October 22, 2014

by Allison Murphy

Wharton's Undergraduate Consulting Club hosted their fourth annual Consulting Conference on Friday, Oct. 17, at the University of Pennsylvania. The Drexel Entrepreneur Association (DEA) received an email asking if we'd like to participate. Matthew Schreffler, president of the DEA, put together the team with other executive board members, including Alexander Prus, Zachary Moore and me. He thought we had a very well rounded team and each of us brought unique skill sets to the table.

A week before the conference we received the case. A Spanish company wanted to introduce their product to the U.S. market and we had to advise them as to how. It was overwhelming at first, but we were prepared to work hard to come up with the best solution. Unlike Penn and most other schools who had just finished midterms, we had a fully packed week of studying for our midterms, plus preparing for the competition. We met every day for a couple of hours and worked independently even more. We sent our presentation on Thursday night and showed up on Friday in our suits, ready to go. 

After the first keynote from Eric Navales from L.E.K. Consulting, we went into a classroom and presented to the judges. My favorite line was: "We've developed a dynamic strategic entry for a product launch in the U.S.," introduced by Matt and closed by Zach. I didn't realize how prepared we were for the presentation itself. From our Business 101 classes to our Business Presentation classes, each of us was so confident and proud of our solution, we delivered a great presentation.

The team worked so well together.

“From the beginning we knew our strong backgrounds with presentations and case studies from business classes would give us an advantage, and I am glad we decided to play to our strengths,” Matt said.

We made it to the finals, with three teams from schools in Toronto. So, we were the only U.S. team left in the competition! We presented again in front of all our competitors and answered some tough questions from the judges.

When the winners were announced, we were so proud that our hard work was recognized. We were thrilled to represent Drexel with a 3rd place finish!

As Zach said: “The consultation that we presented came from our business development experience through the entrepreneurship resources at Drexel.”

How Entrepreneurship Helped

As board members of the DEA, we have to know everything about entrepreneurship at Drexel so we can make the most of it and answer any questions others have. We work closely with the Baiada Institute, the Close School, and LeBow faculty. We initiate workshops, attend, and most importantly, learn. Last year we held a workshop on business presenting. In our business classes we work with teams to solve problems and present our solutions. We already had experience working with a real client and working with startups helped us understand business planning and methods of execution.

I don’t think too many of the other competitors had these experiences. I felt so prepared and experienced, even against Ivy League schools and international competitors.

To receive an award for the effort we put in was incredible.