Earlier this month, HBCUvc welcomed 10 MBA and PhD students to New York City for the 2025 Summer Associate Summit, a three-day convening designed to prepare fellows for their upcoming internships in venture capital. Hosted across various locations—including MetLife’s Park Avenue offices and community spaces throughout the city—the summit provided structured opportunities for learning, reflection, and professional development.

Through workshops, speaker sessions, and group discussions, fellows explored the fundamentals of investing, built relationships with industry professionals, and began to define their own approach to supporting founders and evaluating companies.

Below are five key takeaways and lessons learned from this year’s summit:

1. Strong Partnerships Are Built on Complementary Skill Sets

The summit began with a conversation between Brian Hollins (Collide Capital) and Ed Zimmerman (Lowenstein Sandler), who spoke about the importance of shared values and complementary expertise in building a firm. Their discussion highlighted how effective collaboration—particularly among investors with different backgrounds and perspectives—can lead to more thoughtful decision-making and stronger outcomes for founders.

They also emphasized the responsibility of investors to support companies through both growth and volatility, and to remain focused on long-term impact, not just short-term returns.

2. Investing Begins with Understanding Your Own Approach

In the session "Breakfast and Becoming," fellows considered a foundational question: What kind of investor do you want to be? Discussions focused on the responsibilities that come with being a founder’s first check, and the importance of building conviction through research, curiosity, and clear communication.

This conversation served as a critical reminder that investing is not only about identifying promising opportunities, but also about how investors show up—as collaborators, advisors, and long-term partners.

3. Developing Investment Judgment Requires Curiosity and Initiative

Johnnie Yu, a former HBCUvc Fellow and current investor at Listen Ventures, shared lessons from his own path into venture. He described how working closely with partners helped him develop the ability to recognize early signals, evaluate teams, and refine his own investment perspective.

His advice for incoming interns was clear: be proactive, ask questions, and speak up. In early-stage investing, new ideas and fresh perspectives can meaningfully shape investment decisions.

4. Thesis-Driven Investing Requires Flexibility and Focus

Claire Biernacki (BBG Ventures) discussed how their firm’s investment thesis has evolved over time. She walked fellows through the key questions early-stage investors ask when evaluating a company: Why now? Why this team? Why this product?

The session emphasized that while having a clear thesis is important, successful investors must also be willing to adapt as markets change and new insights emerge.

5. Understanding the LP Perspective Sharpens Investment Strategy

To close the summit, Nassar Omar (Allocate) provided valuable insight into how limited partners evaluate fund managers. As a former HBCUvc Fellow now investing in emerging funds, he offered guidance on what LPs look for—alignment between a fund’s strategy and its stated goals, honest assessments of fundraising capacity, and the professional and personal backgrounds of the GPs.

This perspective helped fellows connect day-to-day investing activities to the broader capital stack and reinforced the importance of building a transparent, well-articulated investment approach from the start.

In addition to classroom-style learning, the summit also included opportunities to connect through art and community. Fellows explored Tyler Mitchell’s “Ghost Images” photography exhibit at Gagosian and shared a dinner with local founders at Hav & Mar, where they reflected on the intersections of creativity, culture, and entrepreneurship.

As our Summer Associates now begin their internships across top-tier venture firms, we are proud of their preparation and eager to see how they apply these lessons in practice.

Introducing the 2025 Summer Associates

We are proud to introduce the ten outstanding graduate students selected for this year’s HBCUvc Summer Associate Program. Each fellow brings a unique perspective and commitment to advancing inclusive innovation. This summer, they will gain hands-on experience at leading venture capital firms across the country.

Kristen Brown – Interning at Open Opportunity Fund
Kristen is a first-year MBA candidate at NYU Stern School of Business, specializing in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Jillian Jones – Interning at Lux Capital Management
Jillian is pursuing her MBA at The Wharton School, with a focus on Applied AI and frontier technologies.
Aleesha Kearney – Interning at Market Square Ventures
Aleesha is a Spelman College alumna and an incoming JD/MBA candidate.
Isha Mehrotra – Interning at Obvious Ventures
Isha is an MBA candidate at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Semilore Olatunde – Interning at Collab Capital
Semilore is an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School with interests in venture capital, impact investing, and economic development.
Donovan Rolle – Interning at Bronze Valley
Donovan is a first-year MBA student at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Maximilian Sanders – Interning at Goodie Nation
Max is an incoming MBA student at The Wharton School and holds a B.A. from Morehouse College.
Amidat Sonekan – Interning at Avivar Capital, LLC
Amidat is pursuing a dual MBA/MS degree at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS).
Jay Teamer – Interning at Launch Tennessee
Jay is a PhD candidate in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Illinois.
Aliya White – Interning at Advantage Capital Management
Aliya holds an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and a B.A. in International Relations from Spelman College.

Thank You

We extend our deepest thanks to MetLife for generously hosting this year’s Summer Associate Summit in New York City and for providing a welcoming space for learning and connection.

We are also grateful to the venture firms who will host our 2025 Summer Associates:
Lux Capital Management, Collab Capital, Avivar Capital, Advantage Capital, Open Opportunity Fund, Goodie Nation, Obvious Ventures, Market Square Ventures, Bronze Valley, and LaunchTN.

Preparing the Next Generation of Investors: Reflections from the 2025 HBCUvc Summer Associate Summit