Boston
It is many students' dream: landing that paid internship or job in the greater Boston area, the world’s number one city for innovation.
Meet Dan Phillips, the founder and director of the College of Management’s Entrepreneurship Center and the entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Venture Development Center (VDC).
He’s the guy who can help make that paid internship or job become a reality.
“At UMass Boston, we don't launch business plans, we launch businesses,” Phillips says.
Job Placement
Phillips, who was an executive with four venture capital-backed software companies, now mentors entrepreneurs, arranges one-on-one meetings with angel and venture investors, and recruits teams of student interns to meet the needs of early-stage venture-backed startup companies.
Because he saves busy startup executives valuable time by finding, interviewing, and presenting talented students that fit that company’s culture, Phillips states confidently, “I can line up an unlimited amount of paid internships for our students.”
And, even more importantly, Phillips says many of the students are offered jobs when their internships are over.
The proximity of the VDC and its tools and technology to businesses in downtown Boston makes it attractive to both students and businesses.
A Great Match
Why are UMass Boston students a great match for early stage venture-backed startup companies? Phillips says there are several key qualities they possess:
- “Lack of entitlement”
- “Used to dealing with adversity”
- “Comfortable with ambiguity”
- “Independent and willing to take ownership”
When Phillips points out the great value proposition the talent pool of students represents, employers listen. Why? Phillips has hired lots of talent and knows what employee qualities work best in startup companies. In the past 25 years, Phillips has been an executive with four venture capital-backed software companies. Two went public. EMC bought the third and Dell Inc. acquired the fourth.
As an adjunct faculty member in the College of Management, Phillips teaches that “to be successful, you need to focus.”
These days he has a new focus: “My focus is on UMass Boston.”
Go Inside UMass Boston
- Venture Development Center
- College of Management's Entrepreneurship Center
- Student Entrepreneur Program (StEP)
