Digital Transformation: She turned Her MBA into a Booming Consultancy Business

Tania Morgan is Alumni and Ambassador of ZIGURAT’s MBA in Digital Transformation. After graduating,  she has assisted the largest privately owned hospitality client in South Africa, where she is from, and their equity partner, to drive their growth strategy including a modern business intelligence system with dashboards to enhance commercial decisions.

She is also Founder of Tania Morgan & Co, an International Growth & Innovation Modern Management and Marketing Advisory focused on developing future-fit organisations and brands.

“My purpose is to make a difference one insight and person at a time. I'm committed to conscious commercial practices and focus on sustainability in all verticals I have operated in. I’d love to help you build a better today”, she declares.

In this interview she shares with us why she chose ZIGURAT, the highlights of the programme, and how his formative experience impacted her professional life. Plus, she shows us two real-world projects where she was able to implement the knowledge she acquired at ZIGURAT. 

Could you tell us why you opted for ZIGURAT and why you decided to enrol in this Master's degree/course?

I liked the curriculum. I felt it was highly relevant and well rounded, from business models to accelerators and all in between. I enrolled during COVID, and it was a great way to keep me up to date with the digital trends that were very much being fast-tracked.
 

I wanted a reputable International Academic Institution and I felt University of Barcelona with ZIGURAT was a good option that was accessible to me in terms of fees as well. It was a good value proposition.

I liked the professors and the fact that they were international industry leaders of reputable blue-chip businesses and thought leaders with expertise in their respective fields. I was also drawn to the fact that the programme was very hands-on and geared towards taking strategy and theory into action.

What would you say are the three strengths of this programme? 

The  faculty board, the practical approach with lots of real-word projects, and the academic structure.  

How was your relationship with the other students and teachers during the master's degree/course? 
 

I loved the professors and developed a rapport with nearly all of them. They are smart, accessible and willing to share their knowledge. They made time to engage with students and to generate interesting debates and made space to assist everyone on a one-on-one approach.

My fellow students were also great and open to engage in collaborative teams.
 

How has this training had an impact on your professional life? Have you been able to apply the knowledge in actual projects?

This MBA has fundamentally changed the way I work. Now I view and engage with modern business ecosystems more strategically and with increased confidence. I look at the world through a different lens and this has had a positive impact on my consultancy and my personal business.

Could you tell us, in more detail, about one or two projects in which you have applied your knowledge of this programme? 

Project 1: Hospitality client for my consultancy, Tania Morgan & Co

Their needs:

• To accelerate growth (FOCUS ON GROWTH THAT MATTERS).  Within the context of this, we identified that they did not have real time information and visibility of value creators and destroyers in the business to make quality decisions to impact the business.
   
• To develop a narrative for the business (BUSINESS STRATEGY AND PLAN) to motivate and engage a high performance team. To use data to recognise insights and drive relevant marketing actions. 

The solution:
 

• Implementation of a Tech Stack for Business Intelligence to enhance insight and empower commercial decisions faster
• Outline and execution of a Business, Brand and Portfolio Strategy to take the business to next level of growth post COVID-19 pandemic
• Creation of a meaningful brand narrative and of more meaningful conversations for potential investors and for staff, using insights from the data and the fact base to power it.
• We moved all the data to the cloud and created a data lake.
• Position the business to sale with a 10x multiplier.
   

Our Deliverables:

• Tech Stack Assessment
• Tech Stack Implementation
• Visualisation Of Business Intelligence for agile decision-making across the business
• Business strategy for Future Fit Organisation (Narrative)
• Investor Pack
• PLAYBOOK for staff
• Supply Chain integration & enhancements
• Knowledge Transfer to teams cross functionally

Critical Success Factors

• Master Data and hierarchies
• Choose Correct Partners
• Know where you want to go
• Realise it is a journey
• Continuous improvement
• Lifelong Learning
• Curiosity
   

Project 2: MiQuann!, a feminine wellness technology business

The idea:

I wanted to develop a project for the democratisation of sexual wellness in the early 2000’s, but did not have the risk profile to start a new business. Seventeen years later, I took the basic thinking and developed  the idea into one that was focused on a platform which offered personalisation of self-care and wellness to women of +35. 

I myself had some experiences which I felt could help other women to make personal wellness choices if they were better informed about certain feminine wellness topics.

The proposal:

Miquann! Is a feminine wellness technology business aimed at hormonal health. Its purpose is to empower women and to create a safe space for making personalised choices. 

The added value:

MiQuann! believes in creating a world where women can be excited to grow in liberty, creativity and wisdom at every stage of their lives. Women become more beautiful as they mature: they gain wisdom and make peace with their body and soul. They can be more open and honest about their body, mind and spirit as they experience the changes in the process of ageing and the circle of life. 

Miquann! creates a safe space for women to share collective experience, insight, and tools.It is a community and tech-based platform for curious women who care about lifelong sexual wellness and overall well being. 

It offers clean self-care wellness products, useful contents, and an environment to have honest conversations.

The brand is all about curiosity, wisdom, honesty, wit, and freedom. It celebrates women’s bright minds and beautiful bodies. 

Some product lines:

• A lifestyle one-stop self-care holistic menopausal wellness platform with a curated assortment of clean products, services, lifestyle solutions and sticky educational content that support women through this life stage.
   
• Advisory and wellness platform for partners, with a clean Curated range of products & personalised lifestyle solutions/services
   
   

What tools did the MBA give you to develop these projects?

I was able to understand how to develop digital business models and ecosystems and also how to develop digital products and services. Also, I was able to develop modern marketing and sales strategies as well as modern supply chain solutions.

What advice would you give to students who are about to start the programme (or who are thinking of enrolling)?

Plan ahead! Think about your final master thesis upfront as each module and assignment can build to the final thesis idea which you can then refine at the end.

I would also recommend creating a student whatsapp group and possibly some connections outside of the course curriculum.
 

Can you share the best memory or experience you have had in the programme/what is your favourite memory of the programme?

Oh wow! There are a few. The one that stood out for me was the day we presented our elevator pitch to professor  Jordi Damià and he welcomed us with a bowl full of tangerines…since my start-up is called MIquann!, which is a word play on the Japanese mandarin “Mikan”.