The Bonds of Babson: Employers

April 8, 2026

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Employers:

Bobby Quirk ’17 and Mike Salguero MBA’10

When Mike Salguero MBA’10 launched ButcherBox in 2015 and needed a summer intern, he turned to a familiar place: the Babson job board.

“Babson undergrads are, in my opinion, the best hires in the city,” Salguero says. “They’re hungry, scrappy, and entrepreneurial.”

These were essential qualities for an audacious idea: Salguero wanted to deliver grass-fed, humanely raised meat directly to consumers through a subscription service. He needed someone willing to build something from nothing. One of the applicants was Bobby Quirk ’17, a sophomore who planned to become an investment banker.

“As I’ve jokingly told Mike many times, I applied because there was no cover letter required,” Quirk says, laughing.

The next morning, Quirk arrived at their first meeting in Cambridge wearing a suit and tie. Salguero showed up in shorts, a T-shirt, and Crocs, then took him to a barbecue, where they sampled ButcherBox steaks. That encounter set the tone for an easygoing, collaborative relationship that would grow into a startup success story.

“We didn’t even have an office,” Quirk says. “It was just Mike and me for the entire summer.”

“The experiential learning process was absolutely incredible. Mike gave me leeway. He was wonderful with giving me feedback. It was a little bit of a trial by fire, but it was certainly one of the best summers of my life.”
— Bobby Quirk ’17

Mike Salguero MBA’10 (left) and Bobby Quirk ’17

Above: Mike Salguero MBA’10 (left) and Bobby Quirk ’17

They worked wherever they could—coffee shops, Salguero’s home, anywhere with WiFi. Quirk helped launch the company’s early Kickstarter campaign and handled everything from social media to financial models to riding alongside Salguero in a U-Haul to fetch office chairs.

“I learned more in those three months than I did in a lot of different classrooms,” Quirk says. “The experiential learning process was absolutely incredible. Mike gave me leeway. He was wonderful with giving me feedback. It was a little bit of a trial by fire, but it was certainly one of the best summers of my life.”

After graduating, Quirk joined the company full time. Over the next several years, he rose through the ranks as ButcherBox, fully bootstrapped, scaled and expanded. Eventually, he became vice president of operations, overseeing logistics and fulfillment systems for a company that approaches $700 million in annual revenue with 175 employees and roughly 450,000 subscribers. ButcherBox also has added a retail component, recently launching in Costco and Target.

Salguero says the rapport between the two entrepreneurs grew naturally over time, like the company.
“I have all the trust in the world in Bobby,” Salguero says.

For Quirk, that trust transformed his career. The two recently launched a premium pet-food company built on the same sourcing philosophy as ButcherBox. Quirk now runs the business, DASH, with Salguero as partner and advisor.

“He gave a really young, hungry student a chance,” Quirk says. “That’s something I hope to do someday, too.”

More About the Alumni Network

The Babson Effect: Alumni Bonds That Launch Careers—and Bring Them Full Circle

Aaron Walton ’83 and Alex Smith ’08, MSA’08

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Babson Alumni Are…

The Babson alumni network is the strongest in the nation because of the unique bonds that connect them. In the Spring issue of Babson Magazine, we highlight nine examples that illustrate the varied types of relationships. Click the photos below to read each one.