In the second installment of our Paths Less Traveled series, Stacy Blackman interviews Terry Cumes and Tristen Langley, a married couple who share how the same Stanford GSB foundation led one to global wellness entrepreneurship and the other to top-tier technology investing — and what this says about career optionality, partnership, and long-term impact.

Here are the full bios for these amazing interviewees:

Tristen Langley has over twenty-three years of experience in venture capital, operations, M&A and equities research with leading international investment and technology companies. Langley sourced, led and was operationally involved with private investments that have returned over $5 billion to investors. Tristen Langley holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She completed her graduate studies in software engineering at the Fraunhofer IESE, Germany. She earned a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honors) from the University of New South Wales and was the recipient of the University Medal. Tristen is now the Executive Director and Cofounder of Amalfi Capital Management, Limited.

Terry Cumes is an international executive who has built, launched, and managed several global travel and education businesses. Terry is currently the CEO of Willka T'ika Essential Wellness, Peru's original luxury wellness center located in the Sacred Valley. Under Terry's leadership, Willka T'ika welcomes scores of groups each year from around the world. Each group is unique with programmatic themes ranging from yoga and mindfulness to transformative leadership in business. In 2022, Willka T'ika was included in "9 of the World's Best Wellness Retreats" by CNN and nominated "Best Digital Detox Retreat" by Vogue Magazine.

In this episode we discuss 4 things MBA candidates should consider when facing the "Bird in Hand" dilemma: meaning, when they have been admitted to at least one program, but are considering not claiming their spot, forgoing the sure thing and taking the risk of trying again in the future in the hopes of getting into a program they're even more interested in.

This episode discusses how accepted MBA candidates should go about asking for an increase in merit aid; the four situations a candidate might be in and their associated negotiating tactics; and detailed advice for approaching such an ask over the phone vs. email.