‘Master The Art Of Fundraising’: With The MBA Fund, H/S/W Grads Boost Minority Entrepreneurs

THE PITCH COMPETITION

When Tien was looking for a pitch competition at GSB, he realized that there was only one at the School of Engineering. “I felt that we needed a pitch competition that’s more than just giving out cash. We needed more skin in the game from judges and partners,” he says.

Designed to help founders get access to judges who are also investors, Hoffman-Senn says they’re able to build deeper relationships and add value after the competition and long into the future. “The backers of our fund judge the pitch competitions and invest as a way to award prize money. When they make a decision on who wins, they’re actually going to invest in that company,” he explains. “Since running this competition for two years, we’ve seen many investors award prize money and then a few months later lead a seed round. We’ve seen $100k in prize money lead to $1-3M in investment.”

In 2019, they received 250 applicants, with 12 finalists participating in the competition run at each school. This year, despite each school’s competition being over Zoom due to the pandemic, there were over 300 applicants and again 12 finalists at each school.

With a focus on businesses that can scale, Catlett says The MBA Fund is founder-driven when it comes to investing. “We’re interested in backing individuals who have great ideas and are going after big market opportunities. It’s exciting to learn and see businesses from a whole range of industries.”

THE FUTURE OF THE MBA FUND

With hopes of expanding the Fund and helping other schools in the future, Tien, Catlett, Hoffman-Senn, and Kozinsky want to continue to shine a light on all the entrepreneur endeavors being pursued by MBA students. Over time, their goal is to grow the members in the Fund, nurture their alums to support portfolio companies, and find ways to connect founders with talent.

At the time of the launch, Hoffman-Senn and Tien were in their second year, Kozinsky was in his first year, and Catlett was graduated from his MBA and was continuing his education with Stanford’s Masters of Public Policy program. While they’ve laid the groundwork with systems and processes to recruit, train, and onboard the next class, they envision The MBA Fund continuing on for the foreseeable future despite them no longer being on campus and each having full-time jobs.

“We’d like The MBA Fund to outlast us,” says Catlett. “As we become more removed from campus to build the infrastructure following graduation, we want to enable the next class to invest and support the portfolio companies.”

With the hope to increase funds each year, Kozinsky is aiming for growth in all areas. “The MBA Fund is already a community of hundreds of students and alumni in entrepreneurship and venture capitalism. I’d like to see the community continue to grow, and encourage founders to take swings at big, bold ideas,” says Kozinsky.

“We see this as something that will last 10, 20, 50 years down the road to support future MBA founders,” says Tien.

ADVICE TO FIRST-TIME FOUNDERS

When it comes to fundraising, the partners at The MBA Fund have some advice — and warnings — for hopeful entrepreneurs.

Tien advises that MBA founders leverage the connections made in school. “It’s important to begin building relationships with the speakers who come to class, who are often either VCs or founders. Ask them a couple of questions, get their contact information, and maybe even grab coffee. I’ve seen it go well for a lot of founders because by the time they get to graduation, all of these contacts are just one email away from a significant round.”

While fundraising is a crucial part of launching a startup, Hoffman-Senn stresses that much can be done without funding, too. “I’ve noticed that first-time founders underestimate how much they can do with little to no funding; once they start rolling up their sleeves, they realize that with the right hustle and the right strategy, they can actually accomplish a great deal even before raising the first round. The founders who have gained momentum have a much easier time fundraising than the ones who fundraise earlier than they may need to.”

By being persistent, transparent, and strategic, Catlett believes that there’s a higher likelihood of raising funds. “Nothing beats hustle and hard work. Being transparent is being honest and candid about both good things happening in the business, but also the big risks. The more you can show that you’re willing to talk about the holes in your business, the better your pitch is,” he says.

“We’re seeing more and more students and alums having the confidence to pursue entrepreneurship and launch a venture,” says Hoffman-Senn. “We help them do that.”

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