Syleste Davis wrapping-up her internship with Market Square Ventures
After completing her MBA at the University of Michigan, her goal is to move to New York City and work as an Analyst or Associate for a venture capital firm.
Syleste Davis is not your stereotypical intern, and the current Investment Analyst for the new Market Square Ventures (MSV) fund is far from a rookie when it comes to internships.
The Houston, TX native, who earned her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 2017, completed five internships or co-op experiences during her first college career. Three were with Johnson Controls, all in Norman, OK, while the other two were with Toyota North America, first in Erlanger, KY, and later in Saline, MI.
After graduating with her undergraduate degree, Davis spent the next nearly four and one-half years working for AT&T in Dallas, TX before moving to Menlo Park, CA where she was a university recruiter for Meta for the next 20 months. By then, however, she had settled on her ultimate career – venture capital (VC).
“I read a book titled Angel by Jason Calacanis in 2019,” she said, and as is frequently the case, the die was cast.
Today, Davis is back in college, halfway through her pursuit of an MBA with a focus on venture capital at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. After completing her MBA, her goal is to move to New York City and work as an Analyst or Associate for a VC firm.
So, you are no doubt asking, “How did a person with no ties to the region become an intern at MSV?”
As you might anticipate, the simple answer is she applied to an organization named HBCUvc that runs the largest paid venture capital internship program in the U.S. The effort annually supports between 30 and 40 historically underrepresented university students and recent graduates. Its flagship program is designed for people without venture capital experience and includes training and a paid internship with a VC firm.
“It is a well-developed program,” Davis explains, noting that the six-month training and internship program is designed to help Black graduate students and early professionals land their first role in venture capital.
As one of 28 in the current cohort, she is learning from people already in the industry and networking with others who could become VC colleagues in the years ahead.
The current cohort was onboarded in late March, had biweekly virtual training in early April through early May, and spent three days in a retreat in late May before beginning her MSV Investment Analyst role in early June. It ends August 9, just in time for classes to resume in Ann Arbor.
Davis says Launch Tennessee is funding one-half of her internship with MSV.
When she gets back to Michigan, she will resume her involvement with the Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund. It is a pre-seed fund established to identify and accelerate the commercialization of ideas generated within the University of Michigan community and the surrounding area.
As one of 50 members of the team, Davis says the students meet twice-a-week for two hours and will be able to write a minimum of two $50,000 checks each year.
Describing Knoxville as a “breath of fresh air,” she noted that she has been attending meetings with MSV Managing Partner Brandon Bruce. Another General Partner – John Bruck – had nothing but kind words to say about Davis. “She is very bright, energetic with a great work ethic, and a knowledge of venture capital,” he said. “Syleste is a very valuable asset for the Knoxville entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
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