B-School Bulletin: Profs Weigh In On Cambridge Analytica

How To Pitch Your Startup To A Venture Capitalist

News from The Wharton School

“Before the first meeting with a potential investor, the entrepreneur should be able to sharply define the company’s business model and have the right team in place. That means doing the required homework and answering important questions: Is this a lifestyle business? Is it a cash-producing business? What’s the short-term vision? What’s the long-term goal? Could the business be worth $1 billion someday?

“Jenny Lefcourt, a general partner at Freestyle Capital, shared the story of an entrepreneur who ‘bootstrapped’ his idea for months because he wanted to make sure the demand for it was real before he went in search of investors. Once he was satisfied that his idea was solid, he figured out how much he needed and whom to approach for capital.

“’There are probably 300 different seed funds, so understanding which one is right for you is the homework you’ll start to do by hearing about reputation, by looking on their website, seeing their portfolio,’ Lefcourt said. ‘If there’s something (in their portfolio of investments that’s) directly competitive, you don’t want to pitch them. However, if there’s something that’s similar, and you think, “Wow, they’ll really get it,” then that is someone you want to pitch. So that’s the type of homework you want to begin to do before you even enter into their office.’”

Professors Shyam Sunder and Matthew Spiegel sign the documents to create a new student-run investment fund. From left, Sunder; Alexander Banker, a director at the Yale Investment Office; David Weber ’18 and Victor Zhu ’18 of the Investment Management Club; and Spiegel.

New Student-Managed Investment Fund To Provide Hands-On Experience

News from Yale SOM

“This spring, students enrolled in the Yale School of Management’s Security Analysis course will step into the role of portfolio managers for the school’s new student-run investment fund.

“Leaders of the Investment Management Club worked with faculty and Yale SOM’s International Center for Finance to create the student-run fund, which has been established by the school with an initial investment of $500,000.

Taught by Professors Matthew Spiegel and Shyam Sunder, Yale SOM’s long-standing Security Analysis course will now be offered in a two-semester sequence, thanks to the addition of the new fund. ‘This is an exciting opportunity for the students to acquire the tools to become star buy-side finance professionals,’ Spiegel says. ‘Students will acquire tools that should help them throughout their careers.’”

Laura Tyson speaks at MIT

AI Is Rapidly Changing The Types And Location Of The Best-Paying Jobs

News from MIT Sloan School of Management & UC-Berkeley Haas School of Business

“Artificial intelligence and automation are not likely to cause vast unemployment, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be concerned about the impact on jobs.

“’I’m not worried about technological unemployment,’ said Laura Tyson, a prominent economist at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. ‘But I am worried about the quality of jobs created and the location where they are created.’

“Speaking this week at EmTech Digital, an annual AI conference organized by MIT Technology Review, Tyson suggested we look the effects of increasing automation over the last 30 years. What we know, says Tyson, is that automation has taken away many routine jobs.”

KPMG Selects 135 Individuals For Master Of Accounting With Data And Analytics Program

News from KPMG

“Eagle Scouts, Beta Alpha Psi presidents, athletes, multi-linguists, and business owners make up the incoming class of the KPMG Master of Accounting with Data and Analytics Program.

“KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, developed this first-of-its-kind and award-winning program to prepare accounting students for the digital marketplace. The 135 participants in the program’s second class each will receive full tuition funding, an internship on a KPMG audit or tax team, and a full-time position upon graduation with KPMG through an advanced entry program.

“’We’re matching new technologies to audit professionals who must be future-ready and know how to use these new tools effectively,’ said Frank Casal, KPMG Vice Chair – Audit. ‘These talented individuals have a thirst for learning and critical thinking skills, exactly the characteristics needed in this environment of tremendous change and disruption and to deliver high quality audits.’”

Elizabeth Bieler

Incorporating Humanity Into A Systems Mindset

News from MIT Sloan

“Elizabeth Bieler would like to complete her two-year MIT master’s degree program in one year, and she probably will — while also a dedicated volunteer and officer in the Air National Guard. In manners both public and personal, Bieler seems drawn to service.

“Normally completed in 18 months to two years, Bieler’s master’s program, Systems Design and Management (SDM), is administered jointly between the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT School of Engineering. Bieler was attracted to its unique interdisciplinary perspective: SDM prepares its students to apply ‘systems’ thinking to both engineering and management. Essentially, it encourages viewing a system that has many subsystems (say, a hospital or an airplane) holistically, with attention to how altering a subsystem may impact the integrity of any other subsystem. When unexpected qualities arise from the combinations of such subsystems, they are referred to as ’emergent characteristics.’

“Bieler’s own life similarly involves the coordination of many seemingly distinct roles: Since starting college, she has managed being a full-time student, a working civilian, a part-time officer in the Air National Guard, and a dedicated volunteer not only in STEM education initiatives, but at a veteran’s hospice — often all at once. Partly thanks to her military background, she does not struggle with procrastination.”