Career Paths

1. Worked full-circle on an early stage VC manager decision: I began by attending the firm’s annual meeting at the start of the summer, then conducted reference calls and performance analysis throughout the internship, and came back after the internship to participate in PRINCO’s final investment decision culminating in a commitment to the fund
2. Met with two extremely talented first time VC investors as they navigated building their firm from the ground up
3. Took part in diligencing a private equity co-investment into a rapidly growing technology company
4. Voted in four investment decisions totaling $500M in commitments over the first 2 weeks of the internship

1. Voted on 2 investment decisions totaling over $200 million
2. Learned basic and advanced negotiation techniques in a 2-day workshop given by a Harvard Business and Law School Professor
3. Met 2-on-1 for an hour with the CEO of Youku, China’s YouTube

1. Spent a day in Mumbai one-on-one with a top Indian public equity investor, meeting various company CEOs and discussing the economic effects of demonetization
2. Had a dinner conversation with Evernote’s cofounder about the company’s path to success
3. Organized and led a key segment of an $80 million decision meeting
4. Worked with the founders of China’s premier travel website as they developed plans for a second startup
5. Hung out with Michael Phelps

After hearing our venture capital managers talk about their investments, I wanted to experience a startup firsthand. Princo quickly connected me to one of the companies in our portfolio, and I spent two months as an extern on the strategy team at Catalant, a Boston-based startup disrupting the consulting industry. My externship was an amazing chance to experience a completely different environment and get a deeper understanding of what goes on at the senior management level of a rapidly growing company.
-Jacqueline Lis ’15

While I spend most of my time at Princo working in the Private Equity portfolio, I sought out a very different experience for my externship. I spent a month at a San Francisco based hedge fund in its public equity long/short group. It was an excellent opportunity to build investment acumen from a different perspective while deepening my understanding of business fundamentals. My externship was also a great way to see how another organization works and expand my professional network.
-John McNamara ’14

• I joined Princo as an intern during my time at Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government, and subsequently took a full-time position after graduating in 2011.
• My goal when I started this position was to learn as much as I could from one of the best investment organizations in the world so that I would be able to use this knowledge one day to help individuals better invest. However, I received so much more than that. Not only did I receive a crash course in the art and science of investing from one of the true thought leaders in this field, but I also learned new ways to think about the world and I made lifelong friends. On top of all of this, I had a great time and truly enjoyed going to work each day.
• My Princo experience was absolutely essential to my development as an investment professional and informs much of my thinking to this day. If you are looking to work for an institution that values rigorous thinking and thoughtful deliberation on behalf of the best University in the world, Princo should be at the top of your list.

• Like many recent college graduates, I graduated from Princeton not knowing what I wanted to do. Princo offered an opportunity to expand my quantitative skills, build upon the qualitative, analytical thinking I developed as a humanities major, and gain exposure to a wide range of industries, people, and experiences. Princo delivered on all three, and I’m incredibly grateful for my time at the endowment.
• Through my time at Princo, I became increasingly interested in higher education and its role as an engine of innovation and upward social mobility. In 2019, I left Princo to join Ithaka S+R, a research and strategic advisory service for institutions of higher education.
• In my two years at Ithaka, I experienced the incredible value of having a sound understanding of finance, financial markets, and economic incentives in non-profit and public sector work. Princo provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn about finance and investment in a mission-driven environment, something that will serve you well no matter where you end up.

• Princo is a place that conducts high quality, rigorous analysis. I learned how to take disparate data and parlay it into actionable, intelligent insights. I routinely draw on this underlying skill today.
• Right from my first week, Princo gave me exposure to high profile investment firms and companies. I quickly gained the confidence and ability to walk into a room and effectively engage with leading executives.
• Princo has an incredibly supportive culture and strong mentorship. Andy (Princo’s President) continues to be exceptionally helpful to me. I know when I need career advice I can pick up the phone and call him.

• I joined Princo not knowing what I wanted to do longer-term for my career, but I hoped that Princo’s broad exposure to different investment strategies and businesses would help me learn more about what interested me. Over time, I became increasingly convinced that Princo’s line of work was what I liked the best. Helping manage Princeton’s far-reaching portfolio through a network of external managers was a fascinating challenge. Along the way, I had the opportunity to learn from some of the best investors in the world.
• While Princo was a great place to be, I moved to the West Coast for an exciting new opportunity (and, importantly, to be in the same place as my wife). I left Princo to join the newly forming investment team at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, led by my former Princo colleague, David Lee. Princo set me up well for this role, through both the world-class investment training I received and the broader professional skills I developed such as networking, management, and decision-making.

• A job at Princo offers an exceptional vantage point—one that defies the traditional tradeoff between quality and quantity, marrying the two instead. Princeton partners with over 75 investment managers in many different asset categories and around the world, and we meet with hundreds more—quantity. Princeton’s managers are among the absolute best in their respective areas and constantly getting better—quality. This combination leads to the best investment education around. I’m really not sure where else you can (properly) learn so much, so fast, about so many different areas. It’s honestly kind of addicting, a drug for the curious mind.
• Over five years at Princo, I met hundreds of investment firms and got a great sense of the broader finance landscape. My Princo work led me to develop a real passion for front-line public market investing. Princo allowed me to test out my interest through an externship with one of our managers. This experience proved invaluable and cemented my wishes to go down this career path. With Princo’s support, I got an offer from a long-short hedge fund that was by far my first choice for my next job.

• From day one, Princo gives you a seat at the table in important investment decisions. You are expected to state your opinion and defend your conviction. Princo gave me a chance to develop my skills as a leader much earlier than at other organizations.
• When I later joined Goldman Sachs, having worked at Princo was a huge positive. I was able to hit the ground running given the analytical toolkit and wide range of other skills I developed at Princo.
• Princo fosters a real appreciation for the non-profit space at large and allows you to marry work with a greater goal and purpose, which is incredibly rewarding.