Writing my “What Matters Most to Me” application essay was a long process. After many starts and stops, I eventually landed on the theme of the journey mattering more than the destination, a principle I still deeply believe in. However, when I recently reread my essay from late 2006, I realized that there was a glaring omission.
Editor’s Note
In this ongoing Stanford Business series, we ask Stanford GSB alumni to reflect on how their worldviews have changed in the years since they earned their degrees.
Saamra Mekuria-Grillo, MBA ’09, is the CEO and founder of Kindred, the co-founder of Formation Ventures, and the creator of the TED Talk “Yes, You Can Be an Entrepreneur Too.”
There are many reasons why someone might want to attend the GSB — the proximity to Silicon Valley, the expertise of the professors, the weather. As I think about the most enduring feature of my experience there, though, it has been the people I met and the relationships I built.
My classmates have become some of my closest friends, colleagues, and mentors. They’ve supported me through every stage of my post-GSB career, through marriage and parenthood, and they have brought more wisdom, perspective, and joy into my life than I ever could have imagined. They have quite literally journeyed with me, from our travels to New Zealand, Peru, and Guatemala while at the GSB to the trips we now take with our families.
This is the piece that I missed when reflecting on what mattered most to me almost 20 years ago — the people who had been the fuel for my journey to get to the GSB and those I would meet and learn from during and after my time there.
When I look back through the lens of people and relationships, my story comes into sharper focus. Every path I’ve taken has been made richer and more fulfilling because of the people I’ve walked alongside. They have challenged me, cheered me on, and shared information and resources that have made me more effective and successful in almost every aspect of my professional and personal lives. From getting my GSB summer internship as a consultant (and the countless hours of case interview prep they helped with) to sharing founder advice and crucial connections as I took the leap to become an entrepreneur, I truly can’t imagine what my life would be like without these fellow travelers.
As the founder of a social capital–focused startup, I think a lot about who has access to a group of supportive friends and colleagues and who doesn’t. I think about how those who are entering the workforce today — facing the slow recovery from a pandemic, a stagnant job market, and an epidemic of loneliness — can build the type of social capital that we are so privileged to have had the GSB curate for us.
Every time I reach out to a classmate or share a request in our class WhatsApp group, I am stunned by the generous humans who give their time and expertise so willingly. Finding a way to pay that spirit forward to those who are just beginning their own journeys is what matters most to me on this leg of my own.
For media inquiries, visit the Newsroom.
