Fall 2020 marked the first semester in which Hillside Ventures was established as a course offering by UConn. At the time, the seven students enrolled began to source companies, establish fund culture, build upon their knowledge of VC fundamentals, and take the other steps necessary to further develop the fund. As we move into the new semester and prepare to deploy capital, we are excited to announce the addition of 10 new analysts for the spring of 2021. We are confident that our new members will bring great value and unique perspectives to Hillside Ventures. Read below for an introduction and insight into each of their unique backgrounds and interests within the space.
Brandon Milich is a senior Finance student with an analytics minor and a concentration in valuation and portfolio management. He is currently a member of the UConn Student Managed Fund (SMF), where he and a team of his peers invest a portion of the UConn Endowment into publicly traded stocks, as well as the UConn Consulting Group (UCG), where he engages in strategy consulting projects with various firms. Brandon also brings internship experience on the fundraising side of private equity with the Credit Suisse Private Fund Group. Outside of school, work, and extracurriculars, Brandon likes to run and travel. He is very proud to have finished the 2019 Chicago Marathon and had an incredible experience studying abroad at the National University Singapore.
Connect with Brandon on LinkedIn
Tyler Lasicki is a senior Finance student with a computer science minor in the Honors program at UConn. Tyler has experience working within a number of different roles in the startup ecosystem; as a founder and operator of two startups, as a VC and Growth Equity Intern, and as a consulting intern for high growth technology companies. Tyler is also a member of the UConn Student Managed Fund where he focuses on finding undervalued publicly traded technology businesses to invest in on behalf of the UConn Foundation. Additionally, he is currently writing his Honors Thesis on “The Implications of Raising Seed Stage Convertible Debt on Startup Outcomes.” Outside of school, work and extracurriculars, Tyler enjoys traveling, reading, listening to podcasts, skiing, and playing basketball for the UConn Club Basketball Team.
Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Medium
Alex Kim is a junior Finance major with an analytics minor at the University of Connecticut. Being a first-year member at Hillside Ventures, he is particularly interested in the edtech and insurtech industries. He also currently runs a mental health platform called Refreshr, where college students can send positive messages to each other via video. He is a big basketball fan (go Miami!) and enjoys listening to music.
Connect with Alex on LinkedIn
Aliyah Hayes is a junior Finance student pursuing minors in both Africana studies and urban & community studies. At school, she works as an Academic Peer Advisor in the School of Business. She is also involved with various clubs and organizations on campus including National Association of Black Accountants, Business Leaders of UConn, and National Big Brothers Big Sisters. This past summer, Aliyah had the opportunity to work at The Buttonwood Tree, a performing arts center located in Middletown, CT, as a Marketing Communications intern. Outside of school, she enjoys watching documentaries, running, and community engagement. At Hillside Ventures, Aliyah is excited to gain insight on business practices related to startups, funding, and to learn more about the presence of diversity and inclusion in the world of Venture Capital.
Connect with Aliyah on LinkedIn
Faith Sporbert is a junior at the University of Connecticut pursuing a minor in digital arts in addition to a dual-degree in Computer Science and French through the International Engineering program, Technopole France. At school, she is a Werth Innovator, Krenicki Scholar, and STEM outreach advocate, promoting further diversity in the field of engineering with the Engineering Ambassadors Presentation Team. When she is not in the classroom, she works as a resident assistant on-campus and a teacher's assistant for the computer science and engineering department. She completed her first internship last summer as a software engineer at Northrop Grumman in their Mission Systems sector. Next summer, she will be stepping into the world of FinTech as a BLP Intern for Synchrony. At Hillside Ventures, she is just beginning her journey with venture capital and learning more about the startup ecosystem alongside other experienced and inspiring members.
Connect with Faith on LinkedIn
Jaden May is a junior majoring in Finance with a minor in real estate. He is a member of the Finance Society and the Investment Banking Society. He is an intellectually curious person who is always striving to learn more to augment his value. He is competitive and an achiever, but is also friendly and genuine. His passions include stock market analysis, real estate, and video games. Jaden strives to use his knowledge of finance to help people reach their goals and make meaningful impacts on his community. His ultimate goal is to provide value to everyone he works with in the future.
Connect with Jaden on LinkedIn
Maddy Siegel is a junior Mechanical Engineering student and mathematics minor with a concentration in design and manufacturing. On-campus, she is on the UConn women's rowing team along with being an active member of the Society of Women Engineers, a program that outreaches the local community in order to get middle school girls more interested in STEM through events and hands-on workshops. Outside of school, Maddy enjoys skiing, hiking, and traveling. At Hillside Ventures, Maddy is excited to learn more about the business aspects of the work she wishes to pursue in startups, and she looks forward to bringing her technical knowledge of engineering to the group.
Connect with Maddy on LinkedIn
Astou Diallo is a sophomore at UConn majoring in Management Information Systems and has an interest in entrepreneurship and startups. She wanted to join Hillside Ventures because she thinks it would allow her to have more hands-on experience and truly help startups and companies that in turn have the potential to help other people. One day she would like to start her own edtech startup.
Connect with Astou on LinkedIn
Rashana Weerasinghe is a sophomore studying Business Data Analytics at the UConn Stamford campus. She is the Vice President of the Data Analytics Club and the Financial Management Club. As a member of the Business Connections Learning Community, she is an Academic Mentor and Teaching Assistant for the Stamford students. Outside of campus, she has experience working at technology startups and in investment banking.
Connect with Rashana on LinkedIn
Zac Will is a sophomore majoring in Business Management with a concentration in entrepreneurship. He is an Eagle Scout and a brother of UConn’s foremost business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. He is also the founder & CEO of a startup business called Kona Brand. Since his junior year of high school, he has been working on building Kona Brand and his professional expertise. In doing so he has gained critical skills and experience in leading, quick learning, decision making, adaptability, and public speaking. When he’s not working on his schoolwork or Kona Brand, Zac likes to play pickup basketball, listen to podcasts, and go on adventures.
Connect with Zac on LinkedIn
Welcome to all the new students! ~Professor Noble