Real investments prepare student for venture capital career
May 4, 2010
MBA student Cody Campbell is serving as managing director of Cougar Capital, BYU’s $850,000 student-managed venture capital and private equity fund. “The work I am doing with Cougar Capital is identical to the work I am currently doing at a real venture capital firm,” he says. “My Cougar Capital experience has been the most meaningful, useful, and realistic preparation of my academic career.”
Cougar Capital is a nonprofit investment fund housed at the Marriott School of Management that provides students with practical investment experience. The group comprises 13 students who review and invest in private companies alongside larger public equity firms and venture capitalists. All earnings are deposited back into the organization’s fund to be used for future investments. Five years ago the seed money to begin Cougar Capital was donated to the Marriott School. Class instructor Gary Williams says: “Cougar Capital gives students the opportunity to engage in real investment analysis.” Campbell says: “Those who donated to the fund put a lot of trust in us as students. I am grateful for their generosity and want them to know that we as students take our responsibility seriously.”
