Entrepreneur and Investment Banker Raj Davé Believes in Helping Others

Celebrating 10 Under 10 honoree Raj Davé ’13, MBA ’18

Investment banker, healthcare entrepreneur, and benefactor and mentor Raj Davé ’13, MBA ’18, a graduate of the Two-Year MBA program at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, is one of the 2024 10 Under 10 Notable Alumni honored by the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

Davé is CFO and cofounder of Scalable Care, a San Francisco-based healthcare AI platform that helps healthcare organizations deliver evidence-based digital therapies to patients around the world. Before joining Scalable Care, Davé was an investment banker specializing in M&A, capital raising, and private equity at a variety of firms, including Mizuho, Lincoln International, Nomura, and Cain Brothers (KeyBank). He has been a council member with the Gerson Lehrman Group since 2016, providing expertise to private equity firms and management consulting firms.

Davé started his entrepreneurial career as a multi-unit franchisee with Subway and later became Subway’s director of development for Northern New Jersey.

In 2016, Davé established the Raj Davé ’13 Professional Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to Johnson School MBA students who have demonstrated entrepreneurial success and/or a desire to pursue entrepreneurial ventures post-MBA.

A graduate of both the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences and the Johnson School in the SC Johnson College, Davé lives in San Francisco and enjoys spending quality time with family and friends.

Learn more about Davé in this Q&A.

Inspired by leaders who are passionate about what they are building

What drives your commitment and focus in your professional career?

Davé: I’m inspired by working with entrepreneurs and innovators who are passionate about what they are creating. I am a “recovering investment banker” and recently joined the founding team of Scalable Care to help build a better healthcare system and to make a meaningful impact in people’s lives. There’s a massive need for mental health in our country, and traditional service models cannot meet the rapidly growing demand for care. In-person visits and telemedicine are limited, one-one-one interactions, and patients often can’t access the quality care they need. Scalable Care’s AI platform delivers evidence-based digital therapies and enables healthcare providers and researchers to reach exponentially more people—any patient, anywhere in the world.

I am passionate about advising and building innovative companies, and I am inspired by the smart and caring people I work with. Each day brings new challenges and lessons, and I am applying the leadership skills and transaction experience that I’ve gained over my career in entrepreneurship and investment banking to make a real difference.

Be generous and compassionate

What inspires you to dedicate your time and energy to this community service? What impact do you want to have in the world?

Davé: We should be generous with our time and have compassion for others. When we help others, when we have no expectation to receive anything in return, the universe has a way of multiplying the positive energy around us.

If someone asks for help, then you help them. They will remember the kindness, and they will reciprocate and help others. During our careers, we could be the person seeking help, and it’s our responsibility to help others if we can.

Committing time is most valuable. When I reflect on my investment banking career, I remember my mentors who freely shared their perspectives, and I learned so much. To the student who proactively asks for your advice, that brief 30-minute call is life-changing.

When you achieve financial success and have the money, count your blessings and give to a worthy cause as I have done by funding a Cornell scholarship. Make an investment in others.

Pay It Forward

Passionate about entrepreneurship and giving back to his alma mater, in addition to endowing the Raj Davé Professional Scholarship and contributing as an Ezra Cornell Leadership Circle donor, Davé mentors ambitious Cornell students.

What drives your continued engagement with and contribution to the Cornell community?

Davé: My time at Cornell was a very challenging and rewarding experience. I made lifelong friends from around the world and gained valuable, new perspectives. Cornell’s founding principle, “… any person … any study,” is true, and Cornell’s diversity is our community’s greatest asset.

I hope to continue paying it forward as an alumnus, and I am committed to sharing my time, skills, and resources. I want more talented people to choose Cornell University.

After I sold my companies and before joining the Johnson School, I endowed the Raj Davé Professional Scholarship to support incoming students from diverse backgrounds with a passion for entrepreneurship. Seeing the tangible impact that I’m making for future generations of Cornellians drives my continued engagement with the Cornell community.

What does being selected for the 10 Under 10 Notable Alumni list mean to you?

Davé: I am honored. Attending Cornell University was a transformative experience, both personally and professionally. I am sincerely grateful for my education, for all the memories, and for my mentors and the lasting friendships I have made.

