The Family Business

Clara Orlean ’20 sees her family’s entrepreneurial influence emerging strongly in her career path. The recent graduate of Mays Business School’s Full-Time MBA Program (FTMBA) has created ClaraTech, which aims to empower older adults through technology training and support.

Orlean left her full-time job at ExxonMobil to devote herself to ClaraTech in February 2021 after increasing demand. Nine months later, Orlean won the services category of the Lift-Off Houston Business Plan Competition.

GETTING HER BEARINGS

After studying Global Supply Chain and Operations Management as well as Business Management at the University of South Carolina, the sixth-generation Texan joined Gexpro in a rotation program.

Eventually, Orlean decided to pursue an MBA, a dream sparked by her father. “My father has always been very entrepreneurial. He started his own law practice and is a real estate investor in his free time in Fort Worth. He’s always looking for new ways to fill an unserved need,” she said. “I knew that my undergraduate degree only would get me so far in the corporate arena—or it would just take a long time to rise in the ranks and get promoted the natural way. An MBA helps you fast track.”

STARTING A NEW CHAPTER

The young professional decided to commit to the full-time 18-month program at Mays Business School in College Station. She quickly found that the program was preparing her to level up her business knowledge and skills. “I took basic business courses in my undergraduate degree, but the Full-Time MBA program at Texas A&M took that subject matter to a deeper level,” she said. “I learned to look at things from a manager’s perspective. I was able to connect my learnings and prior work experience, connections that would be very useful in my career.”

Orlean believes the FTMBA provided a strong foundation for her entrepreneurial venture, even though she wasn’t aware she would be launching a business at the time. “The practical knowledge I gained in the FTMBA coursework has allowed me to succeed as a new business owner. I understand my financials and know how to speak to them in pitch competitions and business meetings,” she said. “My critical thinking skills, self-awareness, and ability to work with others have improved. These are skills that have been extremely helpful as a new business owner.”

THE AGGIELAND ENVIRONMENT

She credits the FTMBA program with creating a special comradery among her cohort, which continues to this day. “From tailgates to football games, to intramural sports, and nights out in Northgate, we really grew as friends.”

She also found time to become involved in key Mays leadership roles. “I really enjoyed giving back to the program by serving on the MBA Association Board and working in the admissions office for the FTMBA program,” Orlean said. “I loved talking to prospective students, helping them through the application process, showing them around Aggieland, and celebrating with them when they were accepted into the program.”

As an added benefit, she met her soon-to-be husband, Alex Orlean ’11 ’20, in the FTMBA program. She noted that the FTMBA’s assessments helped her better understand the complementary nature of her own personal work style as well as that of her future husband. “We found that we worked really, really well together,” she said. “When there was conflict on the team, we worked through it together.”

FINDING HER OWN PATH

After graduation, Orlean joined ExxonMobil, where she worked in procurement for the transportation and logistics team. But the COVID-19 pandemic soon forced the company into lockdown. Orlean began working from home and re-evaluating the type of career she wanted to have.

A few months later, her mother-in-law, Terri Orlean, reached out for advice on how to organize the various Zoom links for meetings. Her mother-in-law began advertising Orlean’s skill and counsel to her friends, who all needed help. “I started helping older adults with tech before work and during my lunch breaks. There was such a need for a service here that wasn’t being offered.”

Orlean launched ClaraTech in October 2020—and five months later she left her full-time job to concentrate on building her new venture. Orlean develops a tailored technology plan for each client, identifying the best technology for a specific situation and then training the older adult on how to use it. In some cases, this technology supports older adults who have mobility or hearing impairment.

Over the past year, she’s refined her business model based on what she’s learning from multiple datapoints. While she continues to work primarily with individual older adults, Orlean also has received invitations to train care providers and employees of small businesses. She also is initiating technology workshops in Houston-area retirement communities, where she sees as a huge gap. “Tech education is not provided at retirement communities, and I really believe it should be,” she said. “People want them to learn, but nobody’s taking the time to show them how to use their iPhone or how to FaceTime.”

INCREASING TECH LITERACY

Realizing the growing opportunities for ClaraTech, Orlean decided to participate in the Lift-Off Houston Business Plan Competition. Her pitch in the services category earned her first place and $10,000 to cover costs associated with growing her business—and she credits the FTMBA program for preparing her for the intense competition. “The FTMBA program gave me the confidence to stand up in front of the room and pitch my business,” she said.

Orlean is grateful for how her family and her “chosen family” from Mays FTMBA Program have influenced her life, both personally and professionally. She wants to remain connected to Mays to reciprocate—and keep learning. “We had our annual reunion for the FTMBA program called Brisket Bowl back in October of last year and had about 20 of our classmates come from all over the country to be together. It was like we didn’t skip a beat.”

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Know someone who needs tech help services? Visit Clara-Tech.

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