We were thrilled to hear that one of our interns, Yuchen “Hayden” Xu has been accepted to study at Essec! One of the most prestigious business schools in France (and the alma mater of Daxue’s CEO and founder Matthieu David), we’re certain that Hayden’s drive, savvy and entrepreneurial spirit will allow her to excel. We thought we’d ask her a few questions and share her answers.
What experiences are you hoping to get from your time at Essec?
For me, the time at Essec will be a transition between part-time experiences to a full-time professional. Besides mastering a variety of knowledge in finance, consulting and entrepreneurship, I want to blend in the local business environment and build a professional network.
What are your plans for the future? Would you like to work in France or return to China?
I may start my career as either a strategy consultant, which will be a quick way to gain expertise in corporate competition and growth, or an investment banker working on either corporate finance or mergers & acquisitions to see how companies raise capital and improve competitiveness. Later I will probably move to the venture capital to get a closer look at entrepreneurship. In the meantime, I will be actively seeking business opportunities and partners, doing entrepreneurship market research, and preparing for startup funding before setting up my own company. So whether I will work in France or return to China largely depends on my future network.
Do you feel you’ve learned anything valuable from your time with us?
The experience in Daxue Consulting was my first internship and it opened a window for me towards a fantastic and exciting business world. I got strict trainings in business analysis and report writing which are fundamental to almost all kinds of jobs. Besides, I was able to experience the exciting entrepreneurship atmosphere and witnessed the rapid growth of a startup, as well as having a vivid lesson of management and organizational transformation in entrepreneurship.
In the time available between learning to use data analytics softwares and mastering Japanese, French and English, what do you like to do?
I love music and started to play piano since 4 years old. During my college years, I was lucky enough to learn from young and promising pianists in the Greater New York area through Bard Conservatory.
