By Ross MacDonald-Allan

 Beedie School of Business MBA graduate Michael Tran’s education resulted in a career—one that had sprouted roots before its founder had even completed his degree.

Tran’s fledgling business MLT Media, a mobile-media buying service for app developers, uses a personal approach to open up special features that he can translate into excellent customer service.

The MBA program’s teachings were at the forefront of Tran’s mind when deciding upon the direction the business would take.

“We had been told in the strategy class to always avoid the fight,” he says. “So I didn’t want to get into a business area that immediately put me at a disadvantage.”

While many advertisers were hesitant to utilize mobile traffic to attain their marketing goals, Tran saw great potential in the sector

“For social advertising networks there’s Facebook, and for search of course there’s Google,” Tran explains.

“But with the mobile arena, which is the fastest growing media channel in history, there’s still a huge opportunity to exploit mobile marketing—the potential is huge.”

Required to complete an internship as part of the MBA program, Tran decided his time would be better served working on his own business, and used the opportunity to become the first SFU student to participate in SFU’s Venture Internship program.

Coordinated jointly between Segal Graduate School and SFU’s Venture Connection, the internship allowed Tran to further develop MLT Media, with Venture Connection providing access to facilities and mentorship.

Venture Connection also pushed him to showcase his business, with Tran ultimately taking third place at the Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize Competition this spring.

MLT Media is now growing steadily with a solid customer base and advertising networks, and Tran believes the MBA program’s holistic approach to teaching played a vital role in his business’ success.

“As a solo entrepreneur it’s very important to start [out] knowing how to do everything,” Tran explains. “Without the education from the Beedie School of Business, my own business would not have grown so quickly.”