Unpolished MBA

In this episode of Thursday Thoughts, Monique reflects on her thoughts after listening to a podcast from fellow innovator and Focus 3 CEO Tim Kight. In his podcast, Tim zeroed in on the fact that in this day and age many people are confusing Entertainment with Education! In a world of 24/7 content whether on Netflix, streaming, social media, or just online, modern men and women can often spend hou...

In this episode, Monique is joined by Walter Melanson, the Co-founder of PropertyGuys.com, a Canadian-based real estate and technology innovator that's transforming the market. Walter breaks down the history of the company that was formed over 20 years ago and how that wealth of experience has led him and his fellow founders towards building a company that truly understands the needs of an ever-ev...

In this episode of Thursday Thoughts, Monique reflects upon hearing the news of a friend who has decided to shut down their consulting business in the wake of ungrateful clientele and internet trolls. Perhaps counterintuitively then Monique explains why this move will likely be great for her friend! So many times founders and entrepreneurs find themselves in a rut with the way they are running the...

In this episode, I was so excited to speak with Jared Yellin, the founder of 10X Incubator who has set the audacious and revolutionary goal of starting 10,000 tech start-ups in 10 Years. After founding and building the hugely successful marketing platform Synduit, Jared decided to refocus his energies on helping small tech startups achieve launch by creating a unique network of profit-sharing part...

Does your innovation, software, code, or brave idea actually put money in your bank account? If you're like most entrepreneurs, start-ups, or small business owners…the answer is no. In this week's Thursdays Thoughts, Monique shares her insights and experience on why the value of your product cannot be overlooked. More often than not, innovators can be seduced into giving their intellectual propert...

In this premiere episode of 2022, Monique helps us to reframe resolutions by reimagining how to make goals that focus on the impact that we have on individuals and the larger world. Monique also explores a simple 5-step technique developed by Tim Ferriss that helps participants to continue focusing on positive and nourishing things that produce the most reliable and powerful peaks throughout the N...

In this week’s Thursday Thoughts, Monique shares how incorporating boundaries in both your personal and professional life can be a transformative step towards reducing stress and becoming the person you are striving to be. With the Holidays in full swing, it’s more important than ever to take a step back and take time for yourself. In today’s reflection, we learn just how healthy self-care and bou...

In this episode, Monique walks listeners through the incredibly important process of defining the relationships that you have with potential customers. Often founders or salespeople can deceive themselves into believing that the number of potential leads or prospects is far greater than they are in reality. Today Monique will help us to define the differences in these various levels of customer re...

In this week’s Thursday Thoughts, Monique reminds listeners of the importance of staying focused on consistency and frequency when marketing your brand and remembering that no matter how good you think your product is, your brand is only as strong as your last customer interaction. Topics Include: The Importance of Consistency in Marketing Building a Community for Your Product Pre-Release The Rela...

In this episode, it was my pleasure to speak with Gabriel Isserlis, a UK-based founder who is revolutionizing access to creative spaces for visual artists, musicians, filmmakers, and theatrical groups. His startup, Tutti, is essentially the Airbnb for creatives and strives to provide affordable workspaces for artists from all walks of life. Our conversation brought out the strategy consultant in m...

In this week’s Thursday Thoughts, Monique shares a little about her experience interviewing Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna on Episode 35 of the Unpolished MBA podcast. After interviewing this incredible young woman, Monique was reminded that despite Augusta’s unique gifts each of us has our own unique fingerprints to place on this world. We can often be bogged down by negative signals coming from social med...

In this episode, It’s my honor to be joined by one of the most incredible young women I’ve ever had the pleasure of speaking with. Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna is the Chief of Staff of the Black Women in Science and Engineering. At the age of 13, Augusta began experimenting with cement samples in the basement of her Elmont, New York home only to discover that she had a prodigious gift for science and engi...

In this week’s Thursday Thoughts, Monique shares her opinions on why being “ghosted” by a client can be a growing experience for innovators or entrepreneurs whose products have not found their market fit. Topics Include: What Is Ghosting in a Business Context What Ghosting is Actually Communicating Remembering That Not All Clients are Early Adopters Only Innovation Causes Lost Clients to Return We...

