Recorded May 7, 2025

Will Christodoulou (former Ivey MSc and one of the founders of Cyder) and I connect again to finish our conversation. In this second part of our chat, Will talks about what he did and didn't like about his experience at Ivey, why more of his classmates didn't pursue entrepreneurship, and the diminishing returns of money.

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Learn more about Will's startup here: https://www.getcyder.com/

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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00:21 -- Why weren't Will's classmates more interested in entrepreneurship?

04:31 -- B-school recruiting is biased to big corporate paths

05:27 -- Not knowing what's out there breeds apprehension

06:48 -- School is nothing like the real world

07:40 -- We train students to be addicted to structure

08:49 -- Community helps us deal with self-doubt

12:53 -- Will's path may not be for everyone

13:41 -- What Will liked and didn't like about Ivey

17:36 -- What surprised Bryan about Wall Street

21:04 -- What if more people did what Will did?

24:18 -- The diminishing returns of money

25:51 -- Financial constraints can be in the mind of the beholder

26:40 -- Most people are too risk averse

28:51 -- Advice Will would give his younger self

33:27 -- Does success mean a life of extreme highs and lows?

33:02 -- Does spirituality help manage the lows?

35:46 -- What Will would be doing if not Cyder

37:39 -- What Bryan learned about the importance of culture

40:18 -- Good leadership is more than using a stick

Recorded on May 2, 2025

Can you really do what you love without sacrificing the money? I chat with Will Christodoulou, a former Ivey MSc student and one of the founders of Cyder, a loyalty platform for credit unions. Will tells the story of his path, which is a great story of how vision, staying true to your values when making a decision at each crossroads in life, and faith in passion can create the life you want--even if you don't know how you'll get there at the outset.

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Learn more about Will's startup here: https://www.getcyder.com/

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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00:30 -- Bryan discovers Will read his book

03:08 -- Why aren't profs talking to former students about their education?

04:51 -- Will tells his story

09:32 -- What Cyder does

11:56 -- What guided Will's career decisions

15:31 -- Do what you love, and the money will come

17:00 -- Weighing money vs passion

20:32 -- Favoring generalist vs specialist training

21:48 -- When Will knew Cyder was what he wanted

22:22 -- What Bryan loves about Will's story

23:44 -- Parallels to Rivian

25:37 -- Comparing to legal or medical career paths

27:02 -- Competing for a limited menu at Ivey

Recorded April 30, 2025

Is it worth getting an MBA degree anymore? I chat again with Brian, a former MBA student of mine when I taught at NYU Stern. This was supposed to be a short video focused only on whether the MBA is worth getting anymore, but it ended up turning into another podcast episode, where we also talk about the importance of passion, and how the world may not need as many professors in the future.

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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00:35 -- Intro, and the short answer from Brian

07:35 -- Work before getting an MBA

08:45 -- Bryan tries to defend the MBA

10:20 -- One positive of the MBA: Trying new things

12:25 -- Brian doing what "made sense" vs. what he loved

13:35 -- The challenge of getting a crypto job in 2020

15:05 -- How Brian knew what road to take

16:05 -- Bryan tries again to defend the MBA

18:05 -- Brian getting rejected was a blessing

20:05 -- Passion beats any MBA

20:55 -- MBA degrees are a filter

22:23 -- Companies care too much about resumes

25:30 -- Why passion should be THE criterion

27:25 -- Brian never looks at the clock when working

27:46 -- Passionate people will always figure out the answer

29:25 -- Does passion may matter more with emergent phenomena?

31:15 -- Lack of passion cripples organizations

36:15 -- Is expecting passion realistic?

36:35 -- Brian either loves or hates every job

41:05 -- People can make you love a job

42:35 -- Fulfilling work is about community

43:33 -- When is the MBA most valuable?

46:35 -- The jobs that suit MBAs

49:35 -- Declining interest in MBAs

51:08 -- Timing an MBA in the economic cycle

53:35 -- The AI threat to MBAs

55:55 -- NYU Stern is focused on AI

58:35 -- AI might replace white collar jobs

01:00:35 -- MBA is riskier than it used to be

01:03:20 -- How to career pivot without the MBA

01:05:06 -- A more uncertain future

01:08:30 -- The value of going to university

01:10:35 -- The bottom line

01:15:35 -- What the MBA isn't good for