Five years ago, while Ron Fisher and Vivek Sudarsan were in the Research and Development department at Nielsen, what they really wanted to do was build something new. Inspired by serving as mentors at Cornell Tech, they left their longtime industry roles to enroll in the Johnson Cornell Tech (JCT) MBA program.
On the first day of classes, Fisher and Sudarsan met Michael Wang, who would become the third co-founder of their startup Bowtie.ai, the first AI receptionist for fitness, beauty, and health businesses, which was developed during their time at Cornell Tech. After securing seed funding, which was followed by exponential growth, Bowtie.ai was acquired in 2019 by Mindbody. In the years since, the team has stuck together, successfully founding multiple tech startups, securing millions of dollars in funding for their companies. The trio just announced that it closed a $3.2 million seed round for its company Avina.
“There is so much unrealized potential in the gap between technical talent and entrepreneurial startups in the current tech ecosystem,” Fisher said. “The JCT MBA fostered both the technical understanding required to develop Bowtie.ai as a quality product and the business frameworks needed to take it from an idea to a real company.”
The journey of these three alumni from meeting to launching is just one of many success stories that have emerged from the trailblazing first-of-its-kind JCT MBA program, which provides students with the opportunity to develop technology-driven solutions to client business leads and to create new tech business ideas that grow from concept to launch. The degree program is a partnership between Cornell Tech and the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University.
This June, the JCT MBA program welcomed its tenth cohort, including a record 96 students enrolled in the newest class. Participants in this one-year tech MBA program come from diverse sectors including business services (19%), fintech and financial services (16%), and consulting (12%), with other fields from both the tech sector and other industries such as e-commerce, engineering, manufacturing, and healthcare well represented. And though only 30% of New York City’s tech workforce identify as women, they comprise 42% of this year’s class.
Established in 2014 as the first Tech MBA program in the United States, the JCT MBA has become a leader in feeding the tech industry, nearly tripling enrollment from its initial cohort of 39 students and spinning out dozens of successful startups. Since its formation, the program has inspired elite peer institutions in New York City and across the country to develop their own tech-focused MBA programs.
As more major companies have incorporated tech platforms into everyday operations – for instance, shopping at Amazon or eBay instead of at department stores, watching movies on Netflix or Hulu instead of in theaters, and moving in-person meetings to Zoom and Skype – the intersection of business and tech has gone from a niche concern to one of the chief engines of economic growth. The JCT MBA program provides participants with the knowledge, experience, and professional network needed to more fully understand the startup and tech sectors and lead innovative tech companies in the evolving digital age.
The only one-year tech MBA program offered by an Ivy League institution, the JCT MBA program leverages Cornell Tech’s cross-disciplinary focus, and, in partnership with its Studio curriculum, creates a dynamic ecosystem for MBA, engineering, and law students to collaborate in an entrepreneurial environment in the middle of New York City.
JCT MBA students participate in a range of electives – from “Thinking Like a Venture Capitalist” and “Women Leading in Tech” to “NYC as a Case Study for Urban Tech” and “Law for Non-Lawyers.” This coursework focuses on solving the complex challenges that affect many sectors, providing students with the opportunity to harness complementary areas of expertise and develop holistic products and services in response to real-world issues.
“For the past decade, the JCT MBA Program has successfully prepared the next generation of technology leaders and entrepreneurs by equipping them with specialized skills in high-demand areas such as data analytics, product management, digital marketing, and technology management. The program also provides resources and a supportive ecosystem to help entrepreneurial students launch startups,” said Manoj Thomas, Associate Dean of NYC Initiatives. “As our newest students begin their journey, we look forward to seeing them apply their unique perspectives and skills to bridge technology and business, shaping the future of our society.”
Many of this year’s participants credit the entrepreneurial focus of Cornell Tech’s Studio curriculum, the access to New York City’s tech ecosystem, and the cross-functional courses combining tech and business as the primary reasons for choosing Cornell Tech’s JCT MBA program.
In addition to the one year JCT MBA Program, Cornell University also offers a 1+1 MBA Program, through the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. In that program, students spend their first year in Ithaca focusing on core courses that provide a comprehensive education in business fundamentals, and then transition to the Cornell Tech campus in New York City for their second year. At Cornell Tech, they study the dynamic intersection of business and technology, equipping them with both a strong business foundation and specialized knowledge in tech and innovation.
The future of the global economy is inextricable from tech innovation and the thinkers who are defining what’s next are those in the Johnson Cornell Tech MBA program. As technological advancements and digital transformation rapidly evolve, the program will continue to adapt to meet emerging industry needs and serve as the driving force for fostering leaders who are pioneering tech-driven entrepreneurship.
“My past experience working in industry has equipped me with a data-driven mindset and I hope to advance my career in a role where I have the ownership to make decisions in the context of product development strategy, whether as a VP of Product or as the creator of something new,” said Nicole Su, member of the 2025 class of the JCT MBA program and former software engineer at Cisco and Sift. “The Johnson Cornell Tech MBA program is helping me round out my skill set and provide industry-specific resources to take my career within tech to the next level, putting me in a position where I can make quality decisions to help build good products, drive change, and push boundaries.”
Learn more about the pioneering Johnson Cornell Tech MBA program.
