How Tuck School of Business Is Enabling Private Equity And Venture Capital Aspirants
As the world’s first business school, the Tuck School of Business has always had a strong emphasis in developing student skills that go beyond academia. Tuck is home to a number of different research centers on campus, which allows students to get involved with the organisation they truly connect with.
With six research centers on campus, the Tuck School of Business plays host to Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital, a student run organisation which brings together like minded students interested in entering the private equity and venture capital industry.
Great Introduction Into Private Equity and Venture Capital
Tuck’s Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital (CPEVC) is a great starting point for any student interested in the private equity and venture capital industry. The aim for the student organisation is to further the education and interest of Tuck students in the private equity and venture capital industry, promoting interaction and collaboration between Tuck students and the PE and VC industry, and improving employment opportunities within the industry for Tuck students. The center also hosts a number of programs for Tuck students, such as the Ayres Private Equity Fellows and Venture Capital Fellows, while also hosting annual conferences under Tuck Private Equity Conference and Tuck Private Equity and Entrepreneurship Research Conference. You can learn more about these programs here.
The student experience at CPEVC also includes competing in the Venture Capital Investment Competition, the world’s largest venture capital competition with over 70 competing universities, Wharton’s MBA Impact investing Network & Training Competition (MIINT), MIT’s Private Equity Competition and the Annual Wharton Buyout Competition.
An Insight Into The PEVC Industry With Boston Trek
Students at the Tuck School of Business, who are interested in venture capital and entrepreneurship, traveled to Boston in early November for meetings with a number of companies in the private equity and venture capital industry. Besides the meetings, one other major agenda of the trip to Boston was to provide the students with an insight into the different models of venture capital – from early stage growth, generalist to industry specific.
The visit to Boston, which was an initiative of the Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital – a student managed organisation dedicated for Tuck students interested in the private equity and venture capital industry, was hosted by Tuck alumni Liam Donohue and So-June Min, both graduates from the class of ‘95. Donohue is the co-founder and managing partner at .406 Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm, while Min holds the position of Chief Financial Officer at the firm.
The trip to Boston saw attendance from both first year and second year students, who all brought their own perspectives to the various meetings, owing to their different experiences and interests in the venture capital industry. Meetings during the trek included conversational dialogues with Bain Capital Ventures, an early-stage investment firm, Millennia Partners, a private equity and venture capital investing firm that specializes in healthcare, pharma, medical devices, and life sciences, Charles River Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in technology and new media companies, as well as Openview, a venture capital firm that focuses on the expansion stage. The final meeting of the day was concluded with Green D Ventures which focuses primarily on investing in early stage companies connected with Dartmouth and Tuck alums. The meetings were a great learning experience for the participating students, while also learning about an internship opportunity at Millennia Partners as well as meeting Izhar Armony, a four time “unicorn” investor who has been involved with four +$1bn IPOs.
Employability Data Paints A Rosy Picture
As per the MBA Employment Report by Tuck for the class of 2018, 22% of graduates took up a job in finance services, out of which 3% went into private equity and venture capital with the mean salary capping at $149,000 annually, the highest amongst all the other sectors. Hiring companies included the likes of Amazon, Bain & Company, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and many more. Furthermore, 91% of the graduates were able to land a job in the US, with Asia next at 4%. From the report of Base Salaries for the Class of 2019, the mean base salaries for Private Equity and Venture Capital jobs were $133,573.
The other research centers at the Tuck School of Business include:
