IIT Stuart Undergraduate Business Council (UBC) Helps Students Spend Winter Break Learning Venture Capital, Economic Issues
Winter break is often a time for students to take a break from coursework — recovering from finals and recharging for the next semester — but last month, the IIT Undergraduate Business Council (UBC) helped five IIT students spend their breaks learning all about venture capital, entrepreneurial finance, and innovative approaches to U.S. economic challenges.
“Our strategy with UBC this past semester was to increase our participation in more conferences and activities, broader than just on IIT’s campus,” said George Batah, B.S. Business Administration & Finance ’14, Chief Financial Officer of UBC and the organization’s representative during the trip.
With student organization funding and additional support from IIT Stuart, UBC sponsored students to travel to three entrepreneurial-themed events: the 16th Annual MIT Venture Capital Conference in Cambridge, MA; the Finance for Entrepreneurs workshop by General Assembly in New York City; and InnovateDC: Innovating American Government for the 21st Century in Washington, D.C.
UBC encouraged all IIT students to apply for the trips, and UBC Board members selected four students to attend. In addition to Batah (pictured at far right), the group included (pictured left to right) Suhaib Ibrahim (B.S. Civil Engineering ‘14); Alex Gosselin-Uribe (B.S. Business Administration & Finance ‘14); George Zeinieh (B.S. Mechanical Engineering ‘14); and Nishanth Samala (B.S. Computer Science ‘14). All five students attended the MIT Venture Capital Conference, and Batah, Ibrahim and Zeinieh continued on to New York and Washington, D.C. for the two additional events.
Speakers at the MIT Venture Capital Conference included a variety of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and investors, and the program featured panels on energy, big data, and corporate venture capital. The entrepreneurial focus of the conference was especially relevant to IIT students. “I would say that the majority of students who participate in UBC events have an entrepreneurial sense,” said Batah. “Some of the participants already have started their own companies, and this is a strong influence in UBC.”
The Finance for Entrepreneurs workshop went into more detail on startup finances, looking at financial statements from major companies and offering tips for improving cash flow. “Venture capital is very entrepreneurial and not something you typically learn in the classroom,” said Batah. “All of the events and topics were very complementary to the finance and economics basics that we’ve covered in our courses. These sessions helped us to have a full perspective of the entrepreneurial business process.”
Students also had opportunities to expand their networks and connect with fellow students and other professionals in major cities. “I found it very valuable to meet and talk to new people, and to get more people to know about IIT and the activities of the Undergraduate Business Council,” said Batah. In Washington, D.C., students even connected with a former IIT administrator, Nigel Cameron, who now serves as CEO and Chairman of the Center of Policy on Emerging Technology, the organization sponsoring the InnovateDC event.
This spring, UBC plans to continue conference support, along with their Friday Fusion speaker series and an investment competition. To learn more about UBC, visit https://www.facebook.com/iitubc or email ubc.iit@gmail.com.
