Team Talks: 4 Lessons on Management and Organizational Improvement
Hey, I’m Lucas. I am a Senior at Northeastern studying Finance and Entrepreneurship and I am currently the Investments Coordinator at IDEA.
As Investments Coordinator, I am responsible for managing a team of Venture Analysts and facilitating the allocation of IDEA’s $250,000 Gap Fund and $50,000 Undergraduate Prototype Fund.
My journey with IDEA began in January 2019. After self developing my second co-op at Oomf Inc., where I worked as Business Development Analyst, I became infected with the entrepreneurial spirit and spent countless hours learning about startups, innovation, and Boston’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. While I had already developed skills in sales, marketing, supply chain management, and accounting through previous co-ops, I was interested in learning more about the investments side of entrepreneurship. I joined IDEA as a Venture Analyst to learn how to effectively evaluate startups by working with some of the most innovative ventures in the IDEA program.
After working intimately with countless ventures on pitch deck creation, overall go to market strategy, and their Gap Fund applications, I became obsessed with the process and its impact on venture growth. In an effort to maximize my involvement with IDEA ventures and work more closely with IDEA’s Advisory Board members on the investment decision process, I was lucky enough to take on the role of Investments Coordinator. Within this role to date, I have helped distribute over $250,000 in funding resources to 35+ ventures. While my time in IDEA is coming to an end, I will be forever grateful for the experiences I’ve had and would like to share four major lessons regarding management and organizational improvement that I have learned during my tenure on the team.
A successful team is driven by shared goals.
One unique aspect of IDEA is that students are responsible for strategic planning, day to day operations, and goal setting within the organization. Within the Investment Committee, the Analysts and I have spent a lot of time developing “areas of focus” to prioritize during the year. This year we decided to focus on increasing transparency and communication. We strived to increase transparency with our Advisory Board members, and other external stakeholders, to ensure that the Gap Fund process operated as efficiently as possible. On the communication side, the Analysts and I worked on becoming more venture centric through increased touch points between the IC and ventures, and focused on topics such as relationship building and providing constructive feedback. Additionally, we have prioritized increasing internal communication during the Gap Fund Analyst meetings to ensure each venture we passed through to pitch for funding was ready. Having these shared goals not only led to very swift and efficient Gap Fund rounds, but allowed each member of the IC to build strong relationships with each other.
Accept that you don’t know everything.
While I may have a collegiate level understanding of venture business models, strategy, and finance, I would be lying if I said I knew everything about starting and operating a business. Rather than pretend, it is important to surround oneself with people who have complementary skill sets to help fill in the gaps. Therefore, our IC has been strategically composed of individuals with a diverse set of complementary skills. Diversity allows us to effectively evaluate each venture that applies for Gap Funding and allows the IC members to learn from each other. From mechanical engineering and computer science to investment banking, former startup founder, and venture capital experience, the diverse experiences of the IC members have fueled my intellectual curiosity while making me a more professional and well rounded individual.
Be an active listener.
As someone who used to be quick to jump to conclusions, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned as Investments Coordinator is the power of active listening. Active listening has helped increase my knowledge of the business world, further develop my vocabulary, connect individuals with common interests, and build relationships. For example, after a disappointing Gap Fund round in terms of volume and quality of applications, I discussed ways to improve the process with our ventures and Analysts. I learned that more touch points and direction leading up to the Gap Fund deadline would be helpful. Based on this feedback, I implemented Analyst Office Hours, an opportunity for ventures to meet one on one with Analysts prior to the application deadline, and was blown away by the quality of the applications in the following round. Instead of jumping to conclusions based on my own beliefs, I actively listened, improved the Gap Fund process, and better set up our ventures for funding success. Therefore, If you ever feel like you are dominating a group meeting or conversation, I challenge you to stop talking, sit back, and listen. The things you might hear while doing so may change your life for the better.
“Accelerate inflection points.”
I first heard this Bill Gates quote a few months ago in the Masters of Scale podcast and it has been one of my favorites ever since. It means that while change can be disruptive and anxiety inducing, one should learn to embrace it, leverage it, and accelerate through it in the hopes of being more successful on the other side. I am blessed to experience this phenomenon everyday, as IDEA ventures continually challenge the status quo and introduce solutions that the world has never seen. The ventures and founders I have worked with are risk takers, innovators, and relentless in their pursuit of changing the world. This passion is contagious, inspires me everyday to do my job to the best of my ability, and is the reason why I believe IDEA is unique from all of the other organizations on campus. I challenge all of you to accelerate inflection points, embrace change, and leave the world better than the way you found it like the IDEA founders I have had the pleasure of working with.
While these four lessons have made the largest impact on me during my time at NEU, the lessons I have learned during my tenure in IDEA are endless and I am forever grateful for the experiences I’ve had, the people I’ve met, and the lifelong friendships I’ve made. As I graduate in May and prepare to begin my professional career as a Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Consultant for FTI Consulting in September, I know that IDEA has provided me with all of the necessary skills to begin a successful career.