In this episode, we're joined by Talisha Shine. Talisha is an IT Professional and Certified Blockchain Consultant with over 20 years of experience in the information technology and software fields. In this episode, we cover the basics of blockchain technology and how blockchain is the foundation of everything from cryptocurrency to NFTs.  Topics Include: Understanding the Basics of Blockchain...

In this week’s Thursday Thoughts, Monique shares her unique insights on why not all entrepreneurial-minded people are best suited to becoming founders. In this day and age, millions of driven professionals have been told time and time again that the way to get ahead in today’s economy is to start their own business. Though this may be true for many, in this episode Monique reflects on the advantag...

In this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by Katrina Keyes. Katrina is a gifted salesperson, problem-solver, and inspiring communicator specializing in the field of SaaS sales and sales psychology.  We explore the underlying motivations that led to her career in sales and why discovering your true self outside your career is essential to success in today’s ever-evolving business landscape....

In this episode of Thursday Thoughts, Monique breaks down the fallacy of developing products or services that are cheap, fast, and good while dissecting the unique attributes of differentiation vs cost leadership and how these two very different strategies have been implemented by brands such as Tesla, Walmart, and WeWork. Topics Include: The Cheap, Fast, and Good Fallacy Defining Differentiation...

In this episode, it’s my pleasure to be joined by Dr. Tamara Baynham.  Dr. Baynham is a brilliant polymath with a Ph. D. in biomedical engineering alongside extensive experience as a medical device R&D consultant, patent agent, and clinical research strategist. Dr. Baynham's career has taken her from the halls of academia to the research labs of some of the most innovative and exciting startups an...

On Thursdays, in under 10 minutes, we "Connect The Dots" from real-life situations to help you as an entrepreneur, leader, innovator, or just a person who is venturing out to try something new. These stories will help you make sense of situations you may find yourself in and provide encouragement to keep you moving forward in your journey. "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only...

This episode is a conversation with Cloe Guidry , a tech startup founder in Atlanta. The idea for her technology came from specific challenges she witnessed in Supplier Diversity during her years in Corporate and her desire to solve them in an unconventional way.   TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT FOR THIS EPISODE GO TO ---> www.unpolishedmba.com/ep031 Visit unpolishedmba.com to listen to all of the...

Dr. Steven Goudy, the inventor behind the brand Dr. Noze Best, shares his professional journey as a pediatric surgeon, MBA, and entrepreneur as well as his thoughts on self-awareness. No time to listen? To read the transcript for this episode just go to —> http://unpolishedmba.com/ep 030 Follow Dr. Steven Goudy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-goudy-md-mba-b3ba819/ Follow Monique Mi...

Jonathan Ivanco , an attorney turned entrepreneur, has developed a unique way of looking at business. He found his way into the tech world and isn’t looking back.  In this episode, he talks about his journey from starting out in computer science and with a lot of twists and turns, going all the way through finishing law school and realizing that he didn’t want to practice law. How did it turn...

Charu Thomas , a tech entrepreneur who founded her company while still completing her undergraduate degree at Georgia Tech, talks about how she almost didn't continue on with the business after graduation. Why did she change her mind? Listen in to find out. TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT FOR THIS EPISODE GO TO --> www.unpolishedmba.com/ep028 Visit unpolishedmba.com to listen to all of the episodes and...

Mac Conwell , a tech entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, talks about his career journey from leaving college to becoming a tech startup founder and now a VC.   TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT FOR THIS EPISODE GO TO ---> www.unpolishedmba.com/ep027 Follow Mac Conwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mckeever/ Follow Monique Mills LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquemills/ Bio Websi...

Angela Ellington, CEO of Moistura Silk , a chemist turned entrepreneur speaks about going from the Corporate conveniences of being an executive to being a startup CEO. As many of us know, being an Executive at a large corporation has its perks, but when you have a calling, nothing can hold you back from fulfilling it. Listen in as Angela shares more about this and how your Corporate network doesn’...