As part of my summer internship program, I worked closely with Jeff Palmer, founder of TBL Tourism. My responsibilities included helping him across three critical areas: 1) business strategy: laying out TBL’s strategic response in the wake of the pandemic; 2) TBL Tourism consultant projects: conduct thematic research and data analysis on TBL’s ESG scorecards related consulting assignments; and 3) project management: own and manage the implementation of critical tasks for the launch of TBL’s flagship property in San Juan.

TBL Foundation is currently seeking funding in the form of seed-stage grants to fund the activities of its research and development teams that will plan and execute TBL’s pilot hotel development projects. My project focused on building capacity in several core competencies, including fundraising and grant strategy, strategic partner management, and marketing and business administration for TBL Tourism. I am confident that the work done during my internship will enable TBL Foundation to raise a seed round and launch the capital campaign for future construction and property development needs.

When we began planning for my summer with TBL Tourism, we did so with one foremost objective: to optimally leverage my experience and business training for maximizing the impact of my contribution to TBL. I was fortunate to be given a free hand by TBL founders to scope out my workstreams in alignment with my personal learning objectives. Therefore, I was able to try out a lot of the concepts that I had learned in class at CBS in practice too. For instance, when creating the impact scorecards for measuring the impact metrics for TBL tourism, I leveraged a lot of the financial modelling and real estate valuation concepts I had learned in the Real Estate Finance class. Similarly, drawing on the concepts learned in Strategies for Long Term Growth and Economics of Strategic Behavior classes, I was able to clearly articulate key strategic focus areas to ward off competition and to set TBL on the path of exponential growth in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Not being able to travel to Puerto Rico to work with the team in-person was probably the biggest challenge I faced over the course of my internship. Since, my internship was entirely virtual, there were several in-person meetings with external vendors/project managers that I couldn’t attend. My TBL counterparts did provide me with an update on several of these key meetings, but the only other way for me to get fully up to speed was to review the meeting notes and follow-up materials shared after the meetings. Given that there were so many moving parts and tight deadlines to meet, I did sometimes feel that there was a significant gap in my understanding of the situation and the on-the-ground reality. To manage this better, I identified workpieces that I understood well and didn’t require me to constantly engage with third party vendors and volunteered to take those to conclusion. This way, I was able to establish myself as a contributing member of the team even when I couldn’t join several of the key meetings due to the ongoing circumstances.

Given I have spent my entire career advising for-profit organizations in the financial sector, my biggest goal over the summer was to understand that how nonprofit organizations determine their business strategy, ethos, and vision to maximize community impact and what separates them from a traditional for-profit business. Through my work with TBL Tourism, I was able to understand a truly unique business model that is primarily focused on benefitting the Puerto Rican community. Through this project, I was also introduced to an entirely new domain of ESG financing and how it can be used to build successful funding models. Finally, working directly with Mr. Palmer was a rare opportunity to understand the day-to-day responsibilities of a senior executive and how they manage their time between tactical tasks and strategic thinking. I feel this experience has definitely helped me hone my personal leadership style and develop deep appreciation for nonprofit startup founders.