Kellogg Chronicles: Embracing culture add, not culture fit
This content, written by Rob Vogel ’25 Two-Year MBA, was originally published in Poets&Quants.
Coming from a background in startups and engineering, Vogel recently completed a summer internship as a senior technical product manager for Amazon’s Alexa AI and is currently participating in Kellogg’s Venture Lab with High Alpha, investing in B2B SaaS startups. He is also a writer and creative director for the Special K! revue and serves as VP of corporate engagement for the Kellogg Tech Club. Rob loves combining his engineering, startup and MBA perspectives to create breakthrough customer experiences from emerging technologies.
When I first considered applying to business school, I often heard: “You’re not the typical background for an MBA student—that might make admissions uneasy.” I was coming from two Series A tech startups in North Carolina – one in manufacturing and the other in senior living. I quickly realized I was an outlier among candidates from prestigious consulting firms, household tech names, and world-renowned financial institutions. My unconventional background didn’t fit the traditional MBA mold, which left me questioning if I even had a fighting chance in the admissions process.
Talking with students from other MBA programs only deepened my concerns. They suggested that my startup background might signal a poor ‘corporate culture fit’ to company recruiters, urging me to conform to a more traditional business school image. This left me questioning whether I was truly the right fit for an MBA program. Should I buy a gray Patagonia vest? Start calling slide presentations “decks”?
Before my first call with Shashwat Sinha ’22 MBA, I was bracing for the usual advice from conversations with other MBA schools: switch jobs to a more typical pre-MBA role, tone down the startup talk, and present myself like a polished, buttoned-up employee. I had previously been told to avoid mentioning MVPs, sticky notes, and sprints, and even to suppress my natural style of using humor at work. However, this call was different.
Shashwat encouraged me to highlight how my startup experience could add a fresh perspective that most MBA applicants couldn’t offer. He emphasized that Kellogg was enthusiastic about backgrounds like mine, listing programs like The Garage (an innovation space for Northwestern students) and Venture Lab designed to harness and expand the strengths of entrepreneurial minds. This conversation flipped my mindset—I realized my background wasn’t a liability, but an asset. Kellogg didn’t want me to downplay my experience working at a four-person startup; they encouraged me to lead with it, fully embracing what set me apart.
For those coming from unconventional backgrounds, I recommend leading with the unique journey that has shaped you. Previously, my workday included anything from speaking with C-suite executives to packing boxes of product in a hot garage. This wide range of responsibilities gave me a comprehensive view of the customer journey and the ability to communicate with stakeholders across a wide range of disciplines. In my admissions essays and interviews, I highlighted elements of my startup experience that were highly valued in a modern MBA – being scrappy, adaptive and resourceful…in short, being entrepreneurial.
Leaning into culture add at Kellogg’s culture camp
One of my earliest and most memorable experiences at Kellogg was participating in Culture Camp, a program where incoming students shared their heritage and learned how cultural competency can drive better collaboration. It was here that I truly began to see Kellogg’s concept of “culture add,” rather than “culture fit.”
The highlight of Culture Camp for me was the Open Mic night, where students were encouraged to perform anything that felt personal to them. I was blown away by the courage my classmates brought to the stage. Some performed beautifully arranged songs from their home countries, showcasing their cultural roots with pride. Others, who openly admitted they weren’t dancers, gave it their all and had the time of their lives on stage. This wasn’t a talent show – it was everyone’s debut to Kellogg. Contributions of all kinds, no matter how polished or raw, were celebrated. Emboldened by classmates’ bravery, I decided to take my own leap and try something I’d never done before: standup comedy.
The second I stepped on stage, I quickly realized why standup comedians practice as much as they do. I couldn’t see a thing beyond the bright lights, but I felt every set of eyes locked on me. As I choked down nervousness, I mumbled out an opening joke about the three certainties in life: death, taxes and meeting someone from my homeland, New Jersey. To my shock – an actual laugh!
Sure, New Jersey was an easy target, but this early reception encouraged me to lean into the experience. In real time, I scrapped some of my prepared, generic jokes and began talking about my personal, sometimes embarrassing, stories: introducing skeptical 80-year-olds to the wonders of smart home technology, or coming out to my parents as a Dungeons and Dragons player. The more personal I got, the more I connected with the audience.
To call my performance a “tight five” would be an overstatement, but the night set the tone for my MBA journey. There was a rush when I realized that being vulnerable didn’t make me weaker – it made me more impactful. By sharing real stories, I wasn’t just delivering a performance, I was contributing to the culture of Kellogg in a way that only I could. Every performer that night stepped way outside their comfort zone, contributing a part of themselves that they likely never expected to share in a “business environment.” In doing so, they made Culture Camp real, raw, and unforgettable.
This experience wasn’t just about diversity or inclusivity – it was about authenticity. It showed me how powerful it can be when people bring their full selves to the table. Embracing my “culture add” at Kellogg reshaped how I approach leadership. No masks, no filters—just real people driving the kind of innovation you can’t get any other way.
Read the full essay in Poets & Quants to learn about Rob’s experiences participating in Special K!, an annual musical revue put on by Kellogg students. “Learning to perform and improvise on stage did wonders for my ability to speak in meetings and think on my feet!” he says.