BMoE Bootcamp Feature: Thomas Jacobson, Ironfire Ventures Fellow

How Thomas Jacobson, MBA Candidate at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, utilized his BMoE Bootcamp experience to earn a fellowship at Ironfire Ventures firm.

Last August, Thomas moved from Germany to pursue his path in entrepreneurship. He wanted to relocate to San Francisco, specifically to interact with our diverse and thriving ecosystem. Prior his admittance into the Haas program,Thomas worked with German automotive company, Daimler, in their strategy and finance department. However, down the line, he realized his passion to work with more dynamic and smaller companies: start ups.

Thomas admitted that when he first started his career as an undergraduate student, he wasn’t too keen on interacting with organizations outside of the business school. It wasn’t until he came across the Sutardja Center’s BMoE Bootcamp that his eyes were opened to the importance of networking outside of business school.

“I was very fascinated by the diversity of the students, there were brilliant undergraduates who were very young,” he said, amazed at the hard work and dedication the students brought to realize their vision. Although he found the immersive experience a bit chaotic at first, he was able to take away the style and approach in which the teams were able to come together to formulate and develop their ideas.

During last semester’s bootcamp session,Thomas found himself working on a team whose project revolved around an acoustic lung monitor. Although two guys on his team had already been refining the project before the four-and -a-half- day intensive program,Thomas was able to contribute his insights and ultimately have a lot of fun with the group.

Aside from his learned experience in collaborating with a simulated start up team, Thomas also reaped some benefits from networking with the panel of professionals brought in to speak for Bootcamp. After listening to Richard Chan’s– Ironfire Ventures Managing Partner– lecture, he had taken the initiative to introduce himself. However, it wasn’t until a recruiting fair later on that they were to meet once again, which resulted in him being offered an internship at the firm.