G51 Venture Scholar: Successful athlete to sharp analyst
Outside of the classroom, you’re likely to find Sean Whitney at the BU Fitness and Recreational Centre (FitReC) ice rink. Once a professional hockey player, Sean now plays the game recreationally when he isn’t coaching the university hockey team or busy with balancing grad school and his internship with a Boston-based private equity firm.
A final year MBA candidate graduating this May, Sean’s entry into the G51 Venture Scholar’s program caps off his efforts in applying his financial skills to the evaluation of early stage investments.
“I like it (the program). It helps to get a sense of the entire VC (venture capital) community, what interests’ partners in terms of business models and potential markets ripe for tech disruption”
After a serious injury forced Sean to transition away from a career in professional hockey, his search for a new path led him to discover his interest finance. He eventually developed a keen interest in venture capital.
“I studied finance and enjoyed it, so I went out and met with traders, investment bankers, sales guys and then I met this incredible guy from a VC firm. He had an awesome story and I said “I want to be a VC,”
A driven hard worker, Sean then pursued a career in investment banking and private equity for several years – later stage investing, where he developed analytical valuation skills. Post-MBA however, Sean hopes to join a VC firm, where his passions lie. He explained that despite his efforts in entering this competitive industry was highly challenging. Partners are seeking candidates with entrepreneurship and start-up experience, or a deep knowledge of a certain space that lends itself to early stage bets on young companies. Through a combination of technical classes in finance and entrepreneurship as well as his participation in the G51 program, he strives to close this gap.
Sean has reviewed two deals to date – a platform facilitating the availability of live streaming events and a social productivity application for private groups. Aside from deals allocated by G51, he also actively sources interesting deals for proposal to the Group.
G51 Venture Scholar Sean Whitney
Blog posting by BU MBA Candidate Joanna Ghazali
