Persuading the Interview Maestro, David Rubenstein, to be Interviewed by Duke MBA Students
My experience interviewing the Master of Interviewers: David Rubenstein, Duke Conference Keynote 2023, and How We Launched the First Student-Led Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference at Fuqua
By: Shelly Mittal (MBA 2023)
When I was a first-year MBA student at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, I was eager to get involved in extracurricular activities that aligned with my career goals. Specifically, I wanted to learn more about the private equity and venture capital industries, coming from a nontraditional background, and believed the business school would be a pavement to help sharpen those areas that were of interest to me. However, I found that there weren't many opportunities for students to engage with these fields outside of the classroom after COVID.
With COVID regulations easing and a growing need to network and develop skills in private equity, I realized it was time to take action. Together with an exceptional team comprising John Gold, Vishrut Chatruth, and James Motsinger, we embarked on a mission to launch the first-ever fully student-run private equity and venture capital conference at Fuqua.
We knew that leveraging the Duke name and platform would be key to attracting top-notch speakers and attendees, and I was excited to learn about fundraising, marketing, and event planning in the process.
To get started, we assembled a team of fellow MBA students who shared my passion for the topic. We divided up responsibilities and got to work on securing funding from both internal and external sources, such as the Fuqua administration, corporate sponsors, and individual donors. My role was to land and persuade keynote speakers and narrowed in on a list, and also contacted our personal and professional networks to spread the word about the conference and generate interest.
One of the biggest challenges we faced was convincing high-profile speakers to participate in our inaugural event. However, we were persistent in our outreach efforts and echoed that given the changes in the financial climate, this would be the ideal place to let people know about and ultimately secured Cathie Wood, the founder, and CEO of ARK Invest, as our keynote speaker! Her presence helped attract a strong turnout of students, faculty, and industry professionals, and we received positive feedback about the quality of the content and networking opportunities.
Building on that success, we decided to make the conference an annual tradition and began planning for our second year. This time, we aimed even higher and were thrilled to secure David Rubenstein, the co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, as our keynote speaker. In addition, we recruited 12 esteemed speakers across 3 panels to discuss topics such as fundraising, deal sourcing, and impact investing.
Overall, the experience of launching and leading the private equity and venture capital conference at Fuqua taught me valuable skills in fundraising, marketing, negotiating, and team leadership. I also gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexities and opportunities in the private equity and venture capital industries. I look forward to seeing how future generations of Fuqua students will continue to build on this tradition and make their mark in the world of finance.