A mini-blog series by Daniel Cade

Prior to the MBA, Patrick studied art mediation specialising in art and design history, and arts management focusing on sustainability. “It’s fascinating,” he told me on our call, “Visual arts offer a medium through which artists communicate in their own unique language. And, happily, it’s a language I’ve always had access to.”

As someone who has always been knocking on the door, I was delighted to learn that Patrick revels in the opportunity to let people in. Ahead of a recent class trip to Fondation Beyeler and Art Basel, he provided classmates with a presentation on major players, numbers, and recent developments, including NFTs.

Non-fungible tokens play a central role in the business plan that Patrick and his classmate Johannes Feike have prepared, as part of their final MBA project. “Our solution offers a way for museums to enter the art NFT field within the context of a marketplace.” As I openly questioned the value of owning a digital image of a museum piece, Patrick asked whether I used to collect soccer stickers. “Yes,” I replied, reminiscently. “Well, imagine owning unique or limited-edition collectibles that you could potentially display in your meta room,” he said. That’s when the penny dropped!

Patrick and Johannes’ supervisor expects nothing less than a credible plan with realistic numbers from the duo. “It makes good financial sense even though we’ve been extremely conservative in our projections,” Patrick told me. “Will you go for it then?” I asked, excitedly. “We will bring it to life at some point soon. For now, though, I’m happy that we went down this road. It’s a great opportunity to apply everything that we’ve learned over the year,” he replied.

As graduation draws ever closer, I asked what advice Patrick might have for future MBAs. “Manage your energy levels well,” he said. “And use the chance to connect with your classmates, part-time MBAs, and alumni. It’s a privilege to be a part of such a great network. I’m very thankful for it.”