Alumni Spotlight: Mixing it Up – An Alumna’s Journey from Cubicles to Cocktails
On any given day, Anna Ma could be solving complex problems for business clients, carving elaborate designs in wood, pouring tropical drinks at a wedding, or managing a team of event staff at a private event.
Photo: Katelyn Powell
Her impressive work experience includes research operations roles at Google, Intuit, and Meta, and moonlighting as a catering professional on evenings and weekends. Coming from a family of Asian immigrants, she was taught that job security should be the top priority in her career, so she often worked two jobs at once. But Anna realized after moving from Silicon Valley to Texas that she didn’t want safety anymore— she wanted flexibility, creativity, and opportunities for human interaction. She wanted a career on her own terms.
Anna turned to The 12-Week MBA to help navigate the diverging paths she was facing
“I’ve always had two parallel career tracks—working in corporate and also taking gigs that made me happy. I rent out my apartment. I’ve been in the service industry for eight years. But I was worn out and unhappy. I needed to chart a new course that aligned my aspirations with my skills. And I couldn’t take two years off for a traditional MBA.” Anna said.
The 12-Week MBA provided an immersive experience in the world of business and leadership. Anna learned how to manage risk, ensure profitability, understand financial statements, and lead a team. She found the hands-on approach to learning more effective than the other skill-based programs she had taken.
Management Challenge was especially impactful for her. Within the simulation, learners are put into teams and tasked with managing direct reports with vastly different problems and coaching needs. Anna was surprised to discover that she felt comfortable with people management.
“I realized I always gravitated back towards the food service industry because my managers there were so much better at their jobs than the leaders I saw in the corporate world,” she said.
The 12-Week MBA showed me how to value people, how to listen to people, and how to look at a profit-loss statement without panic. I realized that I wanted to be a good manager for others. And that I was good at it.
After this realization, a light bulb lit up in Anna’s mind, and she couldn’t turn it off. The common thread in her career had been a desire to step into roles where leadership was lacking. She often learned on the job because she was filling a need, not pursuing a passion. She realized entrepreneurship was the path she needed to pursue full-time, not just as a hobby.
As she ventured into entrepreneurship, Anna saw an opportunity to combine her love for providing exceptional service with her desire to take on a leadership role.
Photo: Texas Tiki Time
Her years of experience in the service industry revealed a gap in the bartending market—a unique experience guests could enjoy instead of the typical beer and wine setup she had seen hundreds of times. So Anna created Texas Tiki Time.
Today, Anna is the owner and lead bartender of Texas Tiki Time, a mobile tropical bartending service in Austin, Texas. Combining her love for community with her newfound business savvy and management skills created a unique Texas-Hawaii fusion that has really resonated with her clients and staff. She even carved the original bar setup herself.
“It’s been scary, of course,” Anna said. “But I realized I had a great idea, and I would rather try and fail than regret not trying at all. Owning a business as a woman is hard, but I’ve always been ambitious. And I’m excited about this new chapter of my career.”
Learn more about Texas Tiki Time here and keep up with Anna here.
Learn more about The 12-Week MBA here.
