Editor’s note: In college and through his time at HBS, Austin Scee (MBA 2001) volunteered as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in Atlanta, Georgia. One of his mentees was Michael Gandy, who was 9 years old when they met and later went on to attend HBS. Together, they have launched PowerUP, a nonprofit organization that gives disadvantaged Atlanta youth new opportunities for personal development by providing scholarships to pay for martial arts training. Learn more about how they met here.

What is PowerUP?

Mike Gandy Auzenne: “Essentially it’s a database match. We have a database of martial arts instructors who meet our standards; a list of gyms that often have open slots for more students; a list of kids who can benefit from participating, provided by Atlanta youth organizations; and a list of donors who support our philosophy. We work with two gyms currently, and we’re planning to partner with some after-school programs to bring instructors to them.”

What are your short- and long-term goals for PowerUP?

MGA: “We currently serve 100 kids, and we are aiming to serve 1,000 by year-end 2022. We are also searching for an executive director to build the processes and systems to enable us to onboard and serve these organizations. Know any HBS alumni interested in jumping on board?!”

What inspired the creation of PowerUP?

MGA: “Austin’s profound impact on my life is the only reason I am where I am today. We often talked about unlocking the lessons we learned through Big Brothers Big Sisters to instill structure and discipline to underserved children at scale. I know how my relationship with Austin impacted my life, and Austin observed, with his own son, the impact martial arts can have on children. These combined lessons led to the creation of PowerUP.”

Why do you think the work of the organization is important?

MGA: “In addition to having Austin to guide me at a young age, I was lucky to be athletic as a child. While I learned many lessons playing sports growing up, I think they can be summarized into three buckets: self-control, resilience, and maintaining respect for others. I was required to have self-control to not go out to college parties or stay up late, knowing that I had afternoon practice or a game the next day. I learned resilience to push through a rough day of conditioning and still make time for an extra hour of studying, versus going straight to bed. I learned to maintain respect through overcoming disagreements I had with teammates, players on other teams, and my coaches. These three overarching lessons transpire through all aspects of my life personally and professionally, and I think all youth would benefit from gaining these valuable lessons.

“It’s impossible to say if my life would have been the same if I only had Austin without sports, but I do know that combined, it worked well. Not all individuals have the desire or opportunity to play sports, either because of ability or resources. We found martial arts to be the best avenue because of both the lessons learned and the fact that it is available to individuals of all shapes and sizes. There is certainly an economic barrier to participate in martial arts, so we are grateful that we are able to bridge the gap.”

What roles do each of you fill within the organization?

MGA: “My official title is Secretary and Treasurer, but we are small enough to remain flexible and fill whatever role is needed at the time. Austin still jumps in to teach me how to be better in this position as well. Fortunately for me, Austin continues to build in teaching lessons here and there, so I’m improving, but I’ve still got some ground to make up.”

What do you find most challenging about the work? What do you find most rewarding?

MGA: “The most rewarding part of PowerUP is giving other kids the opportunities that were afforded of me due to my relationship with Austin. The hardest part is feeling like I am being impactful enough given I work long hours in my current job [director of marketing analytics at Inspire Brands] and am not able to commit as much time as I would like to PowerUP. Given that I’m only a few years out of HBS, I don’t have as much control of my calendar as some of our other board members. Fortunately, the team has been accommodating by scheduling board meetings on Saturday mornings or waiting until the evening to receive a response on my end.”

Do you use what you learned at HBS in this work?

MGA: “I don’t think it was ever explicitly stated, but I think every case protagonist at HBS is put in a situation where they are creating or building something new. They ended up in a particular situation because they tried something that has never been done before, whether it’s founding a company, creating a new product, or refining an existing process. HBS taught me that creating something new was a possibility and the linear and sometimes obvious path isn’t necessarily the best choice. This lesson not only helps me day-to-day with PowerUP, but also leads both Austin and me to be more creative in how we approach everything related to the organization.”

What was your favorite HBS case (or cases) and why?

MGA: “One of my favorite cases was on Organjet and Guardian Wings. The case was about an organization that wanted to innovate on how organs are transported to recipients through the creation of a partnership between a for-profit entity and a nonprofit organization. Organjet is a for-profit company that provides on-demand private jet and ground logistics for patients to travel for an organ transplant from one region to another. In addition, the company created a program called GuardianWings that provides the same service at a reduced fee or as a free ‘angel flight’ to move underserved patients when organs become available, which is subsidized by the for-profit entity. It’s a gentle reminder that there are ways to not accept things the way they are and that we should all push to integrate business transactions to benefit the society around us.

“I don’t think it is a surprise that, with three HBS alumni on our board [the third is Tom Avery (MBA 1977)], we’ve tried to incorporate this concept into PowerUP’s business model as well. We realize that, in order for PowerUP to be a success, we need our senseis to be successful. That is why we partner with our senseis to develop marketing content, and work with them to improve their business model. Our first sensei tripled his take-home pay in his first year with us. Part of the increase was based on the scholarship revenue directly, but we also helped him improve his business. He learned through our program that he was in the business of teaching values to kids, not teaching karate to kids and adults. We also ran some marketing programs for him that resulted in new clients.”

What’s your fondest HBS memory (or memories)?

MGA: “My fondest memory was hosting a panel on Big Brothers Big Sisters at HBS. Austin flew to campus, my Little Brother traveled from New York City, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Boston joined in, as did a few HBS graduates who had also been part of the program. The panel was informative, but the best part was the support that I received from my classmates. I was truly surprised at the turnout that we had and the number of my sectionmates that signed up to be a Big Brother or Big Sister after the event.”

What advice do you have for current HBS students who want to “make a difference in the world?”

MGA: “Just go for it. Don’t wait around for what you have envisioned as the perfect opportunity. If you are passionate about something, then figure out a way to make it part of your life. I’m more risk-adverse than most (according to my wife), so I would recommend not diving head first into your idea or project, but figure out ways how to incorporate it into your evenings or weekends.”

Austin, how has Mike impacted your life?

Austin Scee: “I always tell people that I get as much out of our relationship as Mike does. For one, helping someone live up to their potential is gratifying. On a more personal note, my 12-year-old son benefits from my experience with Mike. My son and Mike are very different, so I have to be careful not to expect my son to listen as well as Mike did, but the same basic patterns apply. I would tell Mike something over and over again, not nagging him, just repeating things that were important like ‘you’re smart,’ and ‘you can do this if you put in the work.’ Sometimes it would take two years for the lesson to sink in, but I’d see it.

“It’s too easy with our own kids to expect lessons to sink in immediately. I learned patience, and just got a better understanding of what to expect and when. I’m not always patient with my son, but when things take longer to sink in than I’d like, I have confidence they’ll sink in eventually because of my experience with Mike.

“On a bigger stage, my relationship with Mike prompted us to start PowerUP. When Mike applied to business school, we developed his story for the essays. We learned after he was admitted that the story went viral in the HBS admissions department and among some of the faculty. That essay, and we didn’t know this at the time, built the foundation of a mentorship framework. When we decided to build a scalable mentorship model, we were able to go back to the framework and build on it.”

What are your short- and long-term goals for PowerUP?

AS: “I’d like to build PowerUP into a global mentorship program that can supplement all the other great programs out there that help disadvantaged and at-risk kids thrive. We think we can build PowerUP from 100 kids today to 10,000 within the next five years. With the right resources and leadership, we can expand even faster. The model is inherently scalable and sustainable.”

Learn more about PowerUP at https://PowerUPscholarship.org/.

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