We asked some of our student VCs what they gained from this programme – read their stories below!
My time as a student investor for the Queen Mary Social Venture Fund has been an unparalleled learning experience. Between collaborating with peers, deal sourcing and orchestrating industry-related events, I have built a network of brilliant individuals who continue to inspire me. As an MSc student studying Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the QMSVF has been the most incredible way to marry building business acumen through the lens of social impact. Throughout my tenure, I have been exposed to countless forms of groundbreaking new technology and impact-driven innovation through the form of new ventures. One of my highlights would have to be the creator fund training which was the most comprehensive crash course on all things venture capital. It taught me how to talk the language and critically think about all that one must consider when starting or investing in a business. All in all, I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity and couldn’t recommend applying more.
Being a part of the Social Venture Fund has been an experience that is second-to-none. I have had the opportunity to meet remarkable individuals with innovative ideas and businesses across London. The SVF opportunity has offered me the ability to analyse and dissect financials, projections, goals and the history of the various start-ups to make investment recommendations. As someone who is interested in the financial services space and is an aspiring entrepreneur, through meeting student founders I have been able to conduct in-depth company analysis, including business model, market sizing and competitive research, to evaluate start-up pitches. This has enabled me to adopt techniques to identify business trends and analyse implications for the present and future.
I believe I am in a better position in terms of employability and confidence after being a part of the SVF at Queen Mary. To anyone who wishes to broaden their network and truly experience what it means to be a venture capitalist, this opportunity is not one to miss.
Out of my personal interest in venture capital, I joined the Queen Mary Social Venture Fund and quickly saw this as an amazing experience to have. The programme has ignited my entrepreneurial skills and boosted my confidence. The training received from the Creator Fund showed me what it takes to be a successful investor. Although it’s student-led, Joanne and Fezzan were great mentors who always were willing to help and guide me. I had the opportunity to work with an amazing team from different experience levels and we were able to help each other out with the whole process and in the programme.
Deal-sourcing was my favourite responsibility, I spoke to amazing student founders from different backgrounds and recognised the difficult obstacles they had to take to make their business ideas into a reality. I got to experience both sides of the table, because of this, I am now thinking of pursuing a career in venture capital. Overall, this was a valuable opportunity to have at Queen Mary and I’m glad I got to be a part of it.
Being part of the QM Social Venture Fund has been an incredible experience. I particularly enjoyed the course at the beginning of the first semester with Jamie, who taught us the basics of being a venture capitalist. I’ve been interested in the start-up world for a couple of years, but I didn’t know the details from an investor perspective, such as evaluating the process of new ventures or understanding a completely new market by doing some research. The course gave me a solid understanding of how to look for strategic signals in new start-ups, which allowed me to find founders and talk to them about this investment opportunity.
I think this experience inside the QMSVF really enhanced my communication skills while talking to the team and to outsiders. I learnt how to conduct an interview and how to evaluate a start-up at 360°. Huge thank you to Joanne and Fezzan for running the programme, I highly suggest this programme to anyone interested in entrepreneurship.
Being involved in the Queen Mary Social Venture Fund has developed my written and verbal communication skills and team working skills. The intense venture capital training at the beginning of the course gave me knowledge of how to make a wise investment.
The programme has also enhanced my technical/theory knowledge and understanding of my course, for example, how to do due diligence checks on a company and conduct company analysis. This has given me the confidence to elaborate on several topics in interviews for jobs in the finance sector. Plus, it has allowed me to build my professional network on LinkedIn, by connecting with social entrepreneurs and industry professionals.
Being a Student Investor at the Queen Mary Social Venture Fund has been an adventure right from the get-go. In the span of six months, this programme has positively challenged me to broaden my expertise and develop key networks within the start-up ecosystem. The programme began with an engaging training course to shed light on the work of a VC, both from an investor and entrepreneur perspective. This allowed me to ask the right questions at meetings with student-led start-ups across London, and effectively understand their vision.
As an undergraduate in BSc Accounting and Management, this programme brought concepts from various modules within my course to life, and enabled me to gain practical experience speaking to start-ups about their business product.
I joined the Queen Mary Social Venture Fund from September 2020, straight after I enrolled on the MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme. The SVF’s activities significantly supported my studies. I had the chance to apply fundamental knowledge of entrepreneurship in reality when taking part in interesting and practical training workshops, events and competitions with the SVF. The Creator Fund training course gave me extensive knowledge from the investor’s point of view. This is a perfect combination which could facilitate your career path to entrepreneurship in the future.
While acting as a student investor, I had chance to communicate with talented student startups in London and understand thoroughly how they turned their business ideas into reality and overcame challenges to thrive in the extremely competitive market. This was the greatest experience in my student life. Additionally, I gained a sense of ownership when I and my team organized events by ourselves, coordinating various stakeholders, working on the agenda and hosting the event. We also received great support from the mentors with whom we were connected by the Director and staff from SVF. They are leading experts from different industries and have enormous experiences working in and with startups. In short, this was an incredible and valuable opportunity.