Past Employee Spotlight - Willy Yeh

Q: Can you tell me a bit about yourself, your background, and how you became interested in the investment management industry?

A: My name is Willy Yeh, and I am a rising sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University studying Economics and Statistics. I came into college knowing that I wanted to pursue a career in finance. In high school, I had the chance to explore different career disciplines, and while I was interested in other fields such as computer science and medicine, I decided on finance because I never got tired of learning about it. When I arrived at Carnegie Mellon, I joined business clubs and took classes that aligned with my interests. I got internships in private equity and real estate in the spring semester and over summer break. Looking forward, I want to continue to get hands-on experience through internships and hopefully land a position in an investment firm coming out of college. 

Q: How did you hear about GTE, and why did you want to work at GTE?

A: I heard about GT Entrepreneurs through a friend that had interned there in the previous semester. Unlike most investment firms, GT Entrepreneurs was open to hiring undergraduates that were not yet in their junior summer. Being a freshman at the time, I thought this was a fantastic opportunity to gain experience in private equity early on. I applied, interviewed, and was very fortunate to be hired by the firm. 

Q: Talk to me about your time at GTE? 

A: I had a great experience at GT Entrepreneurs. I did my 12-week internship over the summer. During this time, I read and analyzed confidential information memorandums (CIMs) and built leveraged buyout models to report to management a company’s potential value drivers and

industry risks. I also deal-sourced companies to find acquisition targets with favorable metrics; specifically, we were looking for targets with EBITDA between $750K and $5M. Additionally, I expanded the firm’s online footprint by writing and publishing weekly newsletters and social media posts. Overall, I learned a ton of technical and soft skills through this experience, and I highly recommend this internship to both undergraduate and graduate students looking for experience in the financial industry. 

Q: Can you give some advice to current and future interns?

A: I would advise current and future interns to stay curious, be proactive, and ask a lot of questions. The fundamental exchange between a firm and an intern is time and knowledge. Interns give a certain amount of time to a firm to complete tasks that otherwise would have to be done by an overqualified professional. In exchange, the firm is obligated to create an environment in which interns can learn and develop useful skills to go out into the job market with. Interns must keep this in mind and make sure they fulfill both sides of this mutual agreement. Companies must, in turn, make sure that they deliver as much value to the interns as the interns deliver to the company. GT Entrepreneurs do a great job of ensuring that their interns are well-prepared for a career in finance, whether it’s through networking sessions, hands-on experience through witnessing live deals, or building financial models.