Gaining Capital Investment Perspective from Industry Experts

The Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership funded travel expenses for four members of Grinnell College’s Pioneer Capital Investment (Investment Club) to attend the 2023 Annual Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference at Harvard Business School this February. Saule Keliauskaite ’23, Simon Hodson ’24, and David Eason ’24 are the fund managers of Grinnell’s Pioneer Capital Investment; club member Clayton Burton ’23 also attended, and the four gained new perspectives and insight into industry trends.

They had the chance to speak personally with keynote speakers such as Sarah Cannon, Josè E. Feliciano, and Margot Wirth, gaining crucial information for their future activities at Grinnell and beyond. Keliauskaite's favorite part of the conference “was interacting with speakers after speeches and getting to know other attendees that are already professionals or students with similar interests.” A lot of attendees were Harvard MBA students, and “getting their perspectives was very interesting.” This networking led to “a private tour around campus and personal advice on careers and graduate school.”

These four Grinnell College students gained understand of the inner workings of investment, developing the perspective of Grinnell’s future investors. “Overall, this opportunity was fascinating and allowed me to have a much better understanding of these two industries, crystalize what kind of work I might be most interested in and connect with various people on our shared interests,” Keliauskaite summarized.

Hodson says the group will prepare a presentation about their experience and conference topics for the Pioneer Capital Investment members, which is an activity encouraged by the Wilson Center when awarding funding for students to attend a conference. “Through this,” he says, “we aim to ensure that our club members have a deeper understanding of the investment landscape and are equipped with the tools to make informed investment decisions.”