When reflecting on his college years, Leander Howard II is glad he took his mother’s advice. After all, she suggested he double major in finance and marketing at Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business, a move that catapulted him toward entrepreneurship.
“I came to George State as a marketing major, and my mom was like, ‘you need to major in finance,’” he recalled. “I listen to my mom. She’s a very smart woman. I would never have double majored had it not been for her.”
Howard then hit the ground running. In 2020, while wrapping up the final semester of his B.B.A., he founded Spark Your Resume, which through 2022 offered human-led professional services including resume and cover letter writing, LinkedIn profile optimization, and one-on-one career coaching.
“The degree paid off,” Howard said. “It allows me to crunch numbers, think analytically, and understand data while also having a creative mindset.”
Howard’s other accomplishments include interning at Wells Fargo in 2018 and at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation in 2019. In 2022, he cofounded what he considers the next chapter of Spark Your Resume, which he rebuilt on a SaaS foundation and powers through AI to make the operation scalable. Called WriteSea, the company supports clients in the higher education, nonprofit, workforce development, and boot camp sectors.
Howard developed critical skills at Robinson that prepared him for business ownership.
“I’ve always had the mentality that I can do anything I put my mind to, but school definitely challenged me in a way that I had to remember that mantra,” he said.
Through his finance studies, Howard developed the ability to leverage historical data to make financial projections. And because of a course with Jennifer Daniels, he explored consumer behavior and was introduced to entrepreneurship.
“I never thought about being an entrepreneur,” he said. “Entrepreneurship is like planting a seed and watching a tree grow.”
Howard also learned about the science behind marketing, specifically the critical role that data plays.
“The creative side of marketing is important, but data helps tell a story about how people connect with your content,” he said.
Howard also gained exposure to leadership through his tenure as president of Alpha Kappa Psi, Georgia State’s professional business fraternity.
“That experience shaped me as a leader,” he said. “That’s your way to get great executive experience while you’re still a teenager.”
Howard encountered challenges on the path to earning dual degrees – the biggest being recognizing the need to buckle down when his grades were slipping.
“One of my greatest achievements was realizing, ‘Hey, this wasn’t what I came here to do,’” he said. “I came here to be successful.”