Pursuing New Career Paths at the Private Equity and Venture Capital Symposium
Ioana Solomon ’25 reflects on her experience organizing an annual gathering of students and industry professionals in New York City.
Two years ago, I began my MBA in real need of a break. I enjoyed and learned a lot from my pre-SOM work—private equity consulting and M&A strategy at Morgan Stanley—and I have tremendous respect, admiration, and gratitude for every colleague and mentor who supported me on that journey. But I was burnt out, and I knew that the career path I had begun did not felt right for me. An MBA program promised two years to step back, gain perspective, and start anew. I looked forward to just being a student again, to learning deeply, to being my healthiest, happiest, most well-rested self. In retrospect, I should have known better than to count on that last part. “Well-rested” isn’t exactly in my nature, and despite my best intentions coming in, I naturally leapt into all that SOM had to offer.
Within the first few weeks on campus, I realized I had joined a truly special community and an environment that could be outright transformative if I was up for the challenge. And I decided I was. I joined the Private Equity & Venture Capital (PE & VC) Club, the first step in pursuing a new career path. I ran for student government to be a voice for my fellow classmates and to push myself to become more comfortable with public-facing roles. EuroSOM, a group that fosters European cultural connections at SOM, provided a space for kinship with a core part of my identity, roots, and values as a Romanian-born immigrant. The graduate rowing team enabled me to stay active and engage with incredible peers across the Yale ecosystem. And programs like the Climate Innovation Intensive and the MIINT impact investment pitch competition opened up an entire new realm of career possibilities, merging my interest in sustainable solutions with the dynamic nature of early-stage venture investing.
Coming back for my second year after an extended internship with the ventures group at Closed Loop Partners, I felt both reinvigorated and motivated to ensure my time here made an impact and left something of value to those will join this community long after my classmates and I depart. I threw myself into a new role as a PE & VC club leader, determined to make this organization a space for connection, opportunity, and encouragement. My co-president and I instituted weekly meetings consisting of student-run panels, technical trainings, and networking/career coaching sessions with prominent industry leaders. With the help of our full leadership team, we also organized hands-on practice opportunities like SOM’s internal qualifier for VCIC (the world’s largest venture capital competition) and our annual symposium in New York City.
The symposium we hosted this year is perhaps what I am most proud of as I prepare to transition away from this role and into “real life” post-SOM. The prior year’s club leaders had set an incredibly high bar, making the bold decision to move an event long hosted at Evans Hall into New York City, right at the center of action for private capital investors, innovators, and strategic industry partners. My predecessors invested a great deal of time and effort to secure a fantastic venue and an incredible group of speakers for a truly memorable conference. With that same vision in mind, I and my co-leaders—Austin Cai ’25 and Adi Gupta ’25—committed to preserving the caliber and value of what we felt was our club’s marquee event.
Organizing this event was likely the most difficult—and rewarding—challenge I had undertaken at SOM. Between securing a new venue, surmounting countless logistical and financial hurdles, and convincing busy industry leaders to give us their time, planning the symposium felt like a full-time job for many months. But in the end, every second was worthwhile. On a cold February day in midtown Manhattan, the event drew nearly 300 attendees—a mix of SOMers, students from peer institutions, and accomplished industry professionals whose perspectives and experiences made for truly constructive and thought-provoking conversations. We began with an informative and inspiring keynote session featuring prominent investors and capital allocators—all women, which was an intentional decision and a personal point of pride given the industry’s persistent (but slowly improving) gender disparities. Attendees then spent the day shuffling between four sets of simultaneous panels (eight total) on industry topics including AI, climate, energy, healthcare, and real estate. As I listened to the buzz of exciting new connections forged at our evening reception, I felt a deep sense of optimism for SOM’s future in this space.
The current hiring market is a particularly difficult one. But I remain hopeful that the seeds we planted will bear fruit and that new generations of SOM students will continue to find a space here for shaping the careers they dream of. From my perspective, every unslept night and each drop of sweat was worthwhile. I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished, or more grateful for this incredible community and for the many opportunities I’ve encountered here to learn, grow, and redefine myself. These last two years have certainly not been a break—but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
