Melvin Hines JD '09, MBA '11 let Duke Executive MBA students pick apart the hardest decisions he made building his company.

Hines is co-founder and CEO of Upswing, an edtech platform he launched in 2013 with Fuqua roommate Alex Pritchett. The company has partnered with more than 125 institutions and helped over 75,000 students stay in college, according to Upswing's data. Its mission grew from personal experience when only 68 students out of 250 graduated Hines' high school class in Albany, Georgia.

A Duke I&E case study co-authored by Director Jamie Jones and former director Jon Fjeld traces Upswing's formation and growth, focusing on pivotal choices around funding, hiring, and scaling. The case is now used across Duke's curriculum, from the undergraduate I&E introductory course to Daytime and Executive MBA programs, according to Duke I&E's 2023 impact report.

Hines joined the Executive MBA Entrepreneurial Education course to discuss the case in person. His core message to students: don't wait for perfect conditions.

"Regardless of what they read, hear, or see in movies, there is no special formula for operating a successful startup," Hines said. "You have to decide, fail, learn from that failure, and keep going."

He also urged aspiring founders without personal wealth to build their ideas while working full-time, noting that pressure to go "all in" disproportionately impacts minority and female founders who may accept unfavorable funding terms or shut down entirely.