EMTM Profiles by Industry:
Private Equity/Venture Capital

In the world of private equity and venture capital, success depends on the ability to assess technical concepts, business models and management teams. Students interested in private equity and venture capital — either as current or future careers — say that the EMTM program helps equip them to do all three.

EMTM’s unique curriculum combination offers:

• Courses designed to provide essential technical understanding as well as business insights into key technologies such as IT Security and Privacy, 4G Wireless Networks, Semiconductors, Microelectronics, Biotechnology, Drug Discovery, and Nanotechnology.
• Emerging Technologies Seminars (ETS) that highlight emerging technologies and their implications for new business models. Recent seminars have focused on Energy, Technology and the Environment, Investing in Emerging Technologies, and others.
• Core management courses taught by Wharton faculty including Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Operations, Organizational Design, and Strategy.
• Elective courses such as Introduction to New Venture Initiation, Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship, Strategic Management of Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship.
• Workshops open to students and alumni that have focused on Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition and Venture Capital.
• Participation in Wharton’s Business Plan Competition and Venture Initiation Program.

What do current students and alumni in private equity and venture capital say about the benefits and advantages they have gained through EMTM?

David G. Proctor, EMTM’10, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, Wind River Holdings, wanted a program with substantive offerings that would help him improve his approach to assessing acquisitions and growing companies. After attending Wharton as an undergraduate, he had worked in two private companies and in investment banking before coming to Wind River, a holding company with a diverse range of businesses. “I felt I didn’t know enough about things like databases and Internet security, so I was at the mercy of consultants. I also realized that having a better grasp on technology would allow me to see opportunities to create more value in our companies.”

Daniel Deeney MBA, CPA, EMTM’02, manages a $700 million fund focused on telecommunications and IT investments as a Partner in New Venture Partners (a venture fund that was spun-out from Lucent in 2001). “Though I had strong backgrounds in both technology and finance, EMTM helped me position myself for a career in venture capital. Once I was hired, I was able to apply my EMTM knowledge and build credibility in evaluating new investment opportunities.”

As a venture capitalist, Daniel sees business plans from a broad array of entrepreneurs working in different product and service areas, and he finds that EMTM’s technology electives in telecommunications, microelectronics and software development have served him well. “I can always draw upon my EMTM coursework to ask the right questions,” he says. Daniel stays in touch with program professors and continues to consult with them on various projects. At the same time, his network of fellow students has helped him make informed investment decisions.

Orlando Mendoza EMTM’01, Principal, Edison Venture Fund, was working in a mid-tier investment banking firm in the area of technology mergers and acquisitions. He enjoyed his work and was developing a deeper interest in technology, but he was eager to move ahead. He had started looking at both MBA and engineering programs when an advisor told him about EMTM. “As soon as I started speaking to the program office,” he says, “I realized that I had found exactly what I was looking for.”

While at EMTM, Orlando learned about the role a venture capitalist plays in launching and managing new technologies. He set his sights on breaking into this highly competitive field. Just over a year after graduating, he landed a position with Edison Venture Fund. He has since been promoted several times and is now a Principal at the firm.

Orlando’s ability to speak both the financial and technology “languages” has helped prepared him for a career in venture capital. This foundation has given him professional credibility and personal confidence. “There are few programs, if any, that can prepare you to become a venture capitalist. It’s a profession where solid management, finance and high-tech knowledge are essential. EMTM gave me that advantage.”

Related Links
> Business Plan Competition
> Venture Initiation Program
> Entrepreneurs
> Technology Commercialization

If you are interested in EMTM and would like to speak with a graduate or current student in this career field, please contact us.