Built on cold calls and bold moves

On a blissfully warm day in May, Tim George walked across the stage at Texas State University's boisterous Strahan Arena, graduating magna cum laude with a BBA in finance, taking his final steps as a college student and entering a new chapter. Those steps are a symbolic representation of years of grit, challenges, and a determination to succeed.

As he reflects on the experience, George looks back on his upbringing.

“I was born and raised in Houston, Texas,” he said. “I think that one thing that's made me who I am today is my background. Growing up, I was raised to understand the value of a dollar and hard work, as my mom was a single immigrant who worked many jobs and long hours to provide a living for me and my twin sisters.”

Raised by a single mother who emigrated from Kerala, India, George learned to be self-sufficient at a young age. When his mother was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer during his teens, he stepped up to help make ends meet. From walking dogs around the neighborhood to delivering pizzas, George worked various jobs to help support his family.

“For a couple of years our family struggled,” he said. “But with God's grace, she survived. And that experience taught me that life is too short and too valuable. It taught me that anything can happen at any time, and if I wanted to be happy in this life, I need to go after what I want. So I always took that approach and implemented it into everything I did."

That tenacity endured as he started his journey at Texas State. He initially pursued a degree in kinesiology, following in his family’s footsteps into the medical field. But when he began investing in the stock market at 18, he was instantly drawn into the world of finance.

“I wanted to become a physical therapist, majoring in kinesiology at first, but I got into the stock market when I turned 18, and from that, my spark and passion for finance was initiated,” he recalled. “I decided to switch my degree to finance, and I didn't really know where I wanted to go within the finance world.”

Invested in Campus and Community

At McCoy College of Business, where he consistently made the Dean’s List, George was as active outside of the classroom as he was in it.

“I decided in college to take on whatever leadership role I can,” he said. “Extracurricularly, I was the treasurer of my fraternity, senator for student government, and I created a club called the Investment Banking Society.”

In January 2023, he founded the Investment Banking Society of Texas State after observing that peer institutions, such as the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, had similar organizations.

“I went to the top floor of McCoy College and knocked on every single professor's door I could,” he said. “I got about seven rejections, but on my eighth one, I found somebody who would take me on.”

After securing the support of a faculty member, which he needed to launch the organization, George built a leadership team, partnered with Adventis —  which offers college students and finance professionals a better way to develop real-world financial modeling skills through online and in-person lessons according to its website — to provide technical training, and brought speakers from Bank of America, Guggenheim Partners, and Stone Point Captial. Although the club is now a part of the Investment Banking Cohort within the Financial Management Association student organization at the college, the experience and challenges have had a significant impact on George’s growth and leadership skills.

“Running your own thing from scratch, it can be tough, especially when you don't really have any guidance,” he shared. “I could talk to other people from other schools, but we don't have the assets or the curriculum. They have a budget, they have tens of thousands of dollars. It really taught me how to be savvy and how to work with people.”

He applied those lessons as vice president of finance for the university’s Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, managing a large budget and introducing individualized payment plans for financially struggling members.

“I spoke to every person individually, one-on-one, to gain their financial situation, and some people who worked jobs paid for their own college,” he said. “I helped them with the payment plan so they can stay in the fraternity, and our fraternity can function as well. It taught me a lot of soft skills, such as communication skills.”

Opening Doors Through Connection

Unsure of where he wanted to work in the finance sector, he boldly decided to reach out to Texas State alumni who had graduated with a finance degree, hoping to make connections that would help him learn more about the industry and open doors to professional opportunities and networking. He built a rich network of alumni who helped him attain various internships.

“I started cold emailing as soon as I switched my major to finance to speak to different Texas State alumni, and you know these alumni were so crucial in my development,” he said. “I definitely wouldn't be where I am without [them].”

George had multiple internships in finance while maintaining a full course load and a high GPA. His first was at a Generations Federal Credit Union in San Antonio, secured through a cold call to Texas State alumnus Mark Johnston. It led to roles in investment banking at Entoro Capital, public finance at Live Oak, private equity at Key Investment Partners, and transaction advisory at Maxwell, Locke, and Ritter.

In these roles, George worked in various financial capacities, building a deep understanding of the financial industry from multiple perspectives. He built financial models and pitched investment memos. At Entoro, he worked on private capital raises. At Maxwell, Locke, and Ritter, he assisted in evaluating software as a service (SaaS) companies with valuations of up to $100 million. This first-hand look into finance’s fast-paced, high-stakes landscape inspired George’s passion for investment banking.

“Investment banking has definitely taught me a lot by far,” he said. “You're looking at a technology company one day, doing $50 million in SaaS revenue, then an oil and gas company another day. It’s late nights, but you’re learning a ton. You're working very hard, but I care most about learning, especially early on in my career.”

From Financial Models to Viral Moments

George’s passion for learning and growth extended into an unexpected platform: YouTube. He is part of the YDN YouTube channel, a digital content collective he launched with childhood friends. With close to two million subscribers and a billion organic views across all members' channels, YDN produces skits and family-friendly, basketball-centric content.

“Being a part of that, it's taught me so much,” he said. “Like creatively how to think but also how to really run a business because we built this from scratch and accumulated, it's gotten over a billion organic views and hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Pursuing an interest in digital content and finance might seem like an unusual combination, but George sees potential in it.

“Digital media is evolving ever so fast, and in the finance world, I think that there could be some fine-tuning with how different firms work,” he said. “Everybody is on [social media]. I've been thinking so hard on it. ‘How can I try to monetize this as well? How can I combine the two things I love into one?’ I don't know exactly. I'll be honest, I've been trying to find that vision. But it will definitely happen.”

Looking Ahead

Now that he’s graduated, George is starting a new position with Aprio, a firm recently acquired by the world’s largest technology-focused private equity group, Charlesbank Capital Partners, in an $18 billion deal. Starting in early June, he’ll be joining their complex financial instruments and fund services divisions, where he'll perform valuations on equity, debt, convertible debt, and other assets.

“It’s a great job, I'll learn a ton, which is what I care about the most,” he said. “These people, they're so incredibly bright, I love the work.”

As he considers his future, he’s thankful for his family, friends, and professional network. He credits his mentor, Matthew Mussenden, a University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) graduate who made it to Wall Street and now runs several firms in Austin, for inspiring his professional journey.

“He kind of did the impossible,” George said. “He was the first person to make it onto Wall Street from UTSA. He took all those years of experience. He came back down to Austin, and he's running a real estate development company and his own private equity firm. He's running his own venture capital firm, and he's only 32 years old. He's huge in my life.”

He also credits Texas State for its impact on his journey.

“Texas State is by far the best experience I could have ever had,” he said. “I owe everything to Texas State, and hopefully I'll be able to give back sometime in the future.”

But most of all, he credits his mother, who instilled in him the values and work ethic that formed the foundation on which he has built his success.

“She's the whole reason why I've had this work ethic in the first place,” he fondly shared. “Seeing her grit and grind, working two jobs [to] send my sisters to college, send me to college. I owe her everything.”

As he reflects on the long nights spent studying in McCoy College's third-floor lab with his classmates, he is quick to acknowledge the community that supported his success.

“The people here, everybody was just so friendly,” he said. “Everybody was willing to help. Everybody was willing to get together and learn and succeed. So those third-floor McCoy lab late nights. That will be one of the greatest memories I'll ever have at McCoy College.”.

Looking ahead, George sees an entrepreneurial future that bridges his digital and financial expertise. But for now, he plans to give his full energy to the next chapter. ✯