Biography
After working as a financial analyst and a consultant for five years, Douglas Brooks was ready for a change. The Michigan-native decided to shift his focus from finance to family with his passion of entrepreneurship guiding him.
“My father was a swim coach, and we created this resistance technology for athletes to wear and get stronger in the water,” Douglas says. “I thought Emory was the perfect place to study this product and launch it into the market. “That's why I decided to pursue my MBA – to learn how to fundraise and present my product in the best way.”
Goizueta’s robust entrepreneurship program in partnership with the healthcare opportunities at Emory provided the perfect fit for the health technology entrepreneur.
Douglas quickly found a variety of opportunities to begin his entrepreneurial journey, including joining the Emory Startup Launch Accelerator program – a fast-paced, eight-week program designed to help students move their startup forward. “We're really hoping to build our business, and it's just a phenomenal opportunity,” Douglas says.
Douglas also worked with hackATL, a startup pitch competition, as well as worked on an entrepreneurship project where students competed to win a space at Atlanta Tech Village, a collaborative community for entrepreneurs.
With an ultimate goal of helping others, Douglas’ involvement didn’t stop with business opportunities however. He also joined the Emory Black Student Union as a graduate assistant, which has several programs that focus on the health of students. He’s also a member of the Consortium, a program designed to provide financial assistance to minority students pursuing an MBA.
“It’s just a really cool organization that’s empowering students to receive their education,” Douglas says. “I'm just happy to be a part of that.”
Upon graduation, Douglas will be looking to receive an MPH from Rollins School of Public Health where he’ll continue focusing on his technologies.
“I've learned a whole new way of thinking since I've been here,” Douglas says. “Emory has really allowed me to sharpen my business acumen and my entrepreneurship skills so I'm really excited about the next steps and what I'm doing with my startup.”