James Tinsley

MBA 2012
  • Hometown: Born in Holland
  • Also raised in Houston, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
  • Pre-MBA: Account Executive at AKQA

James Tinsley

Post Graduation Goals:

I’ll be working at Google as an Account Executive in Sales. My dream job involves the ways consumers and brands communicate with each other.

A favorite GSB memory:

GSB Show - I was the stage manager and had an absolute blast putting on the biggest production of the GSB year!

Sunday
08:30am
Spent last night camping with 3 non-GSB friends in Big Tree National Park in the foothills of the Sierras, about 3 hours east of campus.
09:00am
Pop tarts and yogurt around the campfire.
10:00am
Short hike in the forest admiring the massive redwoods and the carcass of a 300 foot, 1250 year old tree which was felled in the late 1800's.
01:00pm
Drive back to campus with a stop at In-n-Out Burger for lunch (Double Double and a milkshake!).
04:00pm
Get home, unpack, and triage emails. 75 emails in only 24 hours of being off the grid. Key Tasks: - Buy plane tickets and reserve car for 4 of us (GSBers) wandering around Europe over Thanksgiving break. - Respond to several emails regarding Student Association IT Committee issues. - Reply to parents about Christmas plans. - Fill out STEP Social Events form for things to do when Chinese Students are here in January. - Set up meeting with Entrepreneur to interview him about his startup for Formation of New Ventures class.
07:00pm
Catch-up dinner with a friend at NoLa's in downtown Palo Alto to hear about the preschool she founded. Always interesting to hear about founding and growth stories for non-tech companies! This is always with me, it governs my life!
09:30pm
Senate agenda emailed out.
09:45pm
Create slides on the electric car industry in China to send out to my group, respond to yet more emails, check the SA Senate agenda to see if I have to prepare anything for that meeting scheduled for Monday at noon. Debate on Facebook as to whether the Cardinal has a shot at getting to the National Championship football game. Set up a few dinners for the week with friends. Late-breaking emails: - Do I want to join a startup? Probably not tonight... - Set up next meeting of the IT Committee - Review the results of the SA Student Survey
Tuesday
07:15am
Up, quick exercise in my room, shower and off to campus after sending an email to the GSB show directors reminding everyone to wear their show t-shirts to promote tonight's GSB Show meeting.
08:00am
Drive to campus, gorgeous view down Palm Drive!
08:15am
Just enough time to grab chai and a croissant from Coupa Cafe.
08:30am
Phone call with classmate Shaka Bahadu (foreground) and Rahim Fazal, chairman of Involver. We talk to him about the founding of his company for our Formation of New Ventures paper (due next Tuesday). Breakfast while conference calling.
09:30am
Just enough time to triage email before class, and print my presentation slides and notes for this afternoon's 'Electric Auto' session
10:00am
'Formation of New Ventures.' Today's focus is on Venture Capital structuring and Angel investment
12:00pm
Final session of 'Global Electric Auto Industry.' My group is presenting on the EV market in China from the perspective of a new entrant. Today's class will have each of the three groups present on their areas of focus (Europe, US, China), then we'll have a general discussion about the course (this is the final session), and give feedback on improvements for future iterations.
03:00pm
Meeting with group to discuss Mongol Rally - next summer's ridiculous adventure from London to Ulanbataar in Mongolia.
03:30pm
Finally got the Google Offer Letter!!
04:00pm
Catch up on email, key tasks: - Email CMC to discuss negotiating my summer employer's Full-Time Offer Letter. - Set up next meeting of Student Association IT Committee.
06:30pm
Social Dinner with MBA1 Clara Siegel at CoHo in the center of campus to check in on how her year is going and offer advice.
08:00pm
GSB Show EAP event. Get MBA1's excited about the GSB Show.
09:00pm
Meet with GSB Show leadership to discuss promotional material for the Student Activities fair next week.
09:30pm
Stop by MBA2 friend's pass-down house to hang out/catch the end of dinner.
10:30pm
Finish the night with a quick beer at home with roommate David Lu and friend.
Wednesday
09:30am
Overslept and had to sprint to campus for my 10am meeting. Rushing to campus for a 10 AM meeting.
10:00am
Met with Grace Yokoi in the Career Management Center to discuss my job offer from Google and talk about negotiating strategies.
10:45am
Answering emails over breakfast in the Arbuckle Dining Pavilion.
11:30am
Student Association meeting.
01:00pm
Playing Golf with Mary Ellen Player.
06:00pm
Tech Club EAP event.
09:00pm
Concert in San Francisco at Madrone.