Morgan Moncada (MBA ’23)
Matt Hartsog (MBA ’23)
Matt Hartsog (MBA ’23) and Morgan Moncada (MBA ’23) speak about their experiences juggling different priorities as dual-degree students.
Matt Hartzong:
Tell us more about your background and what inspired you to apply for the MS/MBA program.
I grew up in West Virginia and graduated from the Naval Academy in 2011. Having spent close to a decade in the US Navy and enjoyed several deployments abroad, I was fascinated by how energy and technology play a massive role in different functions of society all over the world. They literally shape who has access to opportunity, in most places, and who does not. Energy was also very close to me having grown up with many friends and family in the fossil fuel industry, especially coal. I could see the potential technology could have in shaping the career I wanted to pursue—Entrepreneurship. Maybe not immediately, but I do see myself going down that path maybe two-three career steps from now.
Accessibility to an environment that spoke the language of tech and entrepreneurship is what drew me to apply to the HBS MS/MBA program. Witnessing the entrepreneurial bent of mind of my classmates is one of the more rewarding parts of the program.
Do you know everyone in the MS/MBA cohort? Is that relationship different from what you experience with your section?
The MS/MBA cohort is a very tight group of thirty people. A big commonality that characterizes folks doing the MS/MBA is just how everyone approaches problem solving and also that we have self-selected, for some reason, to take a lot of engineering courses. Despite being in the same cohort, everyone brings in different perspectives from different parts of engineering (CS, energy, sustainability) which creates a really well-designed cohort that can leverage a lot of strengths discipline-wise. I am also very close to my section (Section C!)!
How do you split time between HBS section mates and the MS/MBA cohort?
I try to engage and be active with both groups. I prioritize based on what makes sense at a particular point of time. HBS does a good job with programming. You show up early and take courses for MS/MBA, before the RC year begins. Second year is more challenging—there are classes that are for MS and different for MBA. There are lots of classes that I want to pursue, and it is a tough choice to make.
Do you ever experience FOMO? How do you cope with it?
One of the things I have grown to love about HBS writ large is that there are limitless opportunities and rabbit holes that you can pursue. Two schools bring double the opportunities which forces you to prioritize. I have family and being a dad and husband are very important to me and set boundaries accordingly. I usually block off 6-8 pm so I can do dinner and bedtime as a family unit. I felt that really prioritizing and being diligent about it helps because opportunities are truly endless and will pull you in so many directions. I hope my classmates forgive me with my resultantly unprepared comments in class!
What are some of the benefits of being in both degrees?
Being a part of the MS/MBA cohort enabled me to be a part of a group where people are exploring very different things. People are focused on different aspects of technology like AI, space, Web 3.0, energy storage etc. It is cool that you are only a text message/slack away from understanding very technical fields. Another advantage is that if you are interested in founding a company, you have a lot of people in the class to help you out and so many resources available. We must have 10-15 reps at design thinking for different company ideas before we graduate.
Do you feel you missed out on anything? Any regrets?
One regret—I would’ve definitely got a Costco membership sooner.
Who parties harder—MBA or MS students?
Both! I would love to see section C and the cohort party together! I am surprised that it hasn’t come up as a party theme yet.
Any moments/memories that you find significant?
Showing up in early August for the MS classes was definitely a highlight. The design thinking course with Professor Robert Verganti was amazing. I was exposed to a whole other level of thinking and was blown away. Experiencing that with the rest of the cohort was one of the most rewarding experiences.
The TVI course from last January was another highlight. In the first part, we were taught different ways to code, design, or engineer different products and then developed the products in the second half. Groups worked on projects ranging from wearable devices that communicated the American Sign Language words/letters someone would sign, while another designed a product that could allow those with visual impairments to run. My team designed a foot insole that provides immediate feedback to the wearer to reinforce better run technique based on the runner’s foot strike. We developed the product in the second half and, believe it or not, it actually worked.
Morgan Moncada:
Tell us more about your background and what inspired you to apply for the MS/MBA program.
I grew up with two physician parents and two disabled siblings, so I was exposed to medicine and health at an early age. As an adolescent I was particularly fascinated by the mind-body connection (e.g., how our mental state affects the hormones we produce which then affects our organ systems—for example, stress and cortisol resulting in inflammation) and regenerative medicine (e.g., regenerating damaged tissues and even regrowing limbs). I studied Biology as an undergraduate at Stanford, completing my honors thesis on stem cell differentiation factors, and I anticipated becoming a doctor like my parents. However, I discovered I wasn’t passionate about clinical care—or the path to get there—but rather the novelty and creativity of science entrepreneurship. I explored this through VC, working on deal sourcing and diligence for a small office fund, which exposed me to biotech startups in the biopharma and synthetic biology spaces. A VC mentor of mine suggested I join one of these companies to get my hands dirty building rather than investing. I followed her advice, joining Trellis Bioscience to help with fundraising and business development of their rare antibody therapeutics against cancer, viruses, and drug-resistant bacteria.
After this, I joined Aromyx, a synthetic biology data startup digitizing taste and smell through a bioengineered nose and tongue on a chip. I worked there for four years, covering fundraising, sales, operations, and product management roles. It was there that I recognized my personal strength as a bridge between scientific and business mindsets. I also realized there was more for me to learn in both domains, and when seeking out graduate programs, Harvard’s joint MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences program was a perfect fit. It almost seemed like this program was made for me and what I wanted to do with my career. I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of it and the broader HBS community.
