Arvand is SVP and Head of Scripted Television Strategy at Fifth Season, a leading global film and TV production and distribution company. He is responsible for the financial structuring, packaging, and sales & distribution of the company’s scripted slate. He works primarily in the international co-production space, taking shows from outside the U.S. and finding homes for them in America. The BBC/Hulu series Normal People is a prime example of something he worked on, among dozens of other titles over the years.

What was your first “big break”? Or, what is the most significant experience you have had that has made your success possible?

I was toiling in the mailroom at WME, a very “best of times and worst of times” Dickensian experience. An agent in the TV group named Erin Junkin took a chance on me and hired me to be her assistant. That was the beginning of my career in television. Wouldn’t have happened without her!

What is the most challenging part of your job? What is the most rewarding part?

There is so much that is outside of one’s control when you’re trying to get shows made. The key is to anticipate pitfalls as much as possible while maintaining a healthy perspective. I’m not an ER doctor, after all. The most rewarding part of my job is having a hand in turning someone’s creative vision into reality. I am so lucky to work in the industry of story-telling, an ancient tradition that bonds us together as humans, no matter our differences.

What is something current you are working on that you are excited about?

Not sure I should mention this because it hasn’t been announced yet . . . I’m working on the adaptation of one of my favorite novels, called The Heart’s Invisible Furies. Can’t go into too many details, but it’s going to be an absolutely beautiful series.

How is the ever-changing media landscape affecting your industry?

There’s been a tremendous sense of instability and fear over the last few years due to the pandemic hangover, the strikes, the guild disputes, and a hyper-active M+A landscape. It feels like there are fewer viable buyers for series, fewer creative risks being taken, and less money to play with. But where there’s instability, there is also opportunity if you’re smart and nimble. You just have to remember that in media & entertainment, chaos is constant, stability is a myth. The question remains, however, whether in an era of unfettered capitalist fervor if true artistry can survive on screen.

Are there any ways that you feel Georgetown especially prepared you for your career?

Georgetown gave me the gift of exploring subjects that have nothing to do with my career. I don’t believe an undergraduate degree, for the most part, should be approached as vocational training. Learning all sorts of “random” subjects will actually serve you better in life than staying focused on just one lane.

What is your best advice to those who are starting out in your field?

Read as much as you can, watch as much as you can, develop your palette. Ultimately, your taste is your calling card, and it takes years to refine.

Best Business Advice Received:

I have a multi-part answer: (1) Find a mentor. This is critical. (2) Learn one new thing a day related to your job, no matter how small. The aggregate of those bits of new knowledge turn out to be significant in the long run. (3) Don’t let other people set the agenda for how you spend your time (your inbox is not a to-do list!). (4) If you’re the smartest person in the room, find another room.

Trait You Most Admire in People: 

A sharp sense of humor.

Favorite App, Website, Podcast or Social Platform (other than related to your own company):

I can’t seem to quit Twitter (I refuse to call is X), it unfortunately gives me much joy. I play the New York Times puzzles (Wordle, Connections, Strands, Pips) every day. And my favorite podcast is “Acquired,” I’ve learned so much from those guys.

Favorite Georgetown Professor:

Father Fields, and Scott Redford in a close second place.

Favorite Georgetown Restaurant or Bar:

Cafe Milano if my parents were in town, followed by a raucous late-night dance party at The Tombs with my friends and punctuated by 2am slices at Philly Pizza (RIP!) with extra ranch dressing.

Favorite Georgetown Memory:

The camaraderie among those of us pulling all-nighters at Lauinger. We’d take a break by piling into my friend’s car and driving around the DC monuments in the middle of the night with the windows down, music blasting. Life was good.

To read other Alumni Spotlights, click here.

With a transformational bequest, School of Dentistry alumnus Richard Calabrese (D’77) and his wife, Angela, will establish two endowed scholarship funds designed to help aspiring scientists and physicians.

One fund will provide financial support for STEM-focused undergraduates in Georgetown’s Community Scholars Program, specifically those who take part in the Regents STEM Scholars Program. Most Community Scholars are the first in their families to attend college.

Recognizing that the field of medicine and patient outcomes are enriched by individuals with a variety of life experiences, the Calabreses established a second fund to help medical students with demonstrated financial need attending Georgetown School of Medicine.

Meet Sarah Stellwag (C’18), CEO and Co-Founder of Lulo– an organization that aims to assist families in navigating their Women Infants and Children (WIC) benefits. 

Sarah’s career is rooted in a deep passion for the intersection of technology and social enterprise. Read on to discover how her time at Georgetown helped spark this interest and how she has since turned that passion into meaningful impact.

Please introduce yourself.

My name is Sarah Stellwag. I graduated from the College in 2017. I was class of 2018, but graduated a semester early. I had a double major in government and economics. Outside of class at Georgetown, I spent a lot of time at MUG (I was a general manager there) and also volunteered at the Student Advocacy Office. I spent a lot of time off campus as well, interning at civic technology organizations throughout DC. 

I’ve always been really passionate about making civic technology systems easier to navigate. After I graduated, I spent a year in Malaysia on a Fulbright scholarship. After that, I joined my first tech startup called Propel. They help 40 million Americans who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) manage their benefits. I’m deeply interested in how we can apply tech to society’s most pressing problems, and how we can use it to serve the most vulnerable among us. Today, I am the CEO and co-founder of a social enterprise startup called Lulo. Lulo empowers families to maximize their Women Infants and Children (WIC) benefits and navigate the very convoluted program rules. 

