Zulma Guzman MBA 2012
Zulma Guzman, a trained economist, has founded a venture wholly new to Bogotá, Colombia: real estate redevelopment and gentrification. With Berkeley’s strength in entrepreneurship and socially responsible business, and Columbia’s expertise in finance and real estate—not to mention her 70 classmates’ broadly diverse backgrounds, interests, and cultures—she hopes to find the perfect combination to help her rebuild her city and successfully bring investors to Latin America. “I have all the experience in sustainable development and in government issues, but I don’t have the business education, the business tools, to make my endeavor really successful. I will get that from this program.” “I want to present my business to a community of investors abroad and show them what this business is really about. I cannot do that without business tools. I can show them how nice it will be for the city and its inhabitants, but not what a good investment it will be for them.” “I wanted a program that has a focus on entrepreneurship, which Berkeley does. Combine that with Columbia, which is very important in the financial sector. The two schools together are a winning ticket.” “What I really want in life is to have a business that is socially responsible, that while being a profitable business also does good for our society, and Berkeley is very engaged in that area.” “In Accounting, the way the professor explained things was water-clear. After the very first block, I had a meeting with our accountant, and, when I looked around the reports she presented, everything was making more sense. Before, it had been just blurry numbers. Now I’m getting the whole idea, the purpose of those analyses.” “The professors are extraordinary. They present material that is exactly what we need to know, and they share their knowledge in a way that we can clearly understand it.” “We don’t have venture capitalists in Colombia. Through this program, I’m going to gain access to such investors, and, with what I’ve learned, I’m going to show them investment opportunities in my country. We’ll speak the same language.” “My class is amazing, people from all industries, the financial sector, biotechnology... really different backgrounds, different ways of living, different interests—from singing to food and wine—so many different experiences. I know I’m going to learn a lot from them. I’m learning from them already.” “Everybody is really hungry for knowledge. Everybody wants to learn a lot from this program and is willing to sacrifice a lot to gain a lot.” “This program is one of the best in the world, and the students are very fortunate to be here, which I believe comes with responsibility. With my new knowledge, I want produce real results in the area of social entrepreneurship, which will improve the standard of living in my city and cities all over the world.” [+] to top |
President, Urbia SAS, Bogotá, Colombia