Summer Internship Series: Start Ups in NYC (and Spain!)

Summer is flying by but Booth interns are still being kind enough to take time out of their busy schedules to talk about their internships. This week, TBE’s very own Dana Fortini shares her story. I, personally, can’t wait to hear more about her internship at Spanish Vines – and to make myself available for any product testing she might need – when we return to campus.

Beth
****

Tuesday, 9:30a.m.: You're at the Ace Hotel, meeting with the principals of a boutique design firm to discuss re-branding of one of the key products in your portfolio.

Tuesday, 1:00p.m.: You head to Casa Mono, a Michelin-rated Spanish restaurant in NYC, to taste sherries with the wine buyer.

Tuesday, 3:00p.m.: You're at your CEO's studio apartment on the Lower East Side, working on an investor presentation for private equity firms and angel investors.

Believe it or not, I've had days like this while working at Spanish Vines this summer. Founded in 2009, Spanish Vines is a New York-based importer of wines from Spain's most prestigious and highly regarded DOs (DO stands for "denominacion de origen" – the regulatory classification for wines from Spain). I was hired to shape and implement the company's social media and SEO strategies, but in true start-up form, I've also been assigned projects related to finance, mobile app development, and PR for our constituents in Spain. (A perk of the job: I also get to enjoy a refreshing glass of Txakoli on a hot summer day.) Because the company is so small, I work directly for the CEO and collaborate with him on a daily basis. He treats me less like an intern and more like his peer, so I've been given tremendous responsibility over the past 6 weeks.

The entrepreneurship classes I've taken at Booth have done an excellent job at preparing me for my projects at Spanish Vines. The New Venture Challenge taught me many valuable lessons that I was able to apply throughout the funding process for Spanish Vines. Although the business metrics that PE and angel investors look for are slightly different than what VCs seek, I was able to draft the key parts of a business plan and investor presentation based on what I had learned from NVC. Through the NVC process, I also learned how important it was to have a passionate and dedicated team. All of us at Spanish Vines want to share the story of Spain with the US consumer. We also share the vision that Spanish wines are poised to become a category leader in the US market.

Another course at Booth that has been highly applicable to my internship experience is Entrepreneurial Selling. You would think that a product as fun and enjoyable as wine would have no trouble selling itself (especially our wines, they're pretty great!). Unfortunately, it's a lot harder than you would think to receive commitments from key on-premise (this is industry jargon for restaurants and bars) and off-premise (supermarkets and liquor stores) accounts. At Spanish Vines, we target, prospect and qualify our potential wine buyers before scheduling meetings in order to increase the likelihood of placement on the wine list at some of NYC's trendiest and most popular restaurants.

In August, I'll be heading to Spain to meet with our winemakers and the families that own the bodegas. We want to build our US brand image through the use of rich stories and photography, so I will be responsible for generating and curating content on this trip. Although our company is primarily in the business of selling wine, we also want our consumers to learn how wine is directly tied to Spanish culture and the livelihoods of many individuals in the country. I'm very excited about the trip not only because I get to travel throughout some of the most picturesque areas of Spain, but because I have always wanted to deliver the pride and passion that the winemakers have for their craft to the US consumer. In addition to writing about the experience as part of my company's consumer marketing initiative, I'll be reflecting on my time at Spanish Vines during the Entrepreneurial Internship Program (EIP) seminar this fall! (Head here if you'd like to learn more about EIP.) I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with my entrepreneurial peers and learning all about their accomplishments at their internships.

Anticipating Admit Weekend!

Can you believe that Admit Weekend 2 is already here? Almost 350 admits and partners will be arriving at the Harper Center for an action-packed weekend of receptions, activities, tours, dinners, faculty discussions, trivia, and after-hours outings. This week, we have Sheelu Nandigam, a first-year student, reflect on her experience as an Admit Weekend Squad Leader and the things about Booth she loves most. We also have our next installment of the Day in the Life series, featuring yours truly. I'll give you a glimpse of just how time consuming the New Venture Challenge really is and how great it's been to be a Wine Club co-chair. On behalf of all of us at Booth, congratulations to our Round 2 admitted students!

