Hussam
"Sam" Hamadeh
Leslie Esdaile Banks
Jeffrey Sterling
Douglas
Chu
TEACHING & LEARNING
Custom
Builder Has Designs on Future
Powers of Concentration: Wharton's Undergraduate Entrepreneurs
OUTREACH
Between
a Rocket and a Hard Place
Faces of Wharton Entrepreneurship
RESEARCH
The Vanishing $7 Billion:
An Options Approach to Corporate R&D
Personal
Information
Hussam "Sam"
Hamadeh, Founder, Vault Inc.
Company Description: Media
and publishing company focusing on the career market.
Education:
MBA
'97 Wharton, JD '97 Univ. of Pennsylvania Law School, BA in
Economics '92 UCLA
Primary place of residence: Manhattan,
New York City
It would surprise people that I….:
enjoy doing improv and sketch comedy theater in New York for fun.
P.O.V. (Point of View)
I became an entrepreneur because…: I want to control my own destiny.
Best way to respond to criticism and doubters: Tune it out.
Best definition of a successful entrepreneur: Enjoys what he does and at the same time is financially rewarded for it.
Most challenging part of your job: Maintaining a corporate culture of both intensity and fun. Sometimes these can seem mutually exclusive.
Biggest impact of the Wharton School: Feedback and encouragement of Wharton Entrepreneurial Center and Prof. Ian McMillan.
Best memory of your Wharton days. Prof. McMillan telling me to drop his Venture Initiation class because my business plan and concept was already too well developed.
Close calls
How you started your business: I and two partners each scrounged up several thousand dollars, rented an apartment in Manhattan that doubled as our first office, and started the business the day after I graduated from Wharton.
Pivotal moment in growing your business: Securing our first 8-book publishing and distribution deal with Houghton Mifflin. The book advances helped us finance the business in the early months.
Most interesting non-entrepreneurial job offer you've declined: Corporate lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, the most prestigious law firm in the world.
Biggest surprise you encountered growing your business: Working with other people is critical to achieving business goals. Schmoozing and business-related socializing can be a drag when you'd rather be having fun with your friends, but it is necessary.
Most difficult decision you're glad you made: Focusing on profitability.
Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur
Favorite Web site: www.Vault.com
Book that most influenced your thinking: I publish books but I rarely read them.
Favorite activity outside of business: Watching indie films.
Goal still pursuing: Having Vault become the largest career publisher in the world.
Person most influential to your success: My brothers
Person you most admire: My brothers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .