Bridging cultures as business consultants

Olin MBA students (from left) Joanne Miller, Katie Medlin and Melissa Mammel pause on a bridge over the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. The women, along with five other Olin students, spent eight days this spring in the Hungarian capital as members of the first Danube Venture Consulting group meeting with start-up companies looking to expand their businesses to international markets. The group, which included Olin undergraduates along with Professional MBA and MBA students, will spend the summer working on consulting reports for the Hungarian entrepreneurs. “If their project reports are as good as the impression the students made on their clients, I’m sure we’ll be invited back,” said group organizer Clifford Holekamp, senior lecturer in entrepreneurship. A Hungarian venture capital fund hosted the program.