ABOUT US
Designed to equip high school students with an introduction to the world of business…and help them become, in the words of Warren Buffett, “learning machines.”
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The WBRG Story
In the spring of 2020, when the pandemic forced most schools to close, and education was in crisis in the United States, HBS graduate, Internet entrepreneur, and investor, Phyl Terry, launched WBRG for high school students who were receiving no quality education at the time.
Initially conceived as a pandemic-era program, Phyl and the growing roster of fellow faculty discovered that WBRG met an ongoing need for high school students to receive an introduction to the world of business.
They discovered that the program had many unanticipated ancillary benefits. The most important of which is it led to improving each student’s level of motivation and self-direction. In other words, WBRG helps students become better, more motivated learners. And as all educators know – self-motivation is the key to learning. If a student has their own desire to learn, then they can go far.
Furthermore, the program was so successful – and so well received — that WBRG has now iterated the curriculum with more than 500 students over the past four years and is now launching in three ways: 1) via this website; 2) via high schools and nonprofits; and 3) via sponsorships from major financial institutions like LPL Financial.
The Founding Team
Phyl Terry, WBRG Founder
Phyl is the founder of The WBRG, and by day is the CEO and founder of Collaborative Gain, a leadership community for digital executives. Phyl also runs their own private investment fund.
Every year, Phyl brings groups of CEOs out to Omaha for a private workshop and for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. Phyl holds a Harvard MBA and is the author of Customers Included, Never Search Alone, contributed a chapter to The Warren Buffett Shareholder: Stories from inside the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, and wrote “Who can Help the CEO?” in the Harvard Business Review.
A graduate of the Harvard Business School, Phyl also founded and runs three additional pro-bono programs – Slow Art Day, Reading Odyssey, and the Never Search Alone community.
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David Wagonfeld, Co-Founder & Teacher
David is a Partner at Tandem Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and before that spent more than a decade as a partner at value investing hedge fund, Standard Pacific Capital. David has a passion for education and youth development, and, among other things, sits on the Board of Directors of Americans for Ben Gurion University. David also has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Melissa Norcross, PhD, Co-Founder & Teacher
In addition to her Harvard MBA, Melissa has a PhD in leadership. She has held CFO and strategy roles for a range of companies including her current stint as head of corporate strategy for financial services firm, USAA. Melissa has also taught at the Naval PostGraduate.
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McKenzie Williams, Founding Student & Registrar
A founding member of the summer and yearlong WBRG classes, McKenzie loves the program and is the WBRG Registrar. She is a student at Phillips Academy Andover. She is passionate about math, computer science, and business – of course! Her hobbies include fencing, photography, reading, and watching anime.
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“I cannot thank the WBRG program enough! My son is starting his junior year in high school in such a different way coming out of the summer.
He has so much more intensity, drive, and confidence. We don’t push him anymore.
He’s motivating himself. Terrific.
– Neville L., CMO