IVCA Feature: Former IVCA Scholar Hanna Kunin, Now Private Equity Analyst at Cresset Partners
One of the finest commitments to creating a space for diversity, equity and inclusion in the Venture Capital and Private Equity industries is the IVCA Scholar Program. The IVCA Scholarship provides college students a very rare opportunity to be placed with a Venture Capital or Private Equity firm for ten weeks.
In addition, Scholars participate in informational and training sessions at a variety of investment firms and at professional service providers that partner with Venture Capital and Private Equity investors including accounting, investment banking, valuation, legal, consulting and more. The goal of this valued IVCA program is to create inclusive industries with more gender, racial and ethnic diversity.
In the third of the 2024 series of articles regarding the program is former IVCA Scholar Hanna Kunin, who is now a Private Equity Analyst at the firm Cresset Partners. Ms. Kunin is responsible for evaluating Private Equity and Private Credit Investment opportunities cross buyout, buy-and-build, and other control-oriented strategies.
She participated in the IVCA Scholar program in 2030 with OCA Ventures, and later participated as a presenter at the 2023 program onboarding sessions. The IVCA interviewed Hanna Kunin about her experiences in the program.
IVCA: What was your university background, and how did you get the opportunity to become an IVCA Scholar?
Hanna Kunin: I went to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I majored in Finance within the Gies College of Business. I joined a program called the Investment Management Academy, which is where I learned about the IVCA Scholar program.
IVCA: How did the IVCA and your sponsor firm set up the training situation for you, and what aspects of those training sessions were most beneficial for you regarding your interest in the industry?
Kunin: Through the IVCA, we participated in the Adventis Modeling program to learn how to financial model in Excel. We also had an entire week of training prior to working at our designated firms, where we learned from different finance professionals. These learning sessions included more modeling, legal training and career path options post graduation, plus more tangibles.
IVCA: Beyond training in numbers and procedures, what did you learn about the day-to-day decision making at OCA Ventures that has proved valuable as your career has moved on?
Kunin: One thing I learned is that you will look at numerous inbound opportunities –potential investments – maybe around 300+ a year, but ultimately only pick around three to actually invest in. This requires a lot of patience, diligence, and appreciation for the deals that actually go through.
It can become a bit repetitive and tedious, but when you find the ‘diamond in the rough’ you realize why it is such a ‘process of scrutiny’ and how important it is to take your time to make sure it is the perfect choice.
IVCA: In the journey of your career, how important was the IVCA Scholar program in both introducing you to what you were going pursue and getting into the nuts and bolts of the industry?
Kunin: It was an extremely important part of my early career. First, it opened me up to a broad and large band of individuals to network with … and being exposed to so many different paths that one could take within finance really opened my eyes in figuring out what fit my interests. Also, having such a rigorous experience on my resume really set me up to get my foot in the door with other careers I got prior to this internship.
IVCA: As an ongoing supporter, what would you recommend to other up-and-coming undergrads the value of the Scholars program if they have an interest in the Venture Capital or Private Equity industry?
Kunin: It is extremely unlikely to land an internship as a Sophomore in college similar to the one the IVCA offers. This puts students who participate in the program at an advantage in comparison to their peers.
Getting a PE/VC internship prior to your Junior year summer internship is a great thing to have on your resume. Also, from my personal experience, I was able to get access to a ton of jobs post graduation that I would not have known about if it weren’t for IVCA.
For more information about the IVCA Scholar program, click here. For more on Hanna Kunin and Cresset Partners, LLC, click https://cressetpartners.com/about/team/hanna-kunin/.