Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Association in Olin (EVCA)
Meet Justin Matthews & Missy Preston, MBA 2023 the symposium leads of Spring 2023
A message from Justin:
Hey everyone, it’s Justin Matthews writing my last bio as a current MBA student because I graduate next week! The journey has been great; it all started with an entrepreneurship camp during my senior year of high school. That camp got the gears turning about what was possible. A lot of people looked up to professional athletes, but my heroes were entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Mark Cubans, making a real impact. I went on to major in mechanical engineering at Mississippi State to learn how to build my ideas. Some of those ideas were a workout game that was shaped like a giant monopoly board, a fitness app that gained over 3k downloads, and most recently a way to turn your Twitter account into trivia. While none of these have allowed me to quit my day job, trying to build businesses to solve problems was always fun. That passion for entrepreneurship brought me to Wash U to pursue my MBA with the goal of learning how to make an impact and create something sustainable. I immediately gravitated to the Skandalaris Center and the Entrepreneurship Club (EVCA) and eventually become the co-president of the club in my 2nd year. I didn’t know what I was stepping into, but I found out I was an amplifier for student startups. I was able to expose them to new communities with a field trip to Venture Cafe, have a dialogue with entrepreneurs with their backgrounds at the EVCA conference, and even help them make their first sale at the Startup Fair. While I don’t have my own successful business (yet), I still enjoy being part of this open community that is always striving to innovate and change the future.
A message from Missy:
Time flies when you are having fun and taking in all the entrepreneurial offerings WashU and STL have to offer! One of the key reasons that I was excited to attend Olin is the strong entrepreneurship program. I have always maintained an entrepreneurial spirit and hoped to refine those skills while in the MBA program. With the many routes to approach entrepreneurship (such as being a founder, funder, or supporter), I hoped to explore each of these areas while enrolled and successfully gained exposure to so many resources within our community. Many of my favorite memories during my time at WashU are centered around exploring the Skandalaris Center, taking entrepreneurship classes, cheering on classmates who were building their startups, and helping to lead the EVCA club with Justin and our entire team in an effort to connect even more students with the entrepreneurial community. We hope you had the opportunity to engage in our events over the past couple of years and gain connection and inspiration. Our entrepreneurial journeys do not stop here!
Fall 2023 Leadership for EVCA
Franklin Taylor and Cherise Brooks – Co-Presidents
Buddy Foster – VP of Finance/Operations
Voranun Taweerutchana – VP of Marketing
Highlights from April 14, 2023, Entrepreneurship Conference
