in Tempe, AZ earlier this month – my first higher education conference after becoming a “higher education professional” this year. It was a great learning experience with nearly 600 attendees who were very willing to connect and share ideas with each other. In that same spirit I wanted to share some of my takeaways from the conference as well, so here goes: (more…)

  • Why MBAs Should Be More Like Noah and Less Like DRose

    As mnoah1uch as it hurts me to say this, Derrick Rose is approaching his off-court role as a Chicago Bull all wrong. He did not see it as his job to recruit talent such as King “flop-master” James to the team when we so badly needed him. I like everyone else outside of Miami will diss LeBron, but that’s only because he’s so freaking good and would gladly take him on my team. Back to my point: Rose said he didn’t have a problem with recruiting and would do it if the team asked him to do so. That, my fellow MBA candidates and alumni, is precisely the attitude that results in 2 championships in ANOTHER CITY. (more…)

  • 6 Reasons Why You Should Visit Zappos When You’re in Vegas

    My wife and I had the privilege of going on a Zappos Tour on our Vegas trip last month, and I’m so glad we did! I knew I wanted to make it out there ever since I finish reading Delivering Happiness, the story about their company & how they built a great culture written by their CEO Tony Hsieh. zappos-family-sign (more…)

  • 4 Pieces of Content About Happiness That You Shouldn’t Miss

    I’ve been posting a lot about business, marketing and entrepreneurship lately, so I thought I’d change it up and go back to happiness for a bit. Here are links to a few great videos and books about the subject of happiness that I’ve watched, read and listened to (audiobooks are the greatest gift to commuters in the world – and your local library has so many… for FREE!!!) recently. I’ve started jotting down takeaways from each of them, but I figure I should share them for the people who want to actually go and experience these pieces of content about happiness for themselves.

    Why Happiness is the New Productivity (The Story of Mindvalley)

    Vishen Lakhiani - CEO of MindvalleyThis video features a talk by Vishen Lakhiani, the founder and CEO of Mindvalley. If you haven’t heard of him and the company yet, you will soon. He offers 10 tangible takeaways to help you make your life and the lives of everyone at your workplace happier. (more…)

  • Tips for Entrepreneurs From Aalap Shah – Co-Founder of SoMe Social Media

    Aalap Shah of SoMeI had the opportunity to work with Aalap Shah on the board of the 2012 NetIP Conference hosted in Chicago last year. Both us were Social Media Co-chairs and Aalap also spoke on a digital marketing panel with other marketing experts there. It was great working with him and I’m glad he took some time out to share some lessons he’s learned about entrepreneurship while starting his company, SoMe Social Media. (more…)

  • Tips For Entrepreneurs From Arpan Shah – CEO & Co-founder of PrintEco

    Arpan Shah CEO of PrintEcoI ran into Arpan Shah a few times when we were both at U of I in Champaign, but hadn’t seen him since. I came across PrintEco while browsing start-up companies in the Chicago area. Arpan started his business around a great tool that helps companies save paper and ink (and money). Read on to learn more about it.

    What gave you the idea for PrintEco?

    I saw a significant problem of wasteful printing at University of Illinois and during my internships. It was a big enough problem that I figured needed a simple solution. After gathering a lot of feedback, I came upon my current idea. It started out as a side project but kept snowballing from there. (more…)