History

RISE Consulting was founded in 2019 as the first ever student-run organization at USC to devote its consulting services solely to startups and entrepreneurs. RISE Consulting enables undergraduate leaders to leverage their passions, skills, experiences, and networks to serve startup businesses and innovative nonprofits across the world. We are committed to providing comprehensive, pro bono consulting services that add tangible value to our international client base.

Before the inception of RISE, Founder Jonathan Lu had long known that he wanted to make his mark on the USC landscape. In his sophomore year, Jonathan assessed that the USC Marshall experience and business environment was heavily geared towards integrating students into a corporate culture. Seeing this disparity in the Marshall curriculum, co-founders Zach Mollo, John McCubbin, and Chloe Hsu were brought in to create an environment where Trojans could be truly supported to explore, engage with, and develop careers in entrepreneurship, consulting, and everything that comes in between.

From its birth, RISE Consulting operated by two driving goals: to explore the intersection between consulting and entrepreneurship, and to dutifully serve innovative startups that challenge the status quo. As RISE grew as a club, the ideals behind it molded into a community of students who are not only dedicated to the unique startups around them, but also to each other. Today, RISE Consulting has become a family that supports the avant-garde, nurtures the unfulfilled, and always pushes off the beaten path. RISE is a space for all rebels, by rebels. 

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We at RISE Consulting offer pro bono consulting services for startups and innovative nonprofit organizations. Submit a client interest form here.

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Each semester, our talented student teams partner with innovative organizations from a variety of industries. Every team is crafted by motivated, intellectual, and high-performing USC students who apply their unique academic and professional backgrounds to conquer real-world business challenges.

We’re a tight-knit team with a tremendous vision: to become USC’s premier student-led service for startups of all industries from across the world. Our team consults with a purpose, and we’re not after the biggest clients with the largest assets. We’re about who we serve, and how we can shape the future.

Beyond consulting, our purpose is to empower Trojans personally and professionally to do whatever they want. We aren’t just businesspeople - we’re passionate innovators, scientists, speakers, developers, researchers, artists, performers. Our members work together, laugh together, and share the highs and lows of life together. Above all, RISE is a family.

High Standards

Our analysts are among the most driven and high-achieving students at USC. Each team commits over 300 hours to a single engagement, delivering nothing less than maximum value to our clients. 

Customization

As our clients’ goals adapt, so do we. By remaining flexible to change, attacking problems from all angles, and challenging traditional frameworks and routines, we consistently supply innovative solutions customized for our clients’ specific needs.

Collaboration

RISE is more than a team - we are a family. Whether you are cracking a case, pulling an all-nighter, or planning your next road trip, we’re happy to do it all with you. Our spirit of collaboration, mentorship, and above all, friendship, ensures that no client or member is left behind. 

Growth

Whether you are a client or a member, we’re focused on your future. Our analysts receive constant mentorship, professional resources, and leadership opportunities, in order to guarantee quality guidance and support for our clients, far after engagements end.