What if the best people on your investing team are still in college? Peter Harris, Partner at University Growth Fund, breaks down how they run a roughly 100 million dollar venture fund with 50 to 60 students doing real diligence, real founder calls, and real deal work.
You will hear how their student led model stays disciplined with checks and balances, why repeat games matter in venture and in business, and how this approach creates a flywheel that helps founders, investors, and the next generation of operators win together.
Key Takeaways
• Student led does not mean unstructured, the process is built around clear stages, data room access, investment memos, student votes, and an advisory style investment committee, with final fiduciary responsibility held by the partners
• Real autonomy is the unlock, when interns are trusted with meaningful work, the best ones level up fast and start leading teams, not just supporting them
• The goal is win win win outcomes, founders get capital plus a high effort support network, investors get disciplined underwriting, students get experience that compounds into career leverage
• Repeat games beat short term incentives, the alumni network becomes a long term advantage, bringing the fund into high quality opportunities years later
• Mistakes are inevitable, the difference is containment and systems, avoiding errors big enough to break trust, then building process improvements so they do not repeat
Timestamped Highlights
00:32 A 100 million dollar fund powered by 50 to 60 students, and what empowered really means
01:43 The decision path, from founder screen to student memo to student vote to the advisory investment committee
06:44 Why most venture internships underdeliver, and how longer tenures change outcomes
10:37 Repeat games and the trust flywheel, how former students now pull the fund into top tier deals
13:55 What happens when something goes wrong, damage control, learning loops, and confidentiality as a core discipline
24:39 The bigger vision, expanding beyond venture into additional asset classes to create more student opportunities
A line worth stealing
If you give people real autonomy, they’ll surprise you with what they do.
Pro Tips
• If you are building an internship program, start by deciding what real ownership means, then build guardrails around it, not the other way around
• Treat trust like an asset, design your process so every stakeholder wants to work with you again
Call to Action
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