Dana

***


As Round II Admit Weekend approaches, it’s hard to believe that just a year ago many of us were in the same position as the hundreds of admits that will descend upon the Harper Center in a few short days. Ask any first year and there is a common sense of disbelief at how fast a year has flown by, but also how excited we all are to celebrate the latest round of admits and to share our experiences over these past nine months with all of them. Particularly as a Squad Leader, I have a unique opportunity to help admits get a taste for what life at Booth is really like.

I will confess though that before coming to school I was always a bit skeptical when I heard people talk about how business school is such a transformative experience. Ever the pragmatist, I just didn’t see how it could really be that different from undergrad except for the fact that we were all a little older (and probably a few pounds heavier). Well, it was my experience as a Squad Leader during Admit Weekend I that truly helped me realize that maybe those people weren’t just making it all up. Hearing Dean Kole welcome the Round 1 admits in February, I found myself nodding along a she mentioned how Booth helps prepare its students for an ever changing environment or as she explained the strength of our community. I always thought I knew my answers to the inevitable “why Booth” question, but over the course of the weekend I discovered more answers to a question I have answered countless times and it is my hope that I can help admits do the same. It is all the things that can’t be measured in stats or read on Poets and Quants that truly make Booth a special place to be – it is the classmate who invites you over just mere hours after moving to Chicago or the second-year who brings her husband (who you don’t know) to Starbucks on a Sunday to help you prep for an interview. It is winery tours in Argentina during Random Walk, Winter ski trip to Aspen and dancing the night away with 80+ of your classmates on spring break. Most of all, it is sharing these experiences with admits and helping them create new experiences together during their short time with us Chicago that makes Admit Weekend so much fun (not to mention getting to know who will be sharing the Winter Garden with us next year)!

From LEAD to Random Walk to exploring Chicago nightlife with classmates, there is so much about the Booth experience to enjoy but there is one common thread makes it all so wonderful – the Booth community. Whether it’s hanging out in the Winter Garden, running into classmates in downtown Chicago or traveling the globe, I am excited to help admits experience the richness of our community first hand. If Admit Weekend I was any indication of the level of awesome that is to come, I can’t wait to do it all over again for Admit Weekend II!

Introducing...your new Communications Co-Chairs!

Hello Booth Experience readers! Beth and Dana here, writing to introduce ourselves as the new DSAC Communications Co-Chairs. We have some big shoes to fill. In the past year, Tina has brought this blog, the Facebook page, Wednesdays in the Winter Garden, and the Day in the Life videos to life. We are thrilled to have all of these forums to show you what life at Booth is all about. To kick things off, we thought we’d share a quick tale of how we first met and what’s in store for The Booth Experience over the next year.

How we met:
Maybe it was fate. Or maybe it was just a careless coat checker. But Beth and Dana were destined to meet, and it’s only fitting that their first meeting was facilitated through their class Facebook group.

Per Thursday tradition, both first year students met up with 100 or so of their classmates to kick off the weekend at a local bar this January. When Beth went to retrieve her coat from the coat check she was handed an almost identical coat and learned that hers had been given to someone else. She put a call out for her coat on Facebook and Dana responded. When they met at Harper to make the exchange, they learned that they had more in common than their puffy coats. They shared a passion for wine, live music, and all things admissions. Three months later, their relationship became official when they together took on the roles of DSAC Communications Co-Chairs.

What’s next:
We are so excited to work on The Booth Experience! In the coming year, we hope to continue to share the Booth community with everyone through all of our online channels, and to increase interaction with our readers through them as well. We’ll be featuring many of the academic, professional, extracurricular, and social elements at Booth that make this school such a wonderful place to be. We hope you’ll let us know what you want to see more of, what topics you’d like covered, and how you think we are doing. Here’s to a great year and getting to know each other better!

