Career with an HHL Master. "I Am Building Germany's First Personalized Shopping Platform for Women"

[HHL gGmbH - 06.06.2013] Even while completing her Master Program in Management (M.Sc.) at HHL, Tanja Bogumil already had the vision of her own company firmly in her mind. The 28-year-old says: "After graduating in 2010, I got involved with the start-up scene via the Mister Spex online optician, founded by HHL alumnus Dirk Graber, where I worked in the areas of marketing and business development. I was able to familiarize myself with the structure and processes of an online business with strong growth potential within just a short period of time. In late 2011, I eventually founded my own company: a personal shopping platform for menswear. While undertaking this project, I developed the idea of expanding the concept to women as well - following the motto 'From women for women.' Based on a joint vision, my classmate from HHL, Linh Nguyen, and I founded Kisura in late 2012. We are connected by our love of fashion and the topic of entrepreneurship as well as a similar mindset which provides a stable foundation for cooperation, decision making and leadership."

The founder and CEO of Kisura GmbH, by its own account Germany's first personalized shopping platform for women, explains the business model of the young company: "Kisura combines all the advantages of online shopping with the exclusiveness of individual style counseling." Customers register online and then discuss the points they would like to be counseled on with the stylists. The Kisura stylists then put together entire outfits tailored to the customers' individual needs or recommend single pieces and accessories. Tanja Bogumil continues: "Honest, individual service is close to our heart. We want to inspire our customers and our services help to avoid bad buys."

The HHL graduate explains her work at Kisura: "I live and breathe business. At Kisura, I am responsible for the product and the areas of marketing and PR. This position is an exciting mix of strategic and operational activities. There is a lot to do and the diversity of my job is accompanied by a steep learning curve for many areas: product development, investor relations, video productions and media work are just a few of the tasks. Especially during the start-up phase, we have to make the impossible possible with limited resources. To achieve this goal, we show unforeseen creativity and improvisational talent every day.

Looking back at her time at HHL, Tanja Bogumil says: "I have learnt a lot during my Master studies at HHL - both on a professional and a personal level. Professionally speaking, I received a top-level education with just the right mix of theory and practice. I regularly face problems in everyday life for which there are no solutions just yet. The only thing that helps is often just thinking outside the box and jumping in at the deep end. Looking back, I feel that HHL has prepared me very well for this." The company founder considered the classes from the Entrepreneurship module as well as the Problem Solving and Communication class from the Strategy module the most important ones. Tanja Bogumil sums up: "HHL offers the best conditions for entrepreneurial independence. I find the excellent contact to the start-up scene and the exchange between HHL entrepreneurs to be very valuable. What counts for me beyond all of this though: at HHL I found friends for life."

The Master Program in Management (M.Sc.) at HHL

The English-language Master in Management Program (M.Sc.) at HHL was ranked 1st in Germany and 11th in the world in the Financial Times Masters in Management Ranking. The program provides a basis for future management tasks and covers a wide variety of economic topics. Building on Bachelor's degree in economics, HHL attaches particular importance to teaching soft skills - courses such as Problem Solving & Communication, Negotiation or International Management Competencies represent an inherent part of the training. The 21 to 24-month full-time program offers eight fields of specialization, i.e. Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Entrepreneurship, Advanced Economics and Advanced General Management. By choosing four electives the students can set a topical focus on the career for which they are aspiring. In addition to a term abroad at one over 110 universities partnered with HHL, the curriculum of the program also encompasses an internship. Excellent business contacts as well as a professional Career Service provide top career opportunities for the alumni. Students can enroll for this program in spring (March) or fall (September). http://www.hhl.de/msc

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

HHL is a university-level institution and ranks amongst the leading international business schools. The goal of the oldest business school in German-speaking Europe is to educate effective, responsible and entrepreneurially-minded leaders. HHL stands out for its excellent teaching, its clear research focus, its effective knowledge transfer into practice as well as its outstanding student services. The courses of study include full and part-time Master in Management as well as MBA programs, a Doctoral program and Executive Education. In the 2012 Financial Times Masters in Management Ranking, HHL's full-time M.Sc. Program was ranked 1st in Germany and 11th in the world. This renowned ranking also awarded HHL first place worldwide for its focus on Entrepreneurship and second regarding the graduates' future salaries and for its Corporate Strategy specialization. HHL is accredited by AACSB International. http://www.hhl.de

http://www.hhl.de/people/Tanja-Bogumil
http://www.hhl.de/msc
http://www.hhl.de