Reflections on G51
Break Week!
The Spring semester is drawing to a close, and our Venture Scholars take a break this week from reviewing deals. Venture Scholars will be receiving their next deals in two days on Friday April 8, and will be presenting them at the next Deal Review occurring next Friday April 15 leaving this week a rare break from the program.
With the Scholars on break, I thought I would take the opportunity this week to speak to my own experiences with the G51 program. I am Professor Stoller’s graduate assistant in administering the G51 Venture Scholar program here in Boston University. Aside from blogging each week about the exploits of our Scholars to provide a glimpse into the inner workings of the program experience, I meet with Scholars regularly, help them with deal reviews when needed, remotely attend deal review Fridays, and myself review the pitch decks that come our way. I also facilitate institutional learning for the Boston University G51 programme, collating feedback and learning points across intakes and providing feedback to the school and the G51 Group on how to improve the experience. I try to smooth the transition as much as I can provide support to the learning curve new intakes of Scholars face when entering the program.
I have assisted Professor Stoller in administering the G51 Venture Scholar program since it began here at Boston University and have observed both Fall and Spring intakes of Scholars. Myself a graduating MBA, next Friday also marks my last G51 Deal Review. The support of a fellow graduate student in this role means that BU Venture Scholars are provided an additional approachable point person who shares the experiences of the Scholars while also being able to secure resources.
If you are considering joining the G51 Venture Scholar program here at BU, here are a few observations I have that may help you decide:
Participation in the Boston start-up scene. Venture Scholars are given deals to review each week, but are also encouraged to source and present on any promising enterprise they find interesting. Our Venture Scholars have access to a network of venture capitalists, which is a proverbial goldmine in the start-up crazy city of Boston. Participation in G51 means being able to engage with entrepreneurs and attend start-up innovation events within the Boston area as part of the ecosystem rather than as just another interested by-stander.
A backstage pass. The best part of the G51 program for many Venture Scholars is talking to entrepreneurs. They are a creative, bold and driven breed of people who are passionate about making an impact. How many people do you know that can talk to a CEO, founder or inventor every week? The next best thing to starting your own business is talking to someone who did and learning about real world business applications. Speaking of which..
Complement your Business School education. While BU’s Venture Scholars hail from various schools including engineering and law, the majority are MBA candidates that report many opportunities to put classroom theories into practice at the G51 program. Reviewing a deal well requires a holistic assessment of the business as a whole, including marketing, strategy and competitive analysis in order to develop an opinion if valuation and growth potential are attractive. The diversity of deals also serve to introduce Venture Scholars to variety of different industries and new technologies.
Unlock opportunities. The Venture Scholar program is a way to gain real world experience in venture capital, the investment side of entrepreneurship. Aside from a resume booster, the Venture Scholar program is an internship that runs during the school year (most graduate students do a summer internship). Many Venture Scholars leverage their participation in the program as a means of building a track record and proving some experience in this competitive industry in their application for full-time post graduation employment. One of our Venture Scholar alumnis was offered a summer internship with G51 which would put him in touch with a large network of venture capital and angel investors.
In short, I have seen many Venture Scholars do different things with their participation in the G51 program. Like with the MBA experience, some take it seriously and get much more out of it than the program’s structure, and others do less and for them, the program is what it is. If you are interested in entrepreneurship and innovation and enjoy learning about a new start up every week, or are interested in venture capital or early stage investing, are a self-starter – you might find a semester long stint in the G51 program a great addition to your graduate school experience. It is a unique way to get a taste of a segment where entrepreneurship and investments meet, with minimal weekly time commitments and the benefit of support from BU faculty as well as other Venture Scholars.
For more information visit http://www.g51-amplify.com/venture-scholars/ or get in touch with Professor Gregory Stoller of Boston University at gstoller@bu.edu. Information sessions are held at the beginning of every semester (September and January) at the Questrom School of Business and all interested Boston University graduate students are invited to attend.