Was there any specific aspect of your time at Georgetown that influenced you to pursue entrepreneurship?

From my perspective, entrepreneurship is about proactively solving problems and building the world that we all want to live in. I’ve always been heavily influenced by the Jesuit philosophy of cura personalis, which instills that we have a profound responsibility to care for one another. My time at Georgetown taught me how to be curious, learn, and develop as a citizen of the world. That deeply influenced my philosophy on entrepreneurship and how it can be used to solve the world’s most pressing problems.

I think a little bit more tactically, being a general manager at MUG gave me a taste of what the daily operations of a business really look like. One time I accidentally ordered a thousand empanadas to the store and I was like, “Okay. It’s empanada day!” That taught me how to get through things and deal with uncertainty.

There was also a course that I took called the India Innovation Studio that was taught by Professor Irfan Nooruddin. That really taught me how to develop and validate different ideas, with a specific focus on how innovation can be used to improve people’s lives.

What inspired you to create Lulo?

Lulo was born at a social impact innovation lab called Blue Ridge Labs, which is based in Brooklyn. Our team formed there. Blue Ridge brings together an engineer, a product designer, experts, and product managers to solve problems for low to moderate income Americans. We spent months criss-crossing around New York City talking to different families both about their lives and also specifically their experience with the WIC program. We consistently, over and over again, heard and saw the same frustration: having items that they think are approved for WIC getting denied at checkout, and how navigating the program’s convoluted rules was really draining parents that are already so stretched thin. That core insight of being at the register and finding out that an item was denied really became our north star for Lulo and how we make sure that no one ever experiences that again. We built Lulo in close partnership with hundreds of different WIC families as well as WIC staff to streamline an outdated and broken shopping experience. Our mobile app helps families save time, reduce stress, and get the food that their kids need.

 How has Lulo grown and what is next?

We launched our very first minimum viable product, or MVP, at a Mother’s Day event at a WIC office in New York, and we had our first 100 families sign up at the event and start to use the app. From there, we have now reached over 50,000 families in 22 states. We’ve also onboarded our first business partners – both a leading consumer packaged goods brand as well as a national telecoms provider. We’re helping them reach and unlock a new customer base. What’s next is we’re focused on expanding to new states and trying to meet the organic demand of thousands of families that are trying to use Lulo where they live. Every day we get messages from moms asking when we’ll be launching in Mississippi or California, and we’re trying as fast as we can.

What does a day in your life look like?

I imagine every person says “there is no single day that’s alike.” The very first thing I try to do when I wake up is to get outside and go for a walk. From there, I check our weekly performance metrics, like user growth. After that, I choose one major task or issue area to tackle. This includes things like, on the product management side, trying to scope out new features and troubleshoot some bugs; or it might look like investing deeply in sales conversations and preparing for sales calls; or like user interviews talking to different families about what kinds of other challenges they are facing and how can we improve the product. Then I work on the general company operations of payroll, finance, legal, and all of those different aspects as well.

What is the hardest part of your job?

The hardest part about entrepreneurship and operating in a startup is that it’s difficult to identify the most impactful work that you can be doing at any given point in time because you’re operating under so much uncertainty. Startups are a mix of effort, execution, strategy, and honestly a little bit of luck. So many startups and companies have captured lighting in a bottle in a moment in time and that is what enables their success. I think it’s challenging to decipher what could be increasing your surface area for luck and what’s an experiment that’s not actually moving the needle. That’s really part of the rapid iteration and experimentation process of trying to identify what activities and things will actually further you along.

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?

We do a ton of user interviews. In the best ones, we’ll be talking to a mom and she’ll come out and show us a new cereal box or a new fruit that they discovered they could purchase with their WIC benefits – that they found out from Lulo. Knowing that you helped a kid discover a new food that they love, or helping families put more food on the table – and save them time in that process – has been incredibly fulfilling.

Is there anything you wish more people knew about your industry?

I wish there was more awareness overall about the WIC program and the way people use the social safety net in the U.S. Almost half of all infants that are born in the U.S. are eligible for WIC benefits. There’s over 50 years of the program running as the leading “food-is-medicine” program and it has so many proven health outcomes. At the same time, it also has one of the lowest participation rates among benefits programs at about 53% nationwide. I’m constantly trying to get the word out that we have this proven solution that seems to be working well, but how do we ensure that more families can access this benefit and make it easier to navigate?

How does Georgetown continue to support you as an alumna?

My biggest connection point to Georgetown is through the friends I made there and the community along the way and in my peer group. So many of my friends at Georgetown, when we were starting on Lulo, had really become technology leaders or entrepreneurs building their own things. They were the first to want to provide feedback and guidance, and make connections for you and just say “I see what you’re doing, I see what you’re building, I want to live in that world alongside you – how can I help?”

Finally, what is one piece of advice you would give to any Georgetown student who might be interested in entrepreneurship?

Embracing a growth mindset. On the first day at the first startup I worked at, Propel, the CEO Jimmy Chen instilled the idea that anyone can teach themselves anything. He pointed to the engineers across the room and said, “They weren’t born knowing how to code, that’s something they were able to learn and taught themselves.” He encouraged us all to take that mentality into our own roles. That mentality from day one helped me to go from an entry level sales job to a senior product manager in three years. Carrying that hunger for new skills, and the true belief that you can learn them, has been the most impactful advice of my career.

See all GEA Alumni Spotlights

Zachary Lyon (L’11) is a Senior Counsel at the National Hockey League, where he has served as the legal lead on various NHL tentpole events such as the Winter Classic, Stadium Series, All-Star Weekend, and Stanley Cup Playoffs.

What was your first “big break” into your industry? Or, what is the most significant experience you have had that has made your success possible?

I got a taste of the sports and entertainment industry when I was in law school – first with a local event production company as a legal intern, and then with the New York Islanders as a member of their inaugural rotational internship program, “Islanders University”. These opportunities provided me with a behind the scenes look at how major events are produced and how a professional sports franchise operates, all of which would prove beneficial in my current role. I then spent the first 7 years of my legal career at various law firms and in-house positions, essentially learning how to “be a lawyer”. Each stop along the way added to my skillset, whether it was refining my drafting skills, contract interpretation and strengthening my business sense.

What was your first job?

My first post-law school job was at a mid-sized commercial law firm on Long Island, where I rotated through several practice groups, including corporate, banking, real estate, and trusts and estates law. The learning curve for a junior legal associate is steep, but many of the lessons I learned at that job have stuck with me to this day – such as always understanding “why” I am working on an assignment and not being afraid to push for more information when handling a matter.

What do you do in your job now? What is your favorite part of your current position?

As a member of the NHL’s Legal Events team, I serve as the legal lead on some of the NHL’s highest-profile events, which involves a high-volume of drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, including venue licenses, team participating agreements and vendor agreements. Aside from being a life-long hockey fan, I really enjoy the close interactions with the business teams that I service and being a part of something bigger than myself. So much work goes into hosting large-scale events, and it is truly amazing to see the NHL’s operational teams bring them to life. It’s one thing to work on an agreement for a signage or décor vendor, but to then see the final product on the field in front of tens of thousands of spectators provides a tangible end-product that really makes me proud of my work.

What was the externship experience like for you? Did it have an influence on your career/help kickstart your career?

Initially, I was intimidated by the thought of meeting all of these successful individuals, each of whom had objectively “cool” jobs. However, I quickly learned that they were incredibly kind and eager to talk about their backgrounds and what led them to their current positions. The week flew past and left me wanting more. Returning home from Los Angeles, I felt incredibly motivated that a career in the sports and entertainment industry was possible and that I was starting down the right path to make my dreams a reality.

What part(s) of the Externship did you find most valuable?

The externship, together with GEMA in general, really opened my eyes to the career possibilities in the sports and entertainment industry. When I started law school, I had every intention of becoming a real estate lawyer. However, when I learned about GEMA and the types of internships and jobs that current Georgetown Law students and alums held, everything changed for me. Participating in the externship program reinforced my belief that there were more opportunities out there for me than traditional law firm roles. I believe my law firm and in-house experiences were essential building-blocks for me to reach my current role, but the sports and entertainment “spark” definitely started while I was at Georgetown and burned even brighter following my externship experience.

What was your experience like attending Georgetown? Were there any particularly formative experiences that were special to you?

Law school was difficult and oftentimes stressful, but looking back, I can honestly say that I enjoyed my time at Georgetown. Some of the most impactful experiences for me were writing a seminar paper on the changing landscape of sports media rights, and a drafting and negotiating commercial transactions course that was taught by a well-known adjunct professor. The paper required me to think critically about how sports would be consumed in the coming years – a topic that seems to be even more relevant today. The drafting and negotiating commercial transactions course served as an introduction to what would become the focus of my legal career – integrating a specific set of business points into a commercial agreement, while identifying and limiting legal risk. That professor also invited several prominent local sports lawyers to lecture during the semester, which was an amazing opportunity to pick their brains on the industry and potential career paths.

What’s your advice for an undergraduate trying to break into your industry? Is there anything you would tell your younger self now?

I don’t think the importance of networking can be understated. While the way people network is always changing (I actually sent physical letters to countless NHL agents and executives while in law school), I think it is vital to put yourself out there and always be willing to meet new people – whether you are looking to break into the industry, land your next job or just expand your network.

I would also stress the importance of patience – when I started practicing law, each day that I was not working for a sports league or team felt like a missed opportunity to me. Looking back, all of my experiences and the people I worked alongside helped prepare me for my current role at the NHL. By not landing my “dream job” right out of law school, I learned to appreciate the journey and feel like that made me an even better candidate when the right opportunity arose.

Name someone in your career who has been a valuable mentor or role model to you and why?

During my career, I’ve been fortunate to connect with two individuals that I deem my mentors – each of whom I met while working at my first law firm, although only one of them was a colleague. The colleague was a partner at the firm, who was kind and willing to put the time in to teach me how to become a better lawyer. She involved me in substantive projects and allowed me to have direct client interactions. We have each worked at several different firms and organizations since that job, but she has continued to serve as a sounding board and trusted confidant throughout my career. The other individual is the spouse of a former colleague. Our paths briefly crossed earlier in my career, but it was not until I was working with his spouse that we really connected. He was instrumental in introducing me to established sports lawyers at legal conferences, via email and LinkedIn. I’m a firm believer that no one is truly self-made, and these two individuals, together with countless others, have provided me with invaluable guidance and support throughout my career to date.

To read other “GEMA Externship: Where Are They Now?” posts, click here.

As part of the commercial arm of the WTA, Sarah M. Swanson (C’97) leads all brand and marketing for the Women’s Tennis Association. Taking fans inside the WTA Tour, she drives value and awareness for their incredible players and the 50+ member tournaments across the globe.

What was your first “big break”? Or, what is the most significant experience you have had that has made your success possible?

When I started with the NFL, as VP of Marketing for NFL Network, my career shifted. I had learned so much from earlier agency experience, but the NFL changed my trajectory. I was able to gain experience from some of the smartest and most innovative thinkers in the sports business industry, both in the US and then the UK, and I’ve been able to take that knowledge into everything I’ve done that followed. 

What is the most challenging part of your job? What is the most rewarding part?

The most challenging part is just the scope and scale of the WTA. It’s an extraordinary privilege to work on a Tour that spans the entire globe, across 11 months of the year, but it’s tough to resonate and stay top of mind with fans week in, week out when their favorite player may be playing in the middle of the night, on the other side of the world. 

The most rewarding part is absolutely seeing athletes break through. We invest in our players with time and storytelling to help bring fans closer. When a player has a breakthrough moment and rises to the top, I feel an almost personal pride in showcasing them on that stage. 

What is something current you are working on that you are excited about?

We just announced a significant deal naming Mercedes-Benz as our Premier Partner and the official automobile partner of the WTA Tour. It’s a truly groundbreaking moment for our sport, and for women’s sports more broadly. Now I get to bring it to life! 

How is the ever-changing media landscape affecting your industry?

We need people to be able to watch women’s tennis! It’s the most critical way to engage with the WTA and it remains a huge revenue driver across all sports. The changing media landscape just makes it ever more challenging to tell fans where to watch and how to watch. 

Are there any ways that you feel Georgetown especially prepared you for your career?

Definitely. Georgetown’s commitment to educating the “whole person” has really resonated with me throughout my career. I think my four years taught me to communicate well, seek understanding, and challenge and look at the world through a global lens. 

What is your best advice to those who are starting out in your field?

Everything is an opportunity. Careers are really long, and each step leads to the next. It’s so important to learn, ask questions, and build relationships that can pay off in the future. 

Best Business Advice Received:

Our founder and icon Billie Jean King says “pressure is a privilege” and I try to remember that every day! 

Trait You Most Admire in People: 

Transparency. I believe most things can be worked through with direct and transparent communication. 

Favorite App, Website, Podcast or Social Platform (other than related to your own company):

Besides the WTA, of course, I love the Ringer-verse. I live my personal and professional life at the intersection of sports and pop culture, and that’s exactly what Bill Simmons has created with the various sites, pods, and platforms of the Ringer-verse. 

Favorite Georgetown Professor:

Michael J. Collins, PhD. I had the opportunity to learn Shakespeare from him, but also to work for him when he was Dean of the School for Summer and Continuing Education. He inspired much of my love of British theatre (and part of my early career, as well.)  

Favorite Georgetown Restaurant or Bar:

It’s really hard not to say The Tombs. Iconic. 

Favorite Georgetown Memory:

So many! I really remember on warm spring/fall evenings a bunch of us would just hop in the car and go on a “monument run”—music loud, singing along, windows open—driving through the streets of DC with so much hope and friendship. It was so beautiful and so much fun! 

To read other Alumni Spotlights, click here.

Christopher Steck, S.J.

Christopher Steck, S.J., is the Thomas Healey Family Distinguished Professor in Ethical Issues and an associate professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. A residential minister since 2000, Steck was also the caretaker for Jack the Bulldog and established the “Jack Crew” of student caretakers. Steck recently authored A Heaven for Animals. 

See how he has been called to engage with Georgetown.

What was your first impression of Georgetown?

I originally got a degree in engineering, and I later entered the Jesuits with the goal of teaching high school science. While working at a Jesuit high school, I was asked to teach ethics, which was interesting because all the students disagreed with me. As I was finishing my Ph.D., when it came time to choose a school, I got this letter saying, ‘Do you want to come visit Georgetown sometime?’ Georgetown hadn’t been on my radar, but I came down, visited, and had a pretty good time. I was a little surprised by how nice, collegial, and friendly the people were. It’s a great opportunity for someone with a doctorate in ethics to be in Washington, DC.

I am so grateful to Georgetown in part because it allowed me, as a Jesuit, to get a dog. I knew entering the priesthood I would never have a dog again, and I love dogs a lot. I came to Georgetown and three years later, I got a dog: Jack the Bulldog. He really connected me to the good stuff: encountering students, alumni, and their families. 

How did your time at Georgetown shape you?

Georgetown is academically elite and has important things happening—dialoging with other people and engaging certain issues. When I came to Georgetown as a younger Jesuit and began to think about what it meant to be working as a Jesuit at a university, I kept returning to this line from Pope Paul VI. He said, “Where the crossroads of the burning exigencies of the human condition and the demands of the gospel encounter each other, there are Jesuits.” That really struck me. This is what I love about Georgetown: it is a place where we’re grappling with the needs, the dramas, the intellectual currencies of the world—engaging all this with the Gospel. I found that engagement at Georgetown in ways I hadn’t anticipated. 

If you look, you’ll find this engagement right there on our shield, in the eagle talons. In one of the talons is the world, and in the other is the cross. That symbolizes for me what I love about Georgetown: to keep coming back to those crossroads between the world and Christianity where there needs to be dialogue.

Can you talk about the community you found at Georgetown? 

Jesuits go where their presence is needed. It’s great to be somewhere that believes in this 450+ year tradition, encouraging a deeper engagement with the world. I think in our best moments, we form students not to believe a particular way, but gain the capacity to reflect on their own lives and make well-informed choices about what it means to be a good, flourishing human in the world. 

Being the Jesuit representative to the Board of Governors has helped me meet wonderful alumni and become really deep friends with many of them. I get to baptize or marry their children, witness their marriages and experience their connections with each other. 

