Michael Milbank MBA ‘11
It is 1pm on Sunday 11th April, 2010. In Anglers Park, Danville VA, four makeshift pitches have played host to a fascinating spectacle of rugby and the final matches are underway, bringing the 30th Duke MBA Rugby Tournament to a close.
By Nikhil Agarwal ‘10, MBA in Global Management
Yes you read it right Starting from Scrap. The author of the new book Stephen Hartwell Greer spoke to students on campus today.
Mr. Stephen shared stories about how he left a job and bought a one way ticket to Honk Kong and ended up setting up his own successful scrap metal trading business in Hong Kong and countries around the world. A sentiment that would resonate well with a Thunderbird. He built up the business to take it upto $ 250 million in sales before selling it to a prominent Australian steel company.
He shared various incidents from his journey as an entrepreneur which I thought were classic for an ambitious go-getter. The stories about dealing with his own employees cheating him in Mexico or being threatened in Thailand by competitors not before printing out pseudo Russian visting cards to pass of as Russian kept me gripped and wish he could have stayed longer.
He also gave out a free copy of his book for us to read. Personally as a person with experience in starting a business in the scrap metal trading this gave me new perspective of the industry. Someday I might write a book too maybe on “10-things not to do while starting your own business”.
Thank you Mr. Stephen Hartwell Greer for coming out and spending time with us and good luck for the rest of your trip.
Ranked #1 in the World