What you have heard on DBA programs geared for positions in the industry is not very accurate. The fraction of folks leaving for industry positions might be higher than that from PhD programs but even then :
1) The folks ending up in industry are usually people who did not get a faculty position &
2) That fraction coming from the DBA route is still very small.
Just quoting from HBS's site: (
Programs - HBS Doctoral Programs)
HBS doctoral programs prepare individuals for careers as professors of management. Usually, an MBA is sufficient preparation for individuals planning to work in industry.
Answers to your other questions-
1) The top schools do not have rolling admissions. Admissions are only for the fall semester and usually have a Dec 15th/ Jan 15th deadline. None of the schools within the top 15 have a deadline beyond January 15th as far as I remember.
2) You have to take the GMAT-sorry to disappoint you on that. Hopefully you will still do well this time around
3) Networking doesn't always help and is sometimes discouraged but in your situation, given the uniqueness of it, you might be better off doing some networking.