Events

LOCATION: IHQ (E38) 7th FLOOR HACKER REACTOR

DATE AND TIME: FEBRUARY 28TH 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM

 

ABOUT THE EVENT

Join us for the latest installment of the Inclusive Innovation Series, sponsored by the MIT Sloan Career Development Office, Sloan Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and MIT Office of Innovation. The goal of this event is to convene students, postdocs, alumni, and VC employers, especially those who have never considered venture capital as a viable pathway for structural, societal reasons.

We will facilitate a student panel discussion about structural barriers to careers in entrepreneurship and venture capital and what MIT resources can be leveraged to overcome these challenges. The event will also promote the Sloan Career Development Office as a strong pathway to VC opportunities while elevating students who are historically underrepresented in their field who have experience in VC. Additionally, we will highlight VCs who have DEI in their thesis and cross-Institute MIT resources in innovation and entrepreneurship.

The format for the event is a student panel followed by food and networking. The audience is open to all students, postdocs, and alumni. 

Topics will include:

  1. MIT resources available to innovators and/or entrepreneurs to explore innovation and a VC career
  2. Success stories from students who have engaged with these resources
  3. Addressing structural racism as an innovator and/or entrepreneur and the challenges and opportunities faced by founders of color in the venture capital industry
  4. Strategies for addressing the lack of venture funds for underrepresented groups.

 

 

PANELISTS

  • Andrés Bisonó León, MBA ‘23
    • Originally from the Dominican Republic, Andres is a ClimateTech entrepreneur working at the intersection of social impact and Climate Action. Andres holds a dual-major in Mechanical Engineering and Finance from Drexel University. Since 2018, Andres has been leading SOS Carbon Inc. Sargassum Ocean Sequestration of Carbon (SOS Carbon) is a spun off company from the Mechanical Engineering department at MIT. As a member of MIT Sloan School of Management, Legatum Fellow, and PKG Fellow, Andres’ motivation is his capacity to transform society and the environment for a better tomorrow. SOS Carbon is committed to solving one of the Caribbean’s most threatening problem, generate employment and value chains to the region, and fight climate change for a global impact.
  • Daniela Velez, UG course 6
    • Daniela is a senior studying Computer Science and passionate about fintech and emerging markets entrepreneurship. She currently helps support student founders on campus as a Pear VC fellow. After graduation, she will be working as a software engineer at an early-stage fintech startup based in NYC. At MIT Daniela has been involved in StartLabs, Sandbox, SHPE, StartMIT, HackMIT, Martin Trust Center, iHQ, MIT Sloan classes, HBS entrepreneurship class, Kleiner Perkins Fellowship, Z-Fellows.
  • Fatima Arabzada, MBA ‘23
    • Fatima is a second year and an entrepreneur. She has held various positions ranging from Paralegal to Board Member and Founder. Fatima managed a $90M project and a team of 120 at Deloitte prior to starting her grad school here. She interned at CIE Digital Labs – a Venture Studio – during the summer and is recruiting for quantum computing and innovation-related positions while being on the lookout for the next startup idea.
  • Kidus Yohannes, UG Course 6-3, 15-3
    • Kidus is a sophomore double majoring in Computer Science and Finance. Kidus is passionate about using my technical skills in an entrepreneurial setting because he believes startups are the best way he can help make a positive impact in the world. Kidus is interested in the fields of edtech, sustainability and fintech. Kidus is involved in MIT StartLabs (MIT’s premier entrepreneurship club), MIT Sloan Business Club (MIT’s premier business club), MIT Sandbox, MIT Collegiate Capital and xFund.
  • Priya Bhasin, MBA ’23
    • Priya has over 9+ years of experience in building large scale consumer Products at Yahoo, Apple. Priya is passionate about driving innovation while building dynamic & inclusive teams. During her time at MIT, she built inclusively and won prestigious funding through MIT 100K award (previous finalists include Hubspot, Akamai). She was also invited at TedX Boston and MIT Media Lab to share her work.

 

MODERATOR

  • Steven Branch, MPAc
    • Steven N. Branch is the Associate Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion within MIT Sloan’s Career Development Office and Office of DE&I. Steven has a passion for supporting diverse talent through career decision making and strategy.

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Inclusive Innovation Series pulls together events and initiatives organized by MIT’s innovation and entrepreneurship community around intersecting topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, innovation, and entrepreneurship. By convening the community around these important topics inside MIT’s newest home for innovators, MIT Office of Innovation aims to increase the ecosystem’s accessibility to communities historically underrepresented in innovation, entrepreneurship & STEM. We know the world’s most pressing issues require breakthrough innovations from diverse teams, and we believe these teams can meet and discover the rich resources of the I&E ecosystem through this series.

Explore the community-driven and uniquely MIT events here—and return throughout the year for more!

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