One of the great joys I have is teaching the Problem of God course. I love the culture of encounter and engagement it encourages: students from different ideological perspectives, religious perspectives coming together and talking about complex human issues. My other course that I love teaching is Dogs and Theology.

How do you feel about Georgetown today?

Every Thursday I have a 10 p.m. Mass in my dorm, followed by brownies and quesadillas at 10:30. I go through about 120 brownies. It’s open to anyone.

I think it’s important to all of us, especially now, to keep expanding our imagination and remember that there’s a larger horizon to our lives. My hope is that the Mass offers a moment of such an expansion; encouraging students and offering them an opportunity to meet each other. Georgetown has great students.

Georgetown keeps pushing crossroads encounters. I think [President Emeritus] Jack DeGioia was fantastic with that. I really do believe Georgetown can contribute to the world in a way other universities cannot.

In recognition of his service to Georgetown, Steck received the Patrick Healy Award in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 5, 2025. Established in 1969, this award is conferred upon an individual who is not an alumnus but whose achievements and record of service exemplify the ideals and traditions of Georgetown.

Meet Christine de Wendel (SFS’02), Co-Founder & U.S. CEO of sunday! Christine started sunday, a digital payments platform headquartered in Atlanta, five years ago after a 25 year career in management consulting and scaling tech companies in Europe. Georgetown had a tremendous and transformative impact on Christine’s life – keep reading for more about Christine’s entrepreneurial journey!

Was there any specific aspect of your time at Georgetown that influenced you to pursue entrepreneurship?

The short answer is no, if I can be totally candid. When I was at Georgetown, in the SFS as an international relations major, my dream was to be Secretary-General of the United Nations. I’m very far away from that now. I really wanted to join the U.S. Foreign Service. I failed the Foreign Service exam three times – I passed the written exam every time and then I got knocked down on the oral exam. I ended up in management consulting as a default. From management consulting, I went down the business path. My father is an entrepreneur and has encouraged me since I was probably two years old to be an entrepreneur. I finally made the jump at age 40 and started my own company. Georgetown brought me a ton of things, but when I was at Georgetown I was an idealistic 18 to 22 year old, and I didn’t have business or entrepreneurship top of mind. 

What inspired you to create the sunday app?

When I turned 40, I had been working with tech unicorns for over ten years, and so I had seen what successful scale ups looked like, and I wanted to start my own company. I had three kids in my 30s, and I frankly didn’t have the courage to start a company when I had really small children. I had a lot going on, as a lot of young parents did. When I turned 40, I said, “alright, now it’s time.” My youngest was almost four years old, so I was out of the tiny baby phase. I also was living in Europe for 15 years and I really wanted to move back to the U.S. The move to the U.S. coincided with starting sunday. 

Building a company and being a successful entrepreneur in the U.S. is so much easier than it is in a lot of other countries. There’s so much opportunity in the U.S. – the ability to raise funds, to start with any idea and run with it and create something big is much more realistic and achievable in the U.S.

I was looking for a simple yet generation-defining, transformative idea. I wanted something that resonated as much with consumers as Uber, Airbnb, or PayPal does. I wanted to address something that is so simple yet is a pain point in everyone’s life that can be solved with technology. The idea comes from my co-founder, Victor Lugger, who is a very successful restaurant operator in Europe. He’s the co-founder of the Big Mamma restaurant group and a friend of mine from Paris. He called me up and said, “Christine, I have a $100 billion idea. We’re going to change the way people pay in restaurants.”

Like everyone, I don’t like to pay in restaurants. Paying in restaurants, especially in the U.S., is pretty old school. You have to make eye contact with your server, wait for the server to bring the bill, give your credit card, somebody’s touching your payment method, then you have to use a pen to scribble a tip. If you think about it, it’s something that takes 12 minutes on average in the U.S. How can we use technology to change that? The idea was really simple: let’s put QR codes on tables and connect them to point of sale systems. We are going to make paying delightful and take 10 seconds. The idea came from my co-founder’s restaurant experience, and he wanted to partner with someone who had scaled tech companies in the past. It’s been a fabulous ride.

How has the sunday app grown and what is next?

We’ve had a classic start-up growth trajectory. Our first six months, we were tremendously successful with fundraising – we raised $125 million in a Seed round and a Series A round. We hadn’t quite figured out product-market fit, and we were not very clear on the product business model. We knew we had a really great idea, and we were great at pitching it. The first year, we grew from zero to 400 employees, launched in eight countries, and were convinced that the way to win was to get market share. The second year, we realized that the markets had turned, the tech climate was not as simple, and it was going to be much harder to fundraise. We had to scale down our operations considerably. We reduced our team by about 75%, which was brutal – frankly, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. We had to slim back our geographic footprint. From years 3-5, we’ve been growing really quickly on a solid base around profitability, making sure we have great unit economics, and that we have excellent product-market fit. Today, we do about $4 billion in transaction volume and we have around 170 employees. It has been an absolute rollercoaster, which is very characteristic of building a startup and then a scale up. We are extremely proud of where we are today. 

What does a day in your life look like?

There are different phases of what the startup looks like. Two years ago, I was selling during the day, onboarding restaurants in the evening, and doing customer support at night. That was when we had a skeleton crew in the U.S. and needed to improve our product-market fit. It was like eating gravel – grueling hours, some exciting and validating work, but a tremendous amount of rejection, and a ton of nitty gritty work. This required so much more grit than I expected. 

Today, we have a stellar team in place and we are in more of a scale up phase than we are in a startup phase. Now I’m back to one of my favorite things to do: leading teams. My typical day, I’m managing investors and press as co-founder, I’m managing my operations teams, and then I continue to do a lot of sales. On any given day, I’m traveling to a different city in the U.S. where we have a presence, or going to France and the U.K. where we have teams. Or in New York City, where I live, selling to some of the best restaurants. The really fun part of being a co-founder is that you get to touch so many different things – fundraising, press, sales, operations, and product development. On top of that, I have three incredible children, so I would say I’m quite busy.

What is the hardest part of your job?

The hardest part of my job used to be dealing with rejection. Because I had a consulting career, and a career in more mature startups, I didn’t realize what it was like to start a new product and make sure you’re launching something that doesn’t exist yet, and get traction in the market. Learning what great salespeople know already – that you’re going to get rejected 90% of the time – was quite painful. I’m a people pleaser and an optimist, and constantly getting knocked down and told that no one was interested in my product was incredibly challenging when I started out. Now I think I have pretty thick skin, and when I onboard new salespeople, I delight in training them and helping them get the grit and resilience that’s involved in doing a sales job. I have tremendous respect for anyone who cold calls me, because it’s a pretty painful job. 

On a macro level, as a co-founder running a company, it’s balancing having a healthy P&L and investing where you want to grow. When do we accelerate, and when do we stay conservative? Our number one responsibility is to build a healthy business that is going to be successful long-term. If you go too fast on your investment, you burn too much and you’re in a fragile position. If you go too slow, then you’re at risk of getting overtaken by competition, or not following the trajectory of a successful startup. It’s managing the tempo between risk and slower growth and conservative investment.

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?

By far, my favorite part is building and leading teams. I’ll take my U.S. leadership team as an example – it brings me tremendous satisfaction to see my operations and sales leaders building a successful business. I hire them, bring them on board, and convince them to join the adventure. Once I get great individuals on board, how do I make them work together? How do you make an executive, leadership, and management team as effective as an Olympic sports team? You have different profiles and strengths, and you need those to work together toward a common goal. That’s the most rewarding and fun part of my job.

Is there anything you wish more people knew about your industry?

Coming from someone who has grown up in the tech world, the hospitality industry is a beautiful industry. People who work in hospitality love being with people and providing great experiences. By nature, the people you work with are hospitable and love other people, and have a passion for what they do. The other thing I did not know before starting sunday is that hospitality is a tough industry. People work late and long hours, it’s not the most lucrative industry, and with that comes a certain amount of passion. One thing we do is we make sure we hire people who have worked in the hospitality industry, even though we are a fintech company serving the hospitality space, because once you’ve served in restaurants and you know what it’s like, you have so much more respect and understanding, which makes you a better professional. 

How does Georgetown continue to support you as an alumna?

The biggest impact Georgetown has on me is my network and my peer group. My best friends are from Georgetown and they have been very successful in their own verticals and industries. My female support network of Georgetown grads is incredibly powerful. We have a WhatsApp group that is chatting 3-4 times a day with business advice, but also brainstorming about how to best raise our children. I often say without that Georgetown support network and those friends, I wouldn’t be able to do it. The people I met at Georgetown really changed my life. 

Finally, what is one piece of advice you would give to any Georgetown student who might be interested in entrepreneurship?

My biggest piece of advice, especially if you are just finishing up school, is that you should give it a shot. One of the biggest challenges of entrepreneurship is having the courage to start. In the U.S., there are so many resources available for entrepreneurs – every idea can be a big idea. The hardest step is taking the leap of faith. My example is I started my first company at 40, so it took me a while to get there. It takes quite a bit of courage to make that decision. It is absolutely worth it and incredibly fulfilling to make that jump.

See all GEA Alumni Spotlights

Meet Utsav Gupta (L’15), Founder and CEO of Filarion and GTA Board Member!

Please introduce yourself.

My name is Utsav Gupta. I hold a Bachelor of Science in bioengineering with a focus in biotechnology and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from UC San Diego. I went on to be a Juris Doctor from Georgetown Law, and had an amazing time there. I actually just began as a Master’s student studying liberal arts at Stanford University. I can do that part-time, which has been great so I can focus on building my tech company. My planned focus is on the post-AI era. I’m hoping to write a thesis on that. This program will take anywhere from 4 to 6 years to complete. 

Professionally, I am the founder and CEO of Filarion. I lead work on the intersection of AI, and also in spatial computing. Previous to this, I was a patent litigator. I worked at the law firms Dechert LLP and Tensegrity Law Group, where I managed complex and high-stake technology cases from smartphones to microfluidic chips used for single cell sequencing to portable X-ray devices. 

Beyond my professional career, I also have a civic one. I serve as a utilities commissioner in the city of Palo Alto. I help provide oversight of a $475 million annual utilities budget and advise on climate, sustainability, fiber deployment, and grid modernization. The city of Palo Alto is a unique city in California – we are the only city that owns and operates all of our own utilities, so all five essential services. I am particularly excited that we are expanding into the home internet service provider space. We will be providing municipal fiber deployment. I am also very focused on climate and sustainability, working to improve our water quality. We are also focused on trying to decarbonize and decommission our gas utility, which is both a technical and policy-driven issue.

How did your time at Georgetown influence your career path in the tech industry?

Georgetown has been a tremendous influence, both as a student and as an alum. I’ve been happy to serve on the Board of Visitors for the Law School with Dean Treanor. The experiences at Georgetown Law were just incredible. I got to be very early on immersed in cutting edge intellectual property and technology law. Being in DC, you get these opportunities you wouldn’t get anywhere else. I was a clerk for the Senate Judiciary Committee under Senator Pat Leahy, where I helped draft judicial nomination memos, policy papers on issues like the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, electronic border searches, and intellectual property. These experiences really helped show me how deeply technology is intertwined with public policy and governance. I think something that is really important as you build a tech company is to always think about the ethical, humanistic, and societal implications of what you’re doing. Georgetown Law really gave me that lens.

At Georgetown, I also had the opportunity to serve as a law clerk on the International Trade Commission Office of Unfair Import Investigations. As a student, I got to work on adversarial patent disputes involving global technology companies. It really gave me a front row seat to how innovation and intellectual property disputes can shape issues like international trade. 

Another aspect of Georgetown that I think was so influential to me was the opportunity to be involved in communities. I got to serve as executive editor of the Georgetown International Environmental Law Review. I also helped lead the South Asian Law Students Association. 

In summary, these experiences showed me that issues aren’t just technical, or technically legal, but they are interdisciplinary and require collaboration. That mindset helped me transition from a legal patent litigation career to tech entrepreneurship. In the work I do, I need to combine both my legal expertise, science and engineering perspectives, strategy, and the ability to collaborate with people to build innovative things. I’m very thankful to Georgetown for that education.

What is the mission and vision behind Filarion, your tech company?

Our mission is to create technology that makes the world more accessible, equitable, and intelligent. We are pioneering two focuses right now. The first is in AI-driven legal solutions. We want to help speed up and in some cases automate litigation processes and do them up to 1000 times faster and 90% cheaper than having attorneys spend time doing them. One implication of that is it allows attorneys to avoid mundane work and instead think through strategy. It enables a broader access to justice by reducing the cost of having to assert your claims. Right now we are focused in my wheelhouse of patent litigation, but the tools will be applicable across many legal contexts.

The second focus is in spatial computing, an umbrella term for things like augmented reality and virtual reality. We are working on how humans will interact with these tools and with the physical world. We are supporting this innovation with patents we have in the United States, Europe, Japan, and China. We’ve had international recognition for the novelty of this technology. There are multiple tech companies working on how to do the next thing post-smartphone. A lot of these companies think it’s going to be spatial computing, so it’s a very exciting place to be working in right now.

Overall, our vision is to empower people – right now those are lawyers and also everyday users in the spatial computing space. We are trying to break down barriers and create new possibilities in this next AI era.

How has your interdisciplinary experience shaped your approach to creating accessible technology?

My background has helped me see how technology is not just code and hardware; it is a human system. At Filarion, we aren’t just trying to develop tools that are technologically powerful, but also impactful for society and for the people who use them. That’s shown by making complex litigation affordable – or at least some aspects of it, or ensuring that we have spatial computing interfaces that are intuitive and inclusive. It’s that wide lens that my education and background provided that is really helpful as you think about how technology interacts with people and society.

What do you wish more people knew about the tech industry?

When people think of the tech industry, they think of tech titans and all these cool innovations and how it makes them more efficient. The humanities, ethics, and governance are as essential as building a product, engineering the technology, and marketing it. I do think tech companies, especially in Silicon Valley, do try to think through that. We think of it through a futurism lens, and we need folks in DC to help us think through the societal implications of what folks are doing here. The collaboration between tech and policy – you see that in a lot of successful companies. 

What is your favorite app or website, and why?

I’m going to go old school…I have to say Wikipedia! It’s still the gold standard of representing what technology should do, which is democratizing access, in this case to information. It does it in a way where it doesn’t lock you into some proprietary system where the data is enclosed in their specific format and you have to login or pay to access it. It’s an open, anywhere, easily preservable tool that provides the full encapsulation of human knowledge. If you want to learn anything you start at Wikipedia. I think that’s so powerful, which is why I’d have to choose it as my favorite. 

What is one quick piece of advice you would give to a Georgetown student that is interested in tech?

I’d say don’t silo yourself – be broad. Tech is not just for computer scientists or technologists. Lawyers, policy thinkers, designers, liberal arts graduates, and all kinds of careers are going to have critical roles to play in tech. Georgetown is such a special place, so definitely take advantage of all the interdisciplinary opportunities there are available to you. If you’re studying art history, take a technology class. If you’re a biology major, go ahead and intern on the Hill or somewhere in DC. Take advantage of it, use your @georgetown.edu email address to open doors. The ability to speak across disciplines is increasingly a skill that will open doors for you, including in tech. 

For more GTA Alumni Spotlights, click here.

Paul O’Neill (C’86, G’96)

Paul O’Neill served as senior advisor to President Emeritus John J. DeGioia and as chief operations officer for the Office of Advancement. Today, he chairs the Advisory Board of the Carroll Forum, interviews for the Alumni Admissions Program, and is an external advisor for the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union.

Learn what led O’Neill to write a book on Georgetown history.

What was your path to Georgetown?

I came to Georgetown as a high school sophomore to attend debate camp. I grew up in the conservative Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and life was like watching black and white TV. When I got to Georgetown, the Jesuits, they were broadcasting life in Technicolor. I knew Georgetown was the place that I wanted to be, but I didn’t take a straight path to get there—I went to Villanova my first year.

When I started at Georgetown, I landed a three-year internship at the White House. I worked in the Presidential Advance Office, which organizes the president’s activities outside the White House. I answered the telephone, delivered documents, and typed the president’s trip schedule. Over time, I learned the ropes, and when I graduated, the White House Advance Office became my first full-time job. None of that would have happened if I didn’t go to school two miles up the road at Georgetown.

