Scaling a Startup Through the MSU MBA: My Journey with Memory Sketch

Angela Leach, MBA ’27

Entrepreneurship has been the defining lens through which I have experienced my MBA at Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business. Rather than existing alongside my coursework, my startup has been strengthened and accelerated by it. The MBA has provided the strategic, financial, and operational foundation that allowed me to build and scale Memory Sketch with discipline and intention.

Memory Sketch was founded in October 2024 during 2 Day Venture (2DV), a 36-hour pitch competition hosted by the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Michigan State University. What began as a deeply personal idea of reimagining how Alzheimer’s progression could be tracked through patient drawings, quickly became a structured venture thanks to the frameworks I was learning in class. Courses in strategy, accounting, and supply chain management directly informed how I approached market sizing, unit economics, regulatory considerations, and long-term scalability.

Following 2DV, I led our transition into the Venture Creation and Launch Programs, where I applied customer discovery methodologies and hypothesis testing frameworks reinforced in my MBA curriculum. In April 2025, Memory Sketch was named a semifinalist in the Burgess New Venture Challenge, earning both the Unique Idea Award and the People’s Choice Award. Preparing for that stage required translating clinical and technical complexity into a clear value proposition—an ability sharpened through case discussions, presentations, and executive-style communication within the MBA.

The summer of 2025 marked a shift from ideation to execution. While refining our go-to-market strategy and overseeing backend software development, I also worked as a Venture Creation Intern with the Burgess Institute, helping optimize venture milestone systems used by student founders. That operational exposure complemented my coursework in process improvement and systems thinking, strengthening how I build internal structure within Memory Sketch.

Engagement with external stakeholders further reflected the MBA’s impact. Conversations with neurologists at Mayo Clinic shaped our product roadmap and reinforced the importance of evidence-based innovation. Representing MSU at University Pitch Madness required not only confidence in our technology, but also fluency in financial modeling, risk mitigation, and stakeholder alignment; all of which are skills that were cultivated in the classroom.

As Memory Sketch advanced beyond MVP and into beta testing through acceptance into the Capital Area Startup Studio, I increasingly relied on cross-functional thinking developed through my MBA. Evaluating pricing strategy, partnership models, and operational scalability required integrating finance, marketing, and supply chain perspectives rather than viewing entrepreneurship as a siloed activity.

This integration will continue this summer as I join Regeneron Pharmaceuticals as a Supply Chain Intern, where I will translate dynamic demand requirements into advanced planning systems within a regulated biopharmaceutical environment. The same entrepreneurial mindset including problem framing, ambiguity navigation, and value creation under constraints, will guide that work.

Beyond my venture, serving as President of the Entrepreneurship Association and as a Graduate Assistant for both the Burgess Institute and the MBA Program has allowed me to reinforce and apply what I am learning. Facilitating workshops, moderating pitch sessions, and supporting founders with financial projections have deepened my mastery of MBA concepts by teaching them to others.

Ultimately, my MBA has not simply supported my entrepreneurial work, it has professionalized it. It has transformed Memory Sketch from an inspired idea into a strategically grounded, operationally disciplined health-tech venture, while equipping me with a transferable skillset that applies to both early-stage startups to global healthcare operations.