Opus College of Business

Degrees & Programs

New Venture Club

Mission

The mission of the UST MBA New Venture Club is to enhance educational experience by developing members to be venture capital analysts for the Norris Institute and providing access to the local venture capital community.

Benefits of Membership in the New Venture Club

The New Venture Club gives students the ability to advance their educational and professional goals as prospective entrepreneurs or investors in new ventures.  Membership in this club is unique because it grants students the opportunity to evaluate early-stage businesses as potential targets for investment and to make recommendations to the head of the Norris Institute, the dean of the Opus College of Business and the CFO of the University of St. Thomas.  The club also offers its members other opportunities that include, but are not limited to, networking, speakers and off-campus events.


Goals

  • Increase status of club by working directly with the Norris Institute to prepare recommendations for investment.
  • Establish key project to analyze and propose recommendation to  investors by July 2009.
  • Club leaders to perform due diligence on one company prior to September 2009.
  • Bring in topic-specific speakers that include venture capitalists, CEOs, angel investors, professors, and the Norris Institute Portfolio Team; two per semester.
  • Include students in the four collaborative seminars and annual conference held in the Twin Cities.
  • Provide networking events with local entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
  • Offer bi-weekly lunches and meetings with head of the Norris Institute to update status of due diligence and upcoming schedule of new investment opportunity presentations.
  • Provide joint club speakers, i.e. finance, marketing, etc.
  • Create application process for first-year students to participate in due diligence presentations during second year; omplete prior to September 2009.
  • Revise by-laws to limit main membership to second-year students only.

Leadership Positions


Co-Presidents
Mark H. Hanson hans0440@stthomas.edu
Brandt Uthus uthu7811@stthomas.edu

Vice Presidents
Rob Flessner fles9355@stthomas.edu 
Naren Herat nherat@stthomas.edu
Nate Lewis lewi4629@stthomas.edu
Jace Senske sens2698@stthomas.edu