Paul Mandell, founder and CEO of Consero – an organization that financially invests in startup companies – shared his experiences as an entrepreneur and answered student questions Jan. 24 in the WAUD. Young Professionals Club co-president Max London hosted the event.

Each month, the Young Professionals Club finds different individuals from a range of careers to speak during lunch. Mandell also visited last year, making it easy for the club to reach him, London said.

“We wanted to have him again to talk because we thought he spoke well and people would respond well to listening to him,” London said.

Mandell began by discussing his inspiration for starting his career as an entrepreneur. He attributed this specific career path to his love of high school and college extracurriculars.

“I was happiest when I was doing extracurricular activities,” Mandell said. “When I was creative, when I was surrounded by friends.”

Mandell then gave four pieces of advice to students hoping to become entrepreneurs: stick to what you know, learn basic finance, get a mentor and stay confident.

“There are so many problems, so many challenges.” Mandell said. “It helps a lot to have a base of knowledge or skill in something that you can pursue as an entrepreneur.”

Students enjoyed hearing Mandell’s experiences and insights into his career.

“The speaker came across as someone who was genuinely excited about his work as an entrepreneur,” junior Kaitlyn Mundy said. “This was my first time attending the Young Professionals meeting, but I definitely felt that the informal nature made it easier to ask questions and find out more about potential career paths and what it means to create your own business.”

Young Professionals Club hopes to bring a journalist from Vox next month, as well as Nobel Peace Prize nominee Chic Dambach later this year, London said.

“I’m excited to see if these next speakers will have an impact on our audience,” London said. “We try to get speakers that are relevant to current events, and right now I think people will be really interested in what a journalist and a career peacemaker have done to improve their professions and our communities.”