What led you to write about Georgetown’s history?

Georgetown has an incredible history, but not a lot of people know the story. I started writing the Georgetown history book, Georgetown University, in 2002. Emmet Curran had written the definitive history of Georgetown’s first 200 years, but I wanted to create something more visual and accessible. I knew the archives had incredible historical photographs and documents; the problem was that in 2002, almost nothing had been digitized. So, I went to BestBuy and I bought a desktop computer and a scanner. Then I went up to the fifth floor of Lauinger and spent the summer creating a digital archive of hundreds and hundreds of photos. From that digital archive, I created a top-line narrative of Georgetown’s first 200 years, and I put it into a book. I updated and expanded the book in 2020 with my classmate, Bennie Smith.

What do you like about your work with the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union?

 The Credit Union is a unique Georgetown story. It’s the largest student-run financial institution in the world, and it started because students were tired of paying usurious rates to the on-campus Riggs bank. So, they created a student credit union, and it’s been in operation for 45 years.

 The credit union set up an external advisory committee 12 years ago. We meet a couple of times a year with the student leadership to review the credit union’s health and discuss what new leadership will take on over the next year.

 What’s great about the opportunity to work with today’s student leaders is watching them tackle a set of challenges that students from my era never contemplated. After all, branch banking is dead. But year after year, students reshape and reinvent the credit union to focus on what today’s students need from a bank. That’s their mission: to serve students.

 What about Georgetown’s future?

 The fact that Georgetown has persisted for over 250 years is remarkable; and Georgetown persists because it stays focused on its evergreen mission. I’m with Professor John Glavin who says, “Georgetown, by all accounts, should have vanished years ago, but it didn’t because Georgetown is a place that America needs. It’s a place that America requires.” I think that’s true now more than ever.

 In recognition of his achievements and service, O’Neill received the John Carroll Award in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 5, 2025. The John Carroll Award is named for Archbishop John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in North America and founder of Georgetown University. Established in 1951, this award is conferred upon alumni whose achievements and record of service exemplify the ideals and traditions of Georgetown and its founder.

Sean Mandell (C’08) is a Senior Reporter for PEOPLE, across PEOPLE Magazine and PEOPLE.com, reporting on and covering news across all of PEOPLE’s verticals, with an emphasis on entertainment and celebrity.

What was your first “big break” into your industry? Or, what is the most significant experience you have had that has made your success possible?

I’ve been fortunate to have several moments where I’ve felt myself crossing a threshold of opportunity. In terms of entertainment news journalism, reporting on the 2018 royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan was a definite watershed moment for me.

What was your first job?

Location scout/production assistant on the movie Sound of My Voice, made by fellow Hoyas Zal Batmanglij (C’02) and Brit Marling (C’05).

What do you do in your job now? What is your favorite part of your current position?

I’m a Senior Reporter for PEOPLE. I report on and cover news across all of PEOPLE’s verticals, with an emphasis on entertainment and celebrity. My favorite part of my role is the freedom it provides — whether that be the creative freedom to enterprise original stories/beats I feel strongly about, or the freedom to move between reporting on red carpets to reporting in courtrooms. 

What was the externship experience like for you? Did it have an influence on your career/help kickstart your career?

The externship was a crash course in the entertainment industry for me. I went in not knowing where I saw myself in the industry, which proved valuable as it kept me curious. I came away struck by how much I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I was also moved by how serious the business of entertainment was to everyone I met, and how each person cared deeply about their contributions. As a result of the externship, I found an incredible acting studio in Los Angeles, where I studied at the beginning of my career and began making my way on the road to who I am today. 

What part(s) of the Externship did you find most valuable?

Meeting people from across the industry, especially those from fields I had not marked down as ones I wanted to pursue, and meeting my fellow externs.

What was your experience like attending Georgetown? Were there any particularly formative experiences that were special to you?

Attending Georgetown was electrifying. It was the first place I felt I could tap into all my seemingly disparate interests. Among my most formative experiences: writing an honors thesis on medieval queer literature with the guidance of Professor Kelley Wickham-Crowley, performing onstage in the then newly-opened Davis Performing Arts Center, and studying screenwriting with Professor John Glavin. 

What’s your advice for an undergraduate trying to break into your industry? Is there anything you would tell your younger self now?

Apply for the externship if possible. 

Be bold but polite in pursuing relationships and opportunities. 

Send a thank you note. I may be a bit of a Luddite, but I enjoy and appreciate a handwritten note. Physical addresses aren’t always available, of course, and an emailed note of thanks is just as lovely.  

Remember that there is not a singular prescribed way of doing things. Free yourself from any pressure you might feel to follow someone else’s path, because your own will inevitably vary from others who have gone before you, even if you end up at the same place. 

Holding on to preconceived notions about what you think you “should” do can mean missing out on opportunities available right in front of you. Ruthlessly question what you want and why you want it, then take action accordingly. 

Be patient but persistent and consistent (advice I still tell myself and do my best to take). 

Name someone in your career who has been a valuable mentor or role model to you and why?

I’ve had many mentors and role models in my career, including two I’ve mentioned here: Dr. John Glavin and Zal Batmanglij. Dr. Glavin not only introduced me to Zal, but he also introduced me to a world of filmmaking I would never have experienced without his insight and guidance. Zal showed me firsthand the alchemical brew that passion, dedication and craft can create when brought together.

To read other “GEMA Externship: Where Are They Now?” posts, click here.