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Everything I Learned at Harvard Business School in 90 Minutes

Tiger Sisters

About this episode

Check out our matcha brand, Sisters Matcha at www.sistersmatcha.com 

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Not every lesson from Harvard Business School came from a case study.


In this special Remix episode, we're bringing together some of the most valuable lessons Jean learned during her time at HBS.  From strategy and marketing to leadership and networking, these are the frameworks and mental models that continue to shape how we make decisions today.


Tune in for in-depth breakdowns on:

✅ Porter's Five Forces and how companies build lasting competitive advantages

✅ Why the best brands don't try to serve everyone

✅ The marketing framework behind companies like Warby Parker

✅ How Netflix uses testing, customer feedback, and iteration to build better products

✅ The finance concepts every business leader should understand

✅ The difference between revenue, profit, cash flow, and valuation

✅ Four leadership styles (and when each one works best)

✅ How networking creates opportunities long before you need them

✅ The leadership lessons that can shape your career, team, and company culture


Timestamps:

00:00: Introduction & Why We're Revisiting These HBS Lessons

02:06: Overview of Parts 1 and 2 and what to expect 

04:52: Strategy 101: Porter's Five Forces Explained

06:00: Starbucks Case Study: Competitive Advantage

10:50: Cost Leadership vs. Differentiation

13:12: Sisters Matcha & Building a Premium Brand

15:08: Marketing 101: STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning)

15:42: Warby Parker's Billion-Dollar Marketing Strategy

20:40: The Rise of Conscious Consumer Brands

21:52: Product Development & Innovation

27:20: Revenue vs. Profit

28:56: Understanding Unit Economics

30:32: Runway, Forecasting & Valuation Metrics

32:48: Jean & Cherie’s reflections on Part 1

33:17: Revisiting the Starbucks Case Study

38:12: Blank Street Coffee & Gen Z Consumer Trends

39:28: Jean reflects on Threat of Substitutes

41:55: Part 2: Leadership & Networking Lessons from HBS

43:33: The 4 Major Leadership Styles

43:55: Servant Leadership (Howard Schultz & Starbucks)

48:23: Transformational Leadership (Steve Jobs & Apple)

51:20: Transactional Leadership (Jack Welch, Goldman Sachs & Sales Teams)

57:16: Laissez-Faire Leadership (Valve & Radical Ownership)

01:03:55: Choosing the Right Leadership Style

01:10:30: Why Networking Is the Biggest MBA Advantage

01:18:25: Jean’s reflections on Part 2 and leadership archetypes

01:20:42: Reflecting on the importance of networking

01:22:25: Closing thoughts 


🐯👯‍♀️ We’re the Tiger Sisters — your Wall Street & Silicon Valley big sisters Decoding Money • Power • Love


✨ New episodes every Monday | Shorts all week ✨


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Why trust us?

▫️ Cherie Brooke Luo — 100M+ views demystifying tech, finance & MBAs

▫️ Jean Luo — ex-Goldman Sachs, ex-Snapchat exec, 50+ AI patents, startup investor

▫️ Together: 4 Ivy League degrees • built billion-dollar products • two startups — decoded for you


What you’ll get (and keep):

▫️ 🚀 Ivy League cheat sheets — no $250K tuition

▫️ Personal finance playbooks (salary, investing, negotiation)

▫️ Networking scripts behind $100M+ deals & job offers

▫️ Real conversations with CEOs, operators & investors

▫️ Mindset resets — clarity without the pricey coach

▫️ Systems for career, money, and long-term growth


💛 LET’S CONNECT

~ CHERIE ~

Instagram — /cherie.brooke

TikTok — /cherie.brooke

Substack — cherieluo.substack.com

LinkedIn — /cherie-luo


~ JEAN ~

Instagram — /jeanluo_

LinkedIn — /jeanluo


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🛍️ Items:

🍵 Sisters Matcha — www.sistersmatcha.com

🌀 Everything else — https://amzn.to/3z0dx5b

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Everything I Learned at Harvard Business School in 90 Minutes

Tiger Sisters

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1:23:26

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