At graduation, one should expect to be at least 18 – seems reasonable. Upon graduation from college, one can expect to be at least 22 – so far so good. However, if perhaps, an oracle told you that you will have created and sold your first business and moved into the realm of investing in other companies by the ripe age of 24, you’d call that crazy, amongst other things. But when listening to Chris Cook ’86, the most recent guest speaker to the Entrepreneurship Club, careers that seem unfeasible suddenly become a possible reality.
On February 11th, Jesuit’s Entrepreneurship Club welcomed Mr. Jonathan Van ’10, a serial entrepreneur and investor for a guest lecture.
After his career at Jesuit, Van attended the University of Texas at Austin for marketing. During this time, he created the UT Entrepreneurship Week to bridge the student body with the potent start-up scene in Austin. Additionally, Van worked on projects that spawned several programs such as Money Talks!, Entrepreneurship Live, and VIP Office Hours, programs that benefit the student body at UT. Although majoring in marketing, Van transferred internally to the McCombs School of Business at Texas and graduated in 2014. Currently, Van is the co-founder and COO of Technium, a global seed fund and advisory specializing in IP-focused deals. Jonathan started his career in venture capital at Alta Ventures in 2012. From that point on, he has led special projects for the firm, assisted in sourcing and closing several venture investments, and led the Series A investment in Nuve, a leading IoT technology company in Austin, Texas.
Speaking on multiple topics ranging from his hiring process to his future plans, he often divulges start-ups that fascinate him. One of the students in attendance, Matthew Favre ’16, thinks that his sharing of experiences “struck a chord with a lot of guys listening because many are in the midst of the college application process. Getting denied from your dream school is heartbreaking for anyone, but hearing how he turned it into a positive and kept working hard in college in a different major at UT was really cool.” Favre also thought that a “really crazy thing was hearing about how his current business, Technium, is involved in venture capital, specifically with technology companies. They make loans sometimes worth millions of dollars, but the company has around 5 employees,” an amazing feat for an entrepreneur only six years removed from the 28.
The moderator of the club and Economics teacher Mrs. Ochs explained how “enthused [he was] to come and visit.” In summary of his lecture, Ochs thinks that “the best thing anybody could take away from Jonathan is ‘don’t be afraid to ask.’ The worst that can happen is someone can tell you no.” In fact, most of Van’s anecdotes pivoted upon this maxim, which has provided him multiple opportunities while at UT and in business. Additionally, Ochs concluded: “To be scared to ask to take somebody to lunch, to be scared to ask to introduce an idea to something, to be scared to ask for funding; who knows what potential you’re giving up? Jonathan is so great at that.”
Van’s ‘just ask’ policy seems simple, but it directly combats our ever present yet subliminal fear of denial. His career a shining model for the Entrepreneurship Club, the sky’s the limit if you can put your mind to it. Be bold and just ask.
