“If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start.” —Charles Bukowski
Who i am
A writer with a fighting spirit.
What I do
I build and bring creative projects to life. In the 9 to 5, I do this by designing and launching digital products and experiences. In the 5 to 9, I do this by writing essays and feature pieces that inspire and encourage people to think more deeply and dream bigger about the world in which we live.
What i’m currently up to (last updated: winter 2024)
Finishing my first book manuscript!
Recovering from ACL surgery
Working on a new book proposal
Planting seeds for a fruitful and fulfilling 2024
personal bio (Last updated: spring-summer 2023)
Erica Zendell stands at the crossroads of creativity and business, where she is committed to and curious about the pursuit of mastery.
Erica is a product management professional by trade with both in-house and client-facing experience. Though her previous experience lies primarily in eCommerce and retail, effective January 2024, she is a Staff Technical Product Manager at Sunrun, a leading solar/clean energy and home electrification company.
Outside of her corporate gig, Erica is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner, teacher, and journalist who recently completed her first book inspired by the professional sabbatical she took post-pandemic: she spent 2021-2022 traveling across the United States to train and compete full-time in BJJ, learn from the best names in the game, and see if she could make an unconventional new career for herself in “the (anything but) gentle art” of jiu-jitsu, a sport and passion she discovered in her late twenties.
Erica holds a Bachelor's Degree in Comparative Literature from Princeton University and a MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, but her hardest-earned "degree" is her Brown Belt in BJJ under Bruno Frazatto.
A Jersey Girl by birth and Bostonian at heart, Erica now resides in Metro Atlanta with her husband and their two dachshunds: Snickers and Maxine.
“Stop trying to teach the world something and instead refuse to be boring.” —George Saunders
Selected Writing and Publications
2023
From "Down Under" To The Top Of The Game: Rising Star Adele Fornarino (FloGrappling)
The ADCC veteran has her sights set at the top of the mountain, and has put together a solid 2023 headed into her first try at a No-Gi World title this year
Reflecting on losing in a major jiu-jitsu competition and what really got lost along the way
Family Business: Jasmine & Achilles Reinstate Rocha Name For A New Era (FloGrappling)
Jasmine and Achilles Rocha follow in their father Vagner’s footsteps, but carve their own paths.
Zuck vs Musk: Match of the Year?
Extensive thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg's adventures in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), his technical acumen, and his potential MMA matchup with Elon Musk from someone who actually trains BJJ
A rambling analysis of my bachelorette party weekend: how it came to be and what it means to me
As Competition Career Winds Down, Márcio André Is Building A Larger Legacy (FloGrappling)
André remains a competitive threat. But his vision of legacy lies less in his personal success & more in the home-grown winning team he's built in Arizona.
One Brown Belt's Perspective, Six Years Later
on a changing relationship with jiu-jitsu and how finding balance led to the biggest victories of all
reflecting on an emerging practice in pistol shooting
2022
One Purple Belt's Perspective, Five Years Later
on five years of training bjj and the education in the hurting business from a year of traveling and training on the road
”Forsan et hac olim meminesse iuvabit.”
inspired by virgil’s aeneid on tuning out the haters
One Writer's Attempt at "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Her Email Inbox)."
on trying to kon-mari my email SUBSCRIPTIONS and getting sentimental in the process
2021
on entering a mma gym, re-entering a karaoke dive bar, and embarking on a road less traveled
One Blue Belt’s Perspective, Four Years Later
ON leaving Boston to train and write full-time from the open road
on my father, my shoes, and living in the moment
BJJ Competition: A Beginner’s Guide from an Intermediate Student
“brain-dump” survival guide for new female BJJ competitors
2020
Re-stoking the Fire: Part I and Part II
on recovering from bjj burnout through a mentorship and mexico trip with bjj world champion, margot ciccarelli
Fight, Write, Love: A Capsule Newsletter
newsletter documenting a spontaneous bjj adventure from mexico city to masters worlds in late 2020
Anything but Zen in the Art of Writing
on grappling with creative Frustration
how to run the classic agile/scrum meeting like a pro
3 Lessons Learned from My Dad about Life and Business
in memoriam of my father
a brief eulogy for my father
2017-2019
5 Years Out: A More Candid Reflection on My MBA Experience
everything I was really feeling while in my elite mba program
application essay for yale summer writers’ program
princeton alumni weekly essay on being in the groom’s party of my best friend from college—in shelbina, MO
One White Belt’s Perspective, One Year Later
eleven great things about my first year in jiu-jitsu
2014-2016
The Remarkable Mr. Springsteen
in anticipation of getting “born to run” signed by “The Boss”
the economist, “which mba?” blog
on fitting in (or not) in B-school
Nothing will move unless you do
lessons from destroying a turd-like beanbag
MBA FOR HIRE: OPEN TO OPPORTUNITIES, UNWILLING TO SETTLE
on MBA recruiting and not caving to the allure of Big 3 consulting
2012-2014
Various Case Studies and Teaching Notes
harvard business school/harvard business review
princeton senior thesis, 2012 winner of the Leigh Buchanan Bienen and Henry Bienen thesis prize
“Become a voice.” — Sappho
