Profit with Purpose bringing experiential education to UVA
What we learned with our fall 2017 cohort
Last fall, we went into our program with a ton of ideas on what we can do better. Read about it here. We began with choosing who we wanted to grow with. Our selection process focused on diversity in area of study, year, and experience. With that criteria in mind, we welcomed 25 students into our analyst group and five sector directors to learn with us.
We experimented with our training program. Previously, time was the biggest roadblock so instead of five workshops, we doubled to 10 through the semester. We learned it was more effective to hear from professionals and work through activities as opposed to student led lecture-style workshops, so we invited leaders from the world of venture capital to join us. We defined and explored impact investing with Steven Zausner of Office:FMA, learned about tools and career paths from Inder Takhur and Marcia Chong of Village Capital, and explored scaling early stage companies with Chip Ransler of Husk Power Systems.
Alongside our workshops, we had working sessions where our teams found, analyzed, and pitched early stage startups. We learned about the different ways to analyze a company using the Village Capital VIRAL framework and had our partner 118 Capital show us how to examine and present the investment potential of our companies.
Check them out below:
Profit with Purpose (PwP) was created to provide an educational experience like no other. Although the leadership team has put a lot of time and effort into building our program, we must continue to gather feedback from our members and implement changes to make sure we are delivering on our mission. This semester we made an honest effort to get to know everyone in our community and see how their experience with PwP was progressing. We did a mid-semester review to see what changes we can make before finishing off. Before break, we had a census to record overall satisfaction with PwP. We consistently ranked above a three in a rank from one to four and have 19 of our 30 members returning next semester. We’ve got much to improve on, but the data says we have really developed something valuable for the UVA community.
Numbers only tell part of the story. Hear about it from from two of our members!
Sasha Khrapunova is a fourth year Commerce student. She led the healthcare sector this semester with their analysis of Phoenix Aid. We asked Sasha to say a few words about the experience.
Why did you join Profit with Purpose?
I joined Profit with Purpose for three reasons: to explore a career interest, learn basics of impact investing and become a part of a like-minded community. I discovered impact investing last spring during a semester abroad in HEC Paris, but only learned to conduct due diligence. Profit with Purpose was a unique opportunity to get more exposure to the industry itself, meet and hear from people working in the field and gain experience working through the whole impact investing process, from sourcing to pitching.
What did you learn about impact investing?
Beyond teaching applicable skills like conducting pitch deck reviews, using unit economics, etc., PwP showed me some “secrets” to being successful in impact investing. Looking from a perspective of an investor and a company at the same time demonstrated how important thorough analysis (strategic and financial), effective communication and dedication to impact are in the industry.
What about working with PhoenixAid?
It was a privilege to analyze and hopefully, just as valuable for this meaningful and promising company. Exploring the company targeting a major health issue in India was a challenge, but it taught me and my team to be persistent and creative.
How has this semester with Profit with Purpose helped you with your larger career goals and interests?
This semester solidified my interest in working in impact investing and taught me how to get there. Moreover, as I hoped, PwP gave me access to a network that I can turn to for professional advice. Even though I might not dive into impact investing right after graduation in May, I will be seeking relevant career opportunities in the future.
Tim Marsh is a first year in the College of Arts and Sciences. He was an analyst in the Financial Inclusion team and worked with BLAK FinTech.
Why did you join Profit with Purpose?
Coming into college, I was excited to learn more about investing and venture capital while also appealing to my personal goal to create positive social impact in the world. Profit with Purpose has been the chance for me to reconcile both of my aspirations, and it has opened up a new career field I had never known existed.
What did you learn about impact investing? What about your experience with BLAK FinTech?
I learned the fundamental process of impact investing, including sourcing companies and due diligence, and I was connected with various resources to refer to in this process. After learning about how to do each step and what to look for, I had the opportunity to apply what I learned in our own group, which focused on financial inclusion. This led us to BLAK FinTech, and we were able to work directly with the founder on due diligence to create a pitch on our analysis, which was a fantastic hands-on experience.
How has this semester with Profit with Purpose helped you with your larger career goals and interests?
Profit with Purpose has broadened the scope of what I considered to be my career opportunities, and I look forward to continue exploring this intersection of investing and doing good in the world.
We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with an inspiring community and are excited for the road ahead. We couldn’t have had built this program without our partners, thank you to all who have supported us.
We’ve been working around the clock to bring a better and more robust opportunity for our peers and hope you can join us! Applications for our Spring 2018 cohort are OPEN. Apply here.