Also, this week, make sure to check out Beth's Day in the Life video to learn more about her! Follow her on a day where she plays strategy games in class, skypes with Australia, enjoys a sushi dinner and the kick-off to Admit Weekend 1 at a bar downtown, and ends the night with a Booth favorite - Rock & Roll McDonalds!

Taking on the New Venture Challenge

Hi everyone,

Happy Friday! Here at Booth we have just completed Finals week (woohoo!) and are getting ready to head off on our Spring Break vacation destinations all over the world. It’s almost a shame to be leaving the 70+ degree and gorgeously sunny days we’ve been having in Chicago over the last week!

In addition to a new blog entry today, we’d are very excited to bring you another Day in the Life - a continuing video series through which Booth's students share with you what the Booth experience is really like. Today, we join Albert for a day as he starts his day with a healthy breakfast, goes to meetings and class at Harper Center, then Kuma's Corner (great burger place) for dinner before finishing the night with a model (an excel model). Check it out here and let us know what you think!

In today’s blog, we check back in with our aspiring entrepreneur, Dana, as she gets ready for Booth’s New Venture Challenge that will take place this spring!

Tina

***

Although the spring quarter hasn't even started, I know it will be one of the most exciting and busy of my time at Booth. Why? I will be participating in the New Venture Challenge (NVC), one of the country's best-known MBA business creation competitions. NVC is hosted by the Polsky Center and previous winners have included high-profile start-ups such as Bump and GrubHub. This year has been one for the records: the Polsky Center received 119 applications, 52 of which are advancing to Round 2. Although the final round of the competition is not until May, my team has plenty to do and thankfully, the Polsky Center has incredible resources and contacts for us as we work on our business plan. I will be working on Omakase, an online platform that will bring "underground" dining and supper clubs to a broader base of eager diners.

Both Professor Rudnick and Professor Kaplan teach a course, Special Topics in Entrepreneurship: Developing a Business Plan, for those of us who have progressed to Round 2 of NVC. The course not only allows teams to dedicate additional time to business plans, but allows us to practice our presentation skills and receive feedback from our professors and judges. The lecture portions of the course cover legal issues, sales and marketing, and how to develop a financial plan. My team will be one of the first to present; the Monday we get back from spring break, Team Omakase will deliver our first 15 minute pitch and business overview. In addition to the time spent in class, teams also have appointments scheduled with entrepreneurship professors for additional guidance and leads. Although each member of Team Omakase has an extensive network, I am both very impressed by and gracious for the network that Professor Rudnick has provided us, generating further leads in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

After our final business plans are due in late April, the last few weeks in May leading up to the finals are dedicated to our second presentations. Based on the quality of the presentations and the final business plans, a handful of teams are then selected to present in the finals, where the top teams (as determined by a panel of judges) will win cash prizes.

Personally, I feel as though I have a tremendous deal to learn from the NVC process. I have never had to pitch to investors and have never been part of a team to develop a business plan. Although I have sold tangible goods in the past, it is so much different to sell target consumers on an idea and service in its infancy. And no matter how much sales experience I've had, it's always difficult to hear "no" from a potential client or customer. As an entrepreneur, I believe that selling skills are critical to have and I know that by participating in NVC, I can improve a great deal.

The NVC process has already taught me a great deal about some of the nuances in building a business and the decisions that are required. What are the implications for incorporating as an LLC or C-corp? How much equity is appropriate for each team member to have? How do we go about finding a lawyer who has sufficient experience with start-ups? These may seem like relatively mundane details, but the NVC process thus far has taught me not to overlook these important steps.

If you'd like to see how NVC unfolds over the next few weeks, you can follow the Polsky Center (@polskycenter) on Twitter and search for the official #ChicagoNVC hashtag.