We welcome Eric Sassano to the podcast today. Eric earned his B.S. in Business Administration at the University of California at Berkeley and currently finishing his MBA at Haas. He works in Investment Strategy at Compound. Before joining Compound, he was with Caprock Group as Manager of Private Investments. Eric began his career at Hall Capital Partners, a multi-family office based in San Francisco. He initially spent his time advising clients on portfolio allocation decisions. Subsequently, he focused on research and due diligence for the firm's Private Equity and Venture Capital fund investments. 

Eric grew up close to Berkeley, so it's no surprise that he is a Double Bear. In this episode, we get to know a little about his upbringing, growing up within the Berkeley ecosystem, his experiences both in undergrad and graduate school, and why going to business school is one of the best personal investments he has ever made.

Eric also shares what got him in the investment space, how portfolio management works, and the future of investing.

Episode Quotes:

On growing up within the Berkeley ecosystem, getting his undergrad, and coming back for graduate school

“I was pretty awestruck by that experience. And such a beautiful campus. I never really appreciated that growing up, but as I've come back to Berkeley again, some of my best memories are taking walks throughout the campus. And so, that's been an important part of just being immersed in this, again, just long-tenured history.

I'm fortunate to have that younger perspective and now a little bit older perspective. And I've certainly tried not to take it for granted because I think life is happening fast at 18, 19 years old. And you miss out on certain things just because things are moving so quickly. So, as I've come back, it's really trying to take the time and appreciate the experience for whatever it is.”

Transitioning from being a collegiate athlete to a hardcore student 

“It was hard. I felt steps behind, Imposter Syndrome, whatever you want to call it. Still, I'm certainly out of my league. And certainly, I have overcome some of those things. But when I came back to Haas, it was another feeling of that again because such impressive people around you have done so many awesome and interesting things, like, whoa, how do I even deserve to be in this cohort of people?

But I wouldn't lie that I certainly struggled for a period of time before I found my footing and that internal drive and belief to say, you know what? I do deserve to be right here. I can work at this level.”

On his experiences at Haas 

“You're making an investment in yourself. And ultimately, it's been one of the best personal investments that I've made in myself, both from a financial return and non-financial return perspective. I think the relationships between professors, colleagues, and alumni have been unbelievable. I think you can't put a price on this professionalization and self-confidence-building exercise that I think a lot of people go through when they go through an MBA program. You get to a point where, perhaps, before it was a little bit fake it till you make it. And then, after, you're like, ‘No, I can do this. I can learn something totally new and thrive and succeed in that.’ So, I think that's been incredibly invaluable.”

Show Links:

• LinkedIn

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations