2021 Best & Brightest Business Major: Micah Olsen, University of Houston (Bauer)

Micah Olsen

University of Houston, C.T. Bauer College of Business

A volatile and action-oriented personality with the worst multi-tasking skills known to mankind.”

Fun fact about yourself: I was homeschooled.

Hometown: Swampscott, Massachusetts

High School: Olsen Academy and college dual enrollment

Major: Entrepreneurship & Sales

Minor: Finance – investments

Favorite Business Course: Entrepreneurial Capital by Dr. Ed Blair

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

  • Undergraduate Student Representative, AACSB International Accreditation
  • Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship
  • Wolff Scholar Scholarship
  • Bauer Business Honors Program
  • Beta Gamma Sigma
  • Key Account Manager, Program for Excellence in Selling
  • Ted Bauer Leadership Certificate Program
  • College Ambassador, Bauer Ambassadors
  • President, Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization
  • Jack & Greta Stalsby Scholarship Endowment – Merit-based scholarship

Where have you interned during your college career?

  • Summer 2020: Emerging Technology Specialist, Dell EMC – Remote work from Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Summer 2019-2020: Sales Representative, Vivint Smart Home – Northeast Texas and Northern Louisiana

Where will you be working after graduation? Veteran Sales Representative, Vivint Smart Home

What company do you admire most? Zappos. They have the best customer service in ecommerce and include a joke of the day while you wait on the line. Their priority is the customer. When Zappos made a underpricing mistake on an expensive shoe model, they could have refused granting the orders to customers at the discounted price and would have been right in doing so; however, Zappos chose what was best for their customers and shipped the shoes anyway. Although this tough decision lost them some profits in the short term, the value of their brand is what truly matters, and they have been rewarded with loyalty consequently.

Who is your favorite professor? Dr. Ed Blair

In his lecture on “How to Become a Millionaire,” he taught us the action steps that we, as college students, could take now to easily ensure we were millionaires by our 50s through the miracle of compound interest (an exciting topic for 30+ ambitious entrepreneurs).

Soon after that class, Dr. Blair and I had a meeting in which he laid out my various investment options: ETFs, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and low cost mutual funds. I am still investing (not saving) regularly to this day.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Keep your GPA high and your reputation higher!

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? Personal development outlasts career and academic development.

One of my favorite quotes goes like this:

“Work harder on yourself than you do on your career. If you work hard on your career you can make a living, if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.”

– Jim Rohn

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? Prioritize friendships. Grades matter, but friendships are longer-lasting, more fulfilling, and what make life worth living. No one has done it by themselves. Of course, each high achiever works incredibly hard, but opportunities from others is what accelerates success.

Similarly, never “burn a bridge” with a friend; stay on good terms with everyone, you never know who will be on the other side of the table someday.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I am most proud of being a member of the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship. This program has changed my life. We focus as much on the head: accounting, sales, and operations skills, as we do the heart: integrity, character, and love. Many elite programs focus on the importance of competence which is a good way to make a successful organization. However, by giving unconditional love to students, they learn to love each other as they’ve been loved which makes them work harder and build skills faster. Happy to say, I have 36 amazing brothers and sisters that I will be graduating with this May.

Which classmate do you most admire? Adam Lipnicki

On the Birkman Personality Test, Adam is deep in the red quadrant of the four colors which stands for action. Most people like to plan and think things out as much as possible before acting which there is certainly a place for – I am a massive scheduler and very goal-oriented. However, there is a point where planning turns into procrastination and from there to analysis paralysis; the amount of data to be considered for any decision is infinite.

Adam does not use his time planning, he instead sets one grand, large goal and spends the rest of his time acting on ways to reach it. “Fortune favors the bold” and Adam has the type of bravery it takes to be first or keep pressing until he is first in something.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My brother, Mark Olsen

If I could pick both my brothers I would. Mark is one of the most disciplined and focused people I know. It’s funny, often once something is in his head, a military airstrike couldn’t sway his attention! He graduated top of his engineering class in college and is a Ph.D. candidate at a top 5 engineering school. His achievements in college motivated me to strive for my own. Most importantly, he showcased the importance of building good relationships with everyone in your community.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

  • Protect 100+ families at Vivint Smart Home this summer
  • Lead an organization that emphasizes the importance of listening

What are your hobbies?

  • Playing piano and guitar between studying
  • Reading business and old self-improvement books
  • Checking off national parks, attractions, and states on road trips

What made Micah such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2021?

“The Bauer College of Business has two of the most highly-regarded programs in the nation. The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship (Ranked #1 under grad program in the Nation for the past two years by the Princeton Review) and the Program for Excellence in Selling. Micah Olsen was selected to join both of these programs and would become a leader in both. Micah is double majoring in Entrepreneurship and Sales with a minor in Finance and has excelled in every program he has joined. While in the Sales Program, Micah was Key Account Team Leader achieving 110% of goal. While in the Wolff Center, Micah was selected as the CEO of a “Dream Team,” a group of five students that develop visions and goals to propel them while in school and create solid post graduate plans. Micah has been a leader inside and outside the classroom bringing value to the elite programs that he led as well as building strong relationships with mentors and various stakeholders of the university.”

David Cook
Executive Director
Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship
Bauer College of Business

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