My Conversation With Vista Equity Partners’ Intern Class of 2023

Key Takeaways:

• Take time to seek out mentors as part of an internship opportunity, and make sure to nurture that relationship, listen and ask questions to make the most of the mentorship experience.
• Your definition of success can change over time, and doing an internship can help you better understand your skills and define what success means to you.
•  Surround yourself with people from different backgrounds, as a diverse group of people can bring new insights and perspectives that help us evolve and move forward.

I’ve shared in the past just how pivotal internships were in my career development. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve made it a priority to create internship programs at Vista Equity Partners  (Vista) that not only open doors to young people interested in finance and technology but also help them develop relationships with the professionals at our firm. Every summer, I spend time getting to know our interns and answering questions they have about asset management, enterprise software and professional development. Hearing their thoughts and ambitions is incredibly inspiring to me, and I hope my own stories, successes and struggles can inform their journeys. Below are a few highlights from our discussion.

1. Seek Out Mentors

When I was a 17-year-old intern, I shared an office with a gentleman who was much older than me. He was an expert in his craft and was willing to relay his hard-earned knowledge and wisdom to a young kid like me. One of the best decisions I ever made was to simply listen and learn from him. As I advanced in my career, I often found myself working alongside people who were older and more experienced than me, and I took the opportunity to build relationships, ask questions and ultimately reap the benefit of their advice.

2. Pursue Your Own Definition of Success

Many of our interns will pursue a career at Vista when the summer ends, while others will go back to school or seek out different opportunities. Either way, it’s my hope that the skills they learn and the relationships they form during their time with us prepare them for future success — and that definition of success is entirely up to the individual. It could be a success in business, but it could also be driving impact in the communities and causes they care about.

Your personal definition of success can change over time. What I’ve found is that the habits that enable success in one arena are often applicable in many other facets of life. While someone may be focused on honing their investment skills while they’re at Vista, the concentration, organization, problem-solving and people skills they develop along the way can be transferred to a diverse set of career paths and philanthropic pursuits. Changing directions to chase new measures of success can be intimidating, but if you stop and take inventory of the skills and relationships you’ve acquired that have already helped you get this far, suddenly, the challenge doesn’t seem so daunting.

3. Consult Diverse Perspectives

One of the reasons our internship programs have been so successful over the years is that we bring in young people from all walks of life. This means different backgrounds, cultures, skills and experiences all converge in one place. When we do that, we bring in new insights and perspectives that help us evolve and move forward.

As an example of how this strengthens our firm, people in my generation are digital immigrants; we didn’t grow up with access to computers or cell phones. On the other hand, our current interns are digital natives; they have a different relationship with technology and hold different views on how to leverage digital tools to enhance productivity or connect with peers. In my mind, it’s critical that we have those perspectives in the room as we evaluate potential investments. Vista invests in enterprise software, and if we want to maintain our edge, we’ve got to bring in fresh, diverse talent that keeps us on the frontier of the technological timeline.

I believe that approach is equally beneficial on a personal level. By surrounding yourself with a diverse group of peers and mentors, you create your own personal board of directors – people who can offer advice and encouragement as you blaze your own trail of growth and development.

4. Identify the Problems You’re Uniquely Positioned to Solve

I’m fortunate to have access to a wide range of resources and a network of incredibly capable people, but even with that, it’s impossible to solve every problem in the world. Instead, I try to focus on specific pillars where I’m uniquely knowledgeable and can leverage my experience. Those pillars could be specific institutions, communities or subjects, but we should all be thoughtful about allocating our limited time and resources to the problems we care about most and the endeavors we are best equipped to support.

It’s also much easier to solve problems when you enjoy the experience and you care deeply about the issue. When we can express our true selves through our work and into a cause, and have fun along the way, it’s a liberating experience.

5. Become Extensible

I started my career as an engineer, which meant that I had a deep knowledge of designing and operating certain processes, but I wasn’t as familiar with other aspects of running a business. I also hadn’t yet developed certain soft skills like motivating colleagues or influencing the direction of the organization. So, I leaned into other parts of the organization and tapped into the knowledge and skills of people outside my department.

Going outside your comfort zone to work in areas where you’re not as naturally skilled can feel uneasy, but that’s where the most growth occurs. By becoming extensible and building a more well-rounded set of skills, you set yourself up for success, not only in your current role, but also as you progress in your career and find yourself in new environments where adaptability is key.

Sharing these insights and hearing from our interns is a reminder to me that it will take all of us – from all walks and stages of life – to enable a better future. Those in the early stages of their careers have the spark and the imagination to identify new paths forward and should embrace mentors, ask questions and – most importantly – learn.

Those of us with the benefit of experience should remember that today’s interns are tomorrow’s CEOs. Investing in their career journeys is investing in our collective future.

I wish the best of luck to all the interns at Vista and elsewhere as they prepare to take the next steps on their unique – and limitless – paths to success.