Recorded June 22, 202505:10 -- Overview of Dave's path

07:50 -- Dave's big decision

13:10 -- How Ivey defined success

22:15 -- ...and then the pandemic came

27:30 -- Dave learning about himself

32:10 -- Challenges relating

35:10 -- On finding a new community

45:00 -- What would the other path have looked like?

53:10 -- London to Barcelona

55:45 -- Finding a new home that feels more like home

1:01:20 -- Did Dave know things would turn out this way?

1:06:45 -- How Ivey's rat race distorts students' goals

1:10:13 -- Dave discovers Bryan's book

1:15:30 -- The declining appeal of universities

----I chat with Dave Tang (former Ivey HBA) about how he managed two major life and career pivots in his 20s after graduation. The last time I spoke to Dave was over a decade ago, and at the time it was already clear the path he was on wasn't the right one. In this episode, he discusses what unfolded next.----Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

Recorded June 13, 2025

I chat with Tony Wu (former Ivey HBA and finishing his MBA/MPA at Wharton) about how he navigated the pressures and intense competition as an undergraduate at Ivey, and what motivated his different career choices so far. Tony also shares how a personal loss during his time at Ivey shaped his values and perspective on life.

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

---01:48 -- Overview of Tony's path

07:37 -- How Ivey locks students in

11:27 -- How Ivey helped, and how it didn't

15:03 -- B-school: A world of seemingly few choices

16:27 -- What Tony would change about it

19:42 -- Getting away from the "one track mind"

30:47 -- How he would change education

37:12 -- Why he's choosing climate over education

44:47 -- What would a world of purpose look like?

47:57 -- Asia has much less freedom

49:49 -- Is there a generational shift?

52:38 -- How do we deal with lack of purpose in the collective?

58:17 -- The "other" Tony's path

1:00:47 -- How Tony thinks about his path

1:09:22 -- Would any path have been fine?

1:12:13 -- How to decide your path?

1:14:44 -- How Tony makes his pivotal decisions

Recorded May 7, 2025

Will Christodoulou (former Ivey MSc and one of the founders of Cyder) and I connect again to finish our conversation. In this second part of our chat, Will talks about what he did and didn't like about his experience at Ivey, why more of his classmates didn't pursue entrepreneurship, and the diminishing returns of money.

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Learn more about Will's startup here: https://www.getcyder.com/

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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00:21 -- Why weren't Will's classmates more interested in entrepreneurship?

04:31 -- B-school recruiting is biased to big corporate paths

05:27 -- Not knowing what's out there breeds apprehension

06:48 -- School is nothing like the real world

07:40 -- We train students to be addicted to structure

08:49 -- Community helps us deal with self-doubt

12:53 -- Will's path may not be for everyone

13:41 -- What Will liked and didn't like about Ivey

17:36 -- What surprised Bryan about Wall Street

21:04 -- What if more people did what Will did?

24:18 -- The diminishing returns of money

25:51 -- Financial constraints can be in the mind of the beholder

26:40 -- Most people are too risk averse

28:51 -- Advice Will would give his younger self

33:27 -- Does success mean a life of extreme highs and lows?

33:02 -- Does spirituality help manage the lows?

35:46 -- What Will would be doing if not Cyder

37:39 -- What Bryan learned about the importance of culture

40:18 -- Good leadership is more than using a stick