What are the most valuable things you learned at Cornell that have helped you in your career?

Davé: As someone who came from a nontraditional, entrepreneurial background, Cornell’s MBA program gave me a breadth of technical skills and hands-on professional experience. I gained valuable knowledge in key functional areas, including finance and accounting, strategy, marketing, and operations. I developed my negotiation techniques and my financial analysis and presentation skills, and I learned how to be a better leader.

I took the class “Leading in a VUCA World,” taught by General George Casey Jr., former Chief of Staff of the US Army and distinguished senior lecturer of leadership. VUCA means “volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.” I still remember the acronym he said all effective leaders should live by, REST:

• R = Read. Good leaders read, especially to gain knowledge outside of their current expertise.
• E = Exercise. Strong body; strong mind.
• S = Sleep. We all need to recharge to become stronger leaders, or we will burn out.
• T = Think. Good leaders are able to reflect on their mission and will think deeply and strategically about the path forward.

Did any particular faculty or staff member(s) influence you on your chosen career path?

Davé: Cornell has many esteemed faculty members, and I’m grateful for their investment in my growth. I want to sincerely thank my professors, especially:

Rich Curtis, a senior lecturer of finance who recently passed away, will always be remembered for his passion for teaching.

Drew Pasceralla, senior lecturer of finance, inspired me to pursue my Cornell MBA and the Investment Banking Immersion and has been a trusted mentor during my banking career.

Peter Balnaves, lecturer of strategy and economics, taught the Johnson School’s Private Equity Practicum and fostered my understanding of private equity investing and operations.

Describe a challenge you encountered as you built your career and how you overcame it.

Davé: Layoffs are challenging experiences, both professionally and personally, and I experienced two layoffs during my post-MBA investment banking career. I had strong M&A and client-facing experience and I was gaining new responsibilities while on track for promotion. Both times, I was briefly unemployed and was determined to bounce back.

After my first layoff, I moved from New York to San Francisco to be with my future wife and to build a dual-coast career. With only my Cornell degrees and my relationships, I built my Bay Area network and secured highly competitive interviews. My Cornell network was invaluable.

Fast forward to today: I have more than five years of diverse banking experience. After my second layoff, my Cornell network helped me to stay resilient in a difficult job market and to achieve my current CFO role.

I understand now that as one door closed, another door opened. Layoffs are business decisions and can affect good employees. It’s important to be professional with your former firms and colleagues and to stay resilient during market downturns.

What is the proudest moment of your career or of your personal life?

Davé: The proudest moment of my career was earning two Cornell degrees, my BA in economics in 2013 and MBA in 2018. I have spent six magical years of my life at Cornell, between undergrad and business school, and Ithaca, New York has a very special place in my heart. Personally, I am proud to have met my wife, Christina Wu, MBA ’18, as a student in the Johnson School’s MBA program.

What do you do to recharge?

Davé: When I’m not working, I enjoy taking scenic road trips while listening to classic rock music and eating at nice restaurants with my wife. From omakase sushi to an everything-bagel with Taylor ham, egg, and cheese (yes, I’m from New Jersey!), good food helps me recharge.

I also recently started kickboxing and small-group workouts. When I train, I feel a new sense of motivation and positive energy while challenging myself to become healthier and stronger.

What do you wish you’d known as a current student and what advice would you give to students today?

Davé: You will have the temptation to have a “transactional” business school experience— earn your MBA to secure a high-paying job. I’ve realized that most people rarely stay with their first post-MBA job. Explore your passions, network within and outside of your profession, and pursue better, new opportunities where you will thrive.

Your MBA is a degree in general management, not a specialization. You should take classes that are focused on your career path, but you should also go outside of your comfort zone and take courses that challenge you intellectually. While attending Johnson, I took classes in the Sloan Master of Health Administration program [offered by the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy] to learn more about healthcare. To aspiring investment bankers: You should understand marketing, operations, strategy, critical thinking, and writing; not only finance and accounting.

Stay curious, be hungry, and take smart risks. The graduation ceremony is called “commencement” because the “real world” is where the learning truly begins.