The Zell Lurie Institute has helped Nick Bell, MBA ’14, apply his top-tier business-school education to practical hands-on experience in venture capital, which will accelerate his career in the investment-banking industry after graduation. The Institute offers a deep pool of resources ─ including three student-led venture-investment funds, entrepreneurial-studies coursework that addresses each stage of the new venture creation process, internships with start-ups and VCs, and faculty members who are experienced entrepreneurs and venture investors. These educational assets provide students with the knowledge, tools, experience and network they need to succeed in entrepreneurial, investment and finance careers when they leave the Ross School.
As the Co-Managing Director of the $6.5 million Wolverine Venture Fund, Bell has honed his technical ability to source deals, analyze risk and reward, create and defend investment strategies and manage day-to-day fund operations. At the same time, he has polished the interpersonal skills needed to collaborate effectively as a team member, build consensus among a diverse group of WVF student investors and negotiate favorable deal terms with company management. In addition, Bell says foundation courses in accounting, valuation and marketing have helped him deepen and broaden his business acumen.
Prior to entering the Ross School, Bell served as the Director of Business Development Operations at SOC, a premier provider of integrated security and mission support carrying out and enabling national security missions globally in support of the U.S. Government. Earlier, he founded and operated his own market-research practice, Javelin Black, and he worked as a senior analyst at Avascent, a Washington, D.C.-based strategy and management consulting firm serving clients in government-driven industries.
In July, Bell plans to join the Technology, Media and Telecom Investment Banking Group at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he will work on deals nationwide. He says he looks forward to tapping into the Ross alumni network in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic area and to maintaining his close ties to Michigan.