Quantrepreneurship

Here we are, halfway through a third and last semester! While I can confirm that MIT Sloan will, without any doubt, exceed your expectations on many levels, I would like to use this post to share my story as an MFin, and tell you why I am currently turning down interviews after completing a quant research internship to start my own company.
  
My position coming in the program was simple: I had some experience and thought that MIT Sloan, with its prestigious name and top-quality master program, would serve as a launching pad to access large buy-side firms. As I had hoped, I secured an internship by the end of Fall and my expectations were quickly met. However, my journey as a MFin was far from over.

Let’s start with student life. MIT Sloan is not just about going to class, it is about being part of one of the world’s most prolific educational ecosystems. Assuming a leadership role, hearing from industry professionals, and meeting students from other programs are among the many things that only involvement in student life can bring you. In my case, being a club officer greatly broadened my horizons and made me realize that I was not only here to get a job. 

Like everyone here, I consider myself incredibly lucky to be taught by award-winning faculty whose lectures often go beyond traditional education. For instance, Robert C. Merton likes to remind us that, “best practice is not good enough”, as a way to emphasize the fact that we must not only learn how, but also why (or why not!). Exposure to such a powerful idea is what makes studying at MIT Sloan so special. It is stimulating to the point that I found myself reconsidering the essence of my initial objective.

This reflection slowly drove me to the unexpected decision to set aside my plan to become a quant researcher for entrepreneurship. While I had worked in a startup before, having access to the Martin Trust Center, renowned conferences and many other events helped me understand what starting a company really means. Maybe even more important, being part of the Sloan community also led me to meet Alex, my amazing co-founder! Together, we are now ready to embark on this journey and build a company that will provide a new kind of goal-based investment solutions.

While everyone will have a different story, I am glad to say that MIT Sloan was so much more than just a “good career move." It was a deeply transformative experience where a combination of dynamic student life, insightful courses, and motivating professors gave me the inspiration to passionately dedicate myself to something I had never considered before: launching a FinTech startup.

Hugo Castalan, MFin 2020