Amplify VC investment strategies… Texas style
Five (5) graduate students from the Boston University Questrom School of Business received exciting news today – acceptance into the G51 Amplify Venture Scholars Program! This year is the first year Boston University has been a part of this prestigious program and the school is proud to be represented by such a diverse group of talented students.
G51 Amplify (“G51”) is based in Austin, Texas and connects promising entrepreneurs with investors interested in private equity. According to founding partner Rudy Garza, “We leverage the assets of our combined client base to connect preparation with opportunity.” As one of their many service offerings, G51’s network of venture scholars provide assistance to start-ups by reviewing their business plans and proposals, and providing strategic guidance preparing the businesses ahead of facing venture venture funds, enterprise venture groups, acquisition teams and angel investors. Schools currently (and previously) participating in the Venture Scholars program include Harvard Business School, MIT, Stanford, Kellogg School of Management, Hult International Business School and Duke Fuqua School of Business.
This fall semester, Questrom’s Venture Scholars will gain first hand experience assessing a range of start-ups across various industries – from the rare perspective of venture capital funds. Throughout their journey, this blog will trek the experiences of BU’s pioneer team consisting of Alex Bien-Aime, Jeffrey Brown, Shirley Deng, Amir Emami, and Jonathan Glendinning. This opportunity was brought to the Questrom School of Business by newly hired faculty member Gregory Stoller, who focuses on entrepreneurship, experiential learning and international business. G51 is one of the many activities supported in the BUzz Lab, the hub of entrepreneurship at BU.
Alex Bien-Aime is an MBA candidate pursuing a concentration in operations and technology management with over 8 years experience as an analyst in several industries including pharmaceutical supplies, insurance and financial services. His professional experience include the design of analytics tools to support sales teams and measures improving operational efficiencies.
Jeffrey Brown is pursuing his MBA with a concentration in Operations and Technology Management. He has 5 years of experience in operations and holds a Six Sigma Green Belt.
Shirley Deng is pursuing a dual degree in graduate studies – an MBA with a concentration in Finance and a Master of Science in Information Systems. Her professional experience includes work with a venture capital firm in San Francisco and 4 years as a product manager in China.
Amir Emami joined the MBA program from a large strategy and technology consulting firm, where he specialised in project management. He is also the co-founder of a non-profit organisation dedicated to education in sustainable living practices.
Jonathan Glendinning employed mathematics, game theory and psychology to be a successful professional poker player for 6 years prior to pursuing his MBA in BU. He is also the co-founder of a think tank and an investment firm respectively in Boulder, Colorado.
(Blog entry written by BU MBA candidate Joanna Ghazali).
