Blake Hall: Reflection on History Major (Vanderbilt History Department, September 21, 2022)

Summary

Student Reflections post on the Vanderbilt History Department site, posted by April Evans on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, in which Blake Hall ’04 reflects on his history major. He double-majored in American history and economics, found economic theory paired with history helpful, and notes that a fair number of his Harvard Business School classmates were also history majors. The post says the business raised $19 million in Series B funds and was named Most Disruptive Company in Payments at an event at Fenway Park. Hall argues that entrepreneurs and VCs need to understand the history of their field to assess timing and patterns, and cites Harvard Business School research that emotional intelligence is the most significant predictor of an executive's success provided he or she meets threshold levels for IQ and experience.

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Blake Hall: Reflection on History Major

Posted by April Evans on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 in Student Reflections.

Blake Hall ’04

I was a history major. I double-majored in American history and economics. I found it quite helpful to have the economic theory paired with the history so I could understand how the world’s wealthiest country developed and how real world events drove improvements to theory (hello, long-term capital management). Anecdotally, a fair number of my classmates at Harvard Business School were also history majors.

I think I’m doing fine :-).

Business raised $19 million in Seriers B funds.

Named Most Disruptive Company in Payments at an event at Fenway Park mc’d by Jason Alexander from Seinfeld.

Brian Armstrong, who co-founder & CEO at Coinbase, wrote this great article that breaks down the different types of CEOs. It’s very interesting to note that a great CEO can excel at any of the four disciplines so long as they are able to build a team around them that can compensate.

For my part, if you’re an entrepreneur looking to be the next Zuckerberg, then you had better have an idea of how markets develop. The best VCs and entrepreneurs I have met possess a keen level of understanding about the history of their field so they can best assess timing and patterns.

Also, there is research from Harvard Business School that shows that emotional intelligence is the most significant predictor of an executive’s success provided he or she meets threshold levels for IQ and experience. And, if you read more, then you tend to be more empathetic while immersion in technology has the opposite effect.

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