ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Simone Gockel
By Supriya Agarwal (MBA '14)
Many Baruch graduate students want to become entrepreneurs, but for some the risk associated with it can lead them to choose a more established career path.
Baruch MBA alumna Simone Gockel
(MBA ’12) is currently an e-commerce and social media manager at OSP Group (formerly Redcats), a catalog retailer and online marketplace for plus-size consumers. Recently, Simone also co-founded a travel venture start-up company called travtap.
Supriya Agarwal had a chance to sit with Simone one balmy evening where over cups of coffee, she shared her Baruch MBA experience and how she has been able to balance her regular job with her start-up company.
Simone, thank you for meeting with me. Can you share a bit about your current role as an e-commerce manager at OSP Group?
Sure, Supriya. In my current role, I manage all e-commerce projects for the OneStopPlus brand of OSP Group. I am responsible for enhancing the user experience on the desktop and mobile websites, managing the OneStopPlus loyalty program and OneStopPlus.com’s social media strategy. Each day is challenging in many unique ways, and I find my work to be a lot of fun. My work also gives me an opportunity to combine a range of skills from analytical to managerial, and every day I have a chance to learn something new and exciting.
It sounds like you are doing very dynamic things. With that in mind, what inspired you to launch travtap ?
My co-founder and I recognized that there was a huge potential to disrupt the travel industry with new mobile solutions that enhance the overall travel experience by engaging the traveler not only pre-trip (booking) but also while they are on their trip. Our aim is to bridge the gap between hotel booking, arriving somewhere and having personalized, local recommendations by other travelers. No app install is necessary, the users can conveniently use their device browser to search and book hotels and then continue to remain engaged through the on-trip stage through relevant local info and deals from local vendors (things to do, restaurants and shopping).
I noticed that travtap does not have a corporate website. So the plan was really to be iPhone and iPad specific?
travtap is an HTML5 based platform that is device agnostic, however as our initial release we optimized travtap.com for iPhone and iPad. Moving forward, we plan to extend it to other platforms like Android as well. As travelers are constantly connected on their mobile devices we decided to build our solution for mobile devices first.
I’m curious, how do you find information for ‘killer deals’ featured on travtap.com?
My co-founder has been in the hotel industry for a long time and has an established network of contacts. We negotiate deals through our network and feature the best ones in our beta city NYC. As we expand we will add more hotels and more cities. My co-founder and I complement each other in our skill sets very well (him in distribution and technology and me in marketing)
Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for travtap?
We want travtap to become “your mobile travel assistant”. This goes far beyond just booking a hotel. Our vision is that travtap.com is with you pre-, during and post-travel, for example, helping you to find things to do, restaurants and shopping venues, etc. as recommended by locals and other travelers We also plan on partnering with local vendors offering personalized and location-specific deals to our customers.
Looking back on where you have come to now, how did the Baruch MBA experience help you in your professional journey?
The classes I took at Baruch (e.g. Digital Marketing and Information Systems for Managers) helped me to develop a broad understanding of digital marketing and e-commerce. The MBA experience also gave me a lot of cross-functional knowledge, international exposure and helped me develop my managerial skills. I have also been able to blend in my European work experience with my work in corporate America, and now have a good understanding of both worlds.
Those are some very strong differentiators. What advice could you share with Baruch graduate students who want to work for a short time to gain industry exposure and later become entrepreneurs?
Students who want to become entrepreneurs later in life should work at small to mid-size companies where they will be exposed to all the different aspects of the business. Hands-on experience will give them the confidence to deal with the difficulties when they start out on their own.
Baruch MBA alumna Simone Gockel
(MBA ’12) is currently an e-commerce and social media manager at OSP Group (formerly Redcats), a catalog retailer and online marketplace for plus-size consumers. Recently, Simone also co-founded a travel venture start-up company called travtap.
Supriya Agarwal had a chance to sit with Simone one balmy evening where over cups of coffee, she shared her Baruch MBA experience and how she has been able to balance her regular job with her start-up company.
Simone, thank you for meeting with me. Can you share a bit about your current role as an e-commerce manager at OSP Group?
Sure, Supriya. In my current role, I manage all e-commerce projects for the OneStopPlus brand of OSP Group. I am responsible for enhancing the user experience on the desktop and mobile websites, managing the OneStopPlus loyalty program and OneStopPlus.com’s social media strategy. Each day is challenging in many unique ways, and I find my work to be a lot of fun. My work also gives me an opportunity to combine a range of skills from analytical to managerial, and every day I have a chance to learn something new and exciting.
It sounds like you are doing very dynamic things. With that in mind, what inspired you to launch travtap ?
My co-founder and I recognized that there was a huge potential to disrupt the travel industry with new mobile solutions that enhance the overall travel experience by engaging the traveler not only pre-trip (booking) but also while they are on their trip. Our aim is to bridge the gap between hotel booking, arriving somewhere and having personalized, local recommendations by other travelers. No app install is necessary, the users can conveniently use their device browser to search and book hotels and then continue to remain engaged through the on-trip stage through relevant local info and deals from local vendors (things to do, restaurants and shopping).
I noticed that travtap does not have a corporate website. So the plan was really to be iPhone and iPad specific?
travtap is an HTML5 based platform that is device agnostic, however as our initial release we optimized travtap.com for iPhone and iPad. Moving forward, we plan to extend it to other platforms like Android as well. As travelers are constantly connected on their mobile devices we decided to build our solution for mobile devices first.
I’m curious, how do you find information for ‘killer deals’ featured on travtap.com?
My co-founder has been in the hotel industry for a long time and has an established network of contacts. We negotiate deals through our network and feature the best ones in our beta city NYC. As we expand we will add more hotels and more cities. My co-founder and I complement each other in our skill sets very well (him in distribution and technology and me in marketing)
Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for travtap?
We want travtap to become “your mobile travel assistant”. This goes far beyond just booking a hotel. Our vision is that travtap.com is with you pre-, during and post-travel, for example, helping you to find things to do, restaurants and shopping venues, etc. as recommended by locals and other travelers We also plan on partnering with local vendors offering personalized and location-specific deals to our customers.
Looking back on where you have come to now, how did the Baruch MBA experience help you in your professional journey?
The classes I took at Baruch (e.g. Digital Marketing and Information Systems for Managers) helped me to develop a broad understanding of digital marketing and e-commerce. The MBA experience also gave me a lot of cross-functional knowledge, international exposure and helped me develop my managerial skills. I have also been able to blend in my European work experience with my work in corporate America, and now have a good understanding of both worlds.
Those are some very strong differentiators. What advice could you share with Baruch graduate students who want to work for a short time to gain industry exposure and later become entrepreneurs?
Students who want to become entrepreneurs later in life should work at small to mid-size companies where they will be exposed to all the different aspects of the business. Hands-on experience will give them the confidence to deal with the difficulties when they start out on their own.
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