Name: Bianca Javier

Internship Company: BRaVe Ventures

Role: Strategy and Business Development MBA Intern

What did you do before Stern?
Portfolio Officer in the leveraged finance group of a commercial bank.

What was your role over the summer?
BRaVe Ventures is a media advisory and investment firm. I primarily assisted the team with a consulting project related to monetization strategy for a Fortune 250 entertainment client. I also analyzed a potential venture investment and conducted research for various projects.

What were your responsibilities?
One major project was performing a market analysis of social and digital media monetization in the entertainment industry and presenting recommendations to sales executives of a large entertainment client. I performed industry research, interviewed executives in entertainment and advertising, and worked on PowerPoint decks for the client. A second big project was researching the landscape for video live streaming on social media and developing insights for the company’s thought leadership publication, as well as their flagship tech and media conference. I also evaluated a potential venture opportunity by analyzing the target’s business model, financial statements, risks, management team, and other aspects of the deal.

What was a typical day like?
9:00 – 9:15 check emails
9:15 – 1:00 work on projects; usually in meetings with clients or industry contacts, conducting market research, or working on PowerPoint slides
1:00 – 2:00 lunch
2:00 – 4:00 continue working on projects and assignments
4:00 – 6:00 internal meetings to discuss the status of projects I’m working on, company updates, or new initiatives in the pipeline

What drew you to this company and role?
I had interned at a large entertainment company during the spring and although that was a great experience, I wanted to do something different in more of a start up environment. I also wanted a role that focused on the intersection of media and tech, and I appreciated that the company was looking at the future of entertainment, such as digital and social strategy and metrics. Although the company is small, they work with senior executives of large media companies and have really interesting projects. I also wanted to get some exposure to consulting and venture capital, and this role allowed me to do that.

Did you find anything surprising during recruiting or the internship?
During the internship, I was surprised how challenging it can be to develop solutions in an industry with a lot of ambiguity. Some of the topics I analyzed were so nascent that there was limited data or little to no standardization. At times it was challenging to gather data that seemed very ambiguous (and sometimes conflicting), synthesize my findings, and clearly communicate my recommendations to the client. This was also the case for analyzing venture deals with limited historical financial data.

What do you look forward to as an MBA2?
Trying to take advantage of all the opportunities that Stern offers! I’m working on a Stern Signature Project, doing a DBI abroad, and trying to attend all the conferences and events with amazing speakers.