Week 5 at Vireo in the books! Not much has changed in my work since last week. I am still working on deal flow and the green financing deep dive. I have made some serious progress in the deep dive, and the farther I go, the more interested I am in the topic. The first step is to create a market map; a visual representation of the type of companies in this sector. When creating this map, the first step is to find at least one hundred companies that fit into this sector. Once I have these companies, I can split them into verticals for analysis. Their verticals will then be analyzed (determining if they are a good fit for our company’s investment thesis). Once I have completed the deep dive I will give a presentation about the data I find and present in front of the partners of the fund. While I am enjoying the process so far, I am extremely nervous to give this presentation. I guess I am afraid of the questions they may ask me because I am learning as I go, so I do not have a lot of information at my disposal. I’m sure it will be fine, but I’m still pretty worried ha-ha.
In addition to my 5th week at Vireo, my roommate from Pittsburgh also visited me for five days! Her name is Dani, and she has never been to Berlin before; it was so fun to explore the city with her, and it was really nice to see a friendly face in a city where I don’t know anyone. While I was at work, she saw typical things tourists see when they come to Berlin, however, on Saturday we took a trip to a nearby town called Potsdam. While we were in Potsdam, we took a trip to the New Palace where Kaiser Wilhelm II and his family resided. On our way to the palace, we walked through the royal gardens, and it was truly amazing. Dani and I kept saying to ourselves “could you imagine if this was your back yard?”, and every time the answer was no ha-ha. When we got to the palace, I was amazed by the internal architecture. When you walk in, you see this large ballroom (I think it was a ballroom) covered in seashells. I have never seen anything like it; it was almost as if the room was meant to be underwater. As you kept walking through the palace, each room amazed me more than the last. My favorite place there was the gigantic ballroom with a painted ceiling embellished with gold. The floor was covered in a beautiful mosaic, and the museum even built an elevated platform so when tourists entered, they wouldn’t damage the artwork that was on the floor. After we visited the palace, there was a nearby cafe that served traditional German food, and it was amazing. We had fresh grilled sausages and German potato salad; it was the perfect meal for the day. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the city and meet up with some of my high school friends who are also in the city this summer. We stopped at a beer garden, had some food, and chatted about life, food, and the city.
On Sunday, Dani and I went to an outdoor market in Mauer Park. This park not only has a vast open farmers market, but it is also a cultural hub. There were different types of music everywhere; a drum line, individual artists, and bands were all gathered here. There was even an outdoor stadium where weekly karaoke is held (which has been going on for many years). What is most interesting about this park, is that it used to be a part of the Berlin Wall and was deemed part of the “Death Strip”. The “Death Strip” was gravel and dirt that separated the east and west side of the city. Guards watched this portion of the wall 24/7 and people trying to escape were often shot on sight in these areas. Despite its bloody history, Mauer Park serves as a powerful symbol of transformation and resilience. Where there was once fear and division, there is now laughter, music, and community.
As someone who has experience in leadership roles, I can say confidently that I prefer to have a collaborative approach. For example, in my a cappella group, every decision is typically made by e-board instead of an individual. While this may take time, I believe it is important to have differing opinions and experiences when making decisions. This allows for a diverse pool of ideas and information that we can make educated decisions on. Despite loving the creative leadership style, my position at Vireo has definitely taught me the importance of independent leadership. In my role, I often must take responsibility over multiple tasks, while also delegating work to others on my team. This requires self-discipline and independence in order to be successful. I feel I now have a better understanding of what it takes to be both an independent and collaborative leader.