Do you know everyone in the MS/MBA cohort? Is that relationship different from what you experience with your section?
Yes, I know and love everyone in the MS/MBA Biotech cohort. As the second cohort ever, we only have 15 students, which is about half the size of the MS/MBA Engineering cohort. This small size enabled us to create intimate friendships with one another after only a few short weeks of our first course, NextGen Biotechnology, which we took in August prior to the RC fall semester.
I would say my relationship with my MS/MBA cohort is like my relationship with my section in that both feel like families. Like my section, in the MS/MBA cohort we share the different dimensions of ourselves simultaneously whether that is our deep personal stories, unbridled career ambitions, or party alter-egos. The ability to be our authentic, multi-faceted amazing and flawed selves with one another only engenders further authenticity within us individually and as a group. Beyond this, however, my relationship with the MS/MBA Biotech cohort has a deeper layer of affinity because we have unique HBS and career experiences. In addition to two Biotech classes during the RC year we have split science and MBA classes our EC year, many of which we will be taking together. We also share very similar career journeys and have helped one another prepare for interviews, network for jobs, and negotiate job offers. Harvard’s joint MS/MBA Biotechnology degree is new in the life sciences, and we are pioneers in charting the course for where it will take us.
How do you split time between HBS section mates and the MS/MBA cohort?
The MS/MBA program was designed elegantly to bring us together for an intimate class before the RC year (NextGen Biotech) to spark relationships and then let us have our own independent section experiences which made up the bulk of our time the first year. During the first few hectic RC months, I described the MS/MBA cohort as my safety blanket when we met up between classes to commiserate about the chaos. Throughout the year, our MS/MBA cohort met bi-weekly for required seminars with scientist entrepreneurs. During winter break we took Biotech Data Science and the Life Science Investing SIP together. We also independently arranged various trips and retreats. This blend of sprinkled MS/MBA on top of the main section entree in the first year allowed me to seamlessly dip into and out of my MS/MBA and section experiences. I knew that my MS/MBA cohort classmates were having their own section roasts, going to the same 80s party, and preparing for the same exams.
For my EC year, I anticipate the MS/MBA cohort taking a front seat. Because we have common career goals, members of my cohort are in many of the same classes, whether that’s Lab to Market or Translational Stem Cells. I look forward to engaging with them again in class, working on problem sets together, and preparing for careers after HBS.
Do you ever experience FOMO? How do you cope with it?
Regarding social experiences, I generally don’t experience FOMO because 1) I recognize there are simply too many opportunities to possibly attend them all and 2) for every person that’s attending an event, or traveling, there is another person at home working on their goals or self-development in other ways. HBS is a choose-your-own adventure novel and no one’s story is better than anyone else’s.
I have had some inkling of FOMO regarding EC class selection because MS/MBAs (both engineering and biotech) are limited to fewer units of both science and business classes to fit both degrees in two years. For the MS/MBA Biotech students, this means we do not get to take all the MBA or science classes that we want. For example, I don’t have room to fit in other MBA classes I’d like to take like Authentic Leadership Development, 2032: 5 Technologies that Will Reshape the World in the Next Decade, or Launching Tech Ventures.
What are some of the benefits of being in both degrees?
Professionally, the joint degree program has opened so many doors. While not an MD or PhD, the MS Biotech degree conveys to the scientific community that we speak a common language. In tandem, the MBA conveys potential to translate scientific innovation into commercial benefits for society. The degree has helped me establish leadership positions in both the Nucleate Biotech Accelerator program and HBS Health Care Club. Most importantly, it has given me my MS/MBA cohort of amazing friends I’ll have for the rest of my life.
Do you feel you missed out on anything? Any regrets?
I’m fortunate to say I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on anything (besides a few classes). This has been a wonderful program in every way, within the MS/MBA Cohort and within my amazing Section C (We’re “SecC and we know it”). The only regret I have is not prioritizing sleep more my RC year; hopefully, EC year will be different.
Who parties harder—MBA or MS students?
Our experiences are so blended that it’s probably the same intensity for MBA and MS students. There is a reinforcing virtuous—or vicious, depending on how you look at it—cycle between the programs.
Any moments/memories that you find significant?
August 2, 2021—The first day of the MS Biotech NextGen Biotechnology course when our department chairs told us that no technology would have a greater impact on humanity and the world than biotechnology, and due to the pandemic, for the first time ever, everyone has their attention on biotechnology.
Our RC Labor Day retreat to Cape Cod, MA. We rented a cute little house, had amazing lobster rolls, and played too many rounds of “Never have I ever.”
Our RC Retreat to Acadia where we hiked Precipice Trail. It was quite harrowing with multiple vertical ascents where we literally had to climb at certain points and with multiple places where we could have fallen to unpleasant ends. Fortunately, we all made it!
Mat Hartzog is an MS/MBA dual degree candidate from the class of 2023. Before HBS, he spent his career in the US Navy. He grew up in West Virginia and spent this summer interning with BCG in their Boston office.
Morgan Moncada has spent the last seven years working in VC and with biotechnology startups to translate cutting-edge research into commercial opportunities. He spent two years in business development at Trellis Biosciences and led operations at Aromyx. He is pursuing his dual interests in business and biotechnology through HBS’s joint MBA and MS Biotech program.
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