Canisius MBA

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My name is Stefano Grossi, I am 2000 and 2001 graduate of
Canisius College with BA in Economics / International Relations and MBA with a concentration in financial analysis.

After graduation, my first job was as a temp at First Niagara bank in
Lockport. I was assigned the task of assisting with the reconciliation of accounts after two separate bank acquisitions. I found the project work exciting specifically because I was working with top execs and outside consultants from a Big 5 firm. The deadlines were strict and the pace was fast. However, these projects ended after a few short months and I found myself doing short stints in various departments including the mail room, finance department, and accounting. After 4 months I had experienced a unique perspective of working at all the different hierarchical levels of the organization and I had an amazing revelation - while the top execs breathed, ate, and slept their careers, the workers in the mail room were conversing about the sale on instant mash potatoes at Tops, the local grocery store, and what they were going to make for dinner that evening. I realized that the only difference between the elite top executives and the carefree mail room workers was a simple choice or perhaps a different set of values.

I spent the next 6 months working in the accounting department filing what might as well have been “TPS Reports” for 30 minutes a day and the rest of the time pretending to do work in between my 10 to 5 schedule and two and a half hour daily lunch break…I honestly don’t know how I never got fired… but I do know that I was bored out of my mind. I don’t recall if I quit or just stopped going to work but my younger brother, who was in high school at the time, started a landscaping company called J & M - and I went to work with him. I spent the summer outdoors, working under the sun, getting my hands dirty, eating delicious fruit, and turning neglected suburban jungles into Japanese style gardens. It was good times but the fact that I had just graduated with an MBA a year prior and yet to find a “real job” was disconcerting.

The
Buffalo job market was tough and it seemed everywhere I interviewed, I was turned down or told to try my hand at sales. My perception of Sales at the time was equivalent to a used car salesman. I was stubbornly seeking to be a financial analyst but to no avail decided to try other markets including New York and

Miami. I figured these markets would be better for someone with my ability to speak three languages and worldly culture. I went to

New York and had some interviews but nothing materialized. Fifteen months after graduation the only opportunities I had was in Insurance sales, so I decided to try out Miami - I had never been to Miami but I knew it was by the beach.

My best friend, George, from 3rd grade insisted that I stop in Atlanta and check out the city on my way to
Miami.

Atlanta? Yeah right, there is no way I’m going to live in the Country, I thought.

I still remember vividly driving into
Atlanta when the gorgeous skyline opened up. “Holy shit, this is a real city” Apart from the beauty of the skyline, I felt something when I saw the city, I felt like the city was alive with opportunity. “Something big is going to happen here!”

I arrived in
Atlanta January 5th, 2003 in my salt covered car filled with nothing but some clothes and books for company. George lived in a revived part of town that was all old warehouses turned into lofts. It was the coolest bachelor pad I had ever seen. I crashed on his couch and started looking for employment online and in the paper. I found a posting for a start up company that was going to specialize in International Management Consulting projects and was looking to hire someone with my exact qualifications. Coincidentally, I was the first person to respond to the ad, with my subject title that read “Hire Me”, out of over 600 respondents that would follow in the next 48 hours. The candidate pool was reduced to 100 and after four separate interviews they had decided to hire me. I couldn’t believe it! One year in Buffalo and nothing, four weeks in

Atlanta and I land the job of my dreams. The next 5 months I continued to live on George’s futon cuddling with his dog Dominic while developing my power point skills, managing the company IT, serving as liaison to

Latin America and basically doing anything the two partners needed. They nicknamed me “Sherpa” – the porters who assist mountaineers in the

Himalayas. Our pinnacle came when we landed a big project with Microsoft in

Mexico City, but the entire experience was short lived. My employment lasted a total of 10 months before the company could no longer afford to pay my salary of $36,000 a year. I learned that trying to sell intangible services like management consulting is no easy task.

During my time at the afore mentioned company, one of my delegated tasks had been to manage the development of the company website. I was put in contact with a local programmer, named David, that one of the partners had met. My job was not only to manage the development of the website but to first convince David to do the website for no cost. Well, he and I met and had great conversation and I listened all day as he showed me everything he did and after we had come to an agreement we started to work on the company website. It was a brilliant experience; I mean this guy was a programming whiz who was able to manifest my creative thoughts and words into tangible results in the form of a website. I literally remember feeling at this point that anything was possible, and the best part, unlike real estate or other types of construction - the only cost here was our time.

After I had lost my job, David and I kept in touch, and somehow someway we started working together on a regular basis and after about a month he asked me to be his business partner. David would handle design and production while I handled the sales, marketing, and accounting. The next 3 years was a roller coaster of learning adventure working out of our homes and numerous coffee shops. We managed to grow the business 100% year after year but after 3 years it was becoming more evident that he and I had a different set of values and in late 2006 we split and I formed Grossi Web.

Grossi Web is an eclectic fusion of my love for world cultures and my passion with the internet and its dynamic methods of communication. Grossi Web is a search marketing company that helps market U.S.-based companies in emerging and international markets. I feel like I have put myself in situations where I have been forced to learn and implement that which was taught to me during my Canisius MBA. Not just one subject like finance, but all areas, from accounting to human resources. My business is not only growing exponentially faster than ever, but I m also having the most fun.

After writing all this I see what a fool I was just yesterday. I had a professor in high school that taught us that the meaning of sophomore was “a wise fool.” That has always remained with me till this day. My message to all you future business school grads is to truly find something you love and seek a company you would love to work for; a company with people leading healthy and happy lives. Drop any preconceptions of where you will end up except for interviews where they ask you…”so where do you see yourself in 10 years” and enjoy your time.

As Lao Tzu said, “The Journey is the Reward”

About Grossi Web Consulting
Grossi Web Consulting is a full service Global Internet Marketing agency. By delivering sound business processes merged with technological creativity, Grossi Web Consulting helps clients develop and implement profitable online strategies. Grossi Web Consulting’s global internet marketing services range from complete full service marketing agency support to individual projects such as Web Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click Management (PPC), Interactive TV Advertisements, eCommerce Development, Custom Application Development and more. For more information on Grossi Web Consulting, visit www.GrossiWeb.com or call 1.888.Grossi1.

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