Student Comments

Past Students' Comments

• "I am helping a young entrepreneur with a vision to make her dream a reality. This is what motivates me to produce a quality product for my client."
  Brendan Pooran
• "No other program in the School of Business brings together all the knowledge acquired over the four years of studies in such an applicable and complete manner."
  Cohn McCread
• "The summer consulting job has not only increased my confidence but has also given me much incite into consulting. I've made the decision to pursue this as a career."
  Cory Williams
• "My work experience with Queen's Small Business Consulting has been one of the most rewarding and progressive I have ever had. No other position I have held has allowed me to not only meet, but also help such a wide array of people. There is a special type of reinforcement inherent with this position that makes it much more meaningful than an average job. By pushing the boundaries and continually raising the bar, it has also allowed me as an individual to better understand and trust my own self as well as my capabilities. There is no doubt in my mind that this experience has been invaluable when I consider the road ahead."
  Angelo Campagna

Success Stories

Chris Smith was a former student consultant and Manager of Queen's Business Consulting  program. After graduation in 1995 from Queen's University Chris worked as a Management Consultant for American Management Systems.

Kimbal Musk was a QBC student consultant at the same time as Chris and also graduated from Queen's University in 1995.

In late 1995, Kimbal and his brother Elon co-founded Zip2 in Silicon Valley and invited Chris to join shortly thereafter. This team grew their company to over 200 employees in four years raising $50 million in venture and strategic financing in the process. Zip2 built city guides on the Internet where users can search out local businesses and then get maps and door-to-door directions. The strength of the idea lay in the fact that connecting people locally through the Internet was new. Zip2 launched over 180 online city guides around the world, including NYToday.com in partnership with The New York Times. In April 1999, Zip2 was purchased by Compaq to merge with AltaVista Corp. Zip2's high-profile partner network, its experience in local content and its technology-platform that built out its local content portals made Zip2 an ideal partner for AltaVista. At the time of the merger Zip2 was purchased for $307 million, one of the largest cash transactions in Internet history.

Chris and Kimbal's business partnership then extended to the formation of FunkyTalk.com, which created an online platform to enable individuals and businesses to self-publish online entertainment. Chris and Kimbal then went on to found Mambo Partners, a strategy-consulting firm based in New York City. Chris recently moved back to Toronto with his wife and new son and is a Manager with Bearing Point focused on strategy consulting to telecommunications firms. Kimbal moved to Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and new son and is in the process of opening his own restaurant called The Kitchen Cafe.

At Queen's School of Business, we take great pride in all our alumni. The Smith-Musk partnership is one shining example of the top-notch calibre of our students who have unlimited potential and enthusiasm for business innovation. Congratulations Chris and Kimbal!

Our Awards

As tribute to our work, in October 2003 QSBC was awarded the Small Business of the Year Award by the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce. We are proud of this recognition and it is a positive indication of a solid Town-Gown relationship that QSBC has established and nurtured in Kingston for several years.