A Day in the Life of Ian
Ian
Ian aids clients with strategy development, value capture, growth opportunity analysis, and M&A support. Prior to Avascent, Ian worked at the non-profit 100 Resilient Cities; and as a consulting analyst at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where he built a system to track defendants’ progress through alternative programs to incarceration. Ian received a B.A. in Environmental Science & Public Policy, and a secondary in Economics from Harvard University.
7:30 AM
I wake up, take a quick shower, and grab myself a banana and the coffee I put in the fridge last night. I hustle upstairs and gather my notes to prep for an early morning check-in call.
8:00 AM
I hop on an informal call for my first project – we’re looking at the energy storage market! It may not sound all that interesting, but I promise you, it’s actually a fascinating topic.
We’re teaming with an international partner overseas, so we’ve been getting up bright and early for team calls throughout the week. That coffee is coming in handy!
8:45 AM
After the call, I exchange emails with a professor in Italy to finalize a time for a “primary” call later that morning.
Sometimes, when we’re learning a new market, we’ll conduct “primary” research by reaching out to experts in a given field. For example, this professor knows the ins and outs of a battery technology we’re analyzing.
9:30 AM
I switch gears and begin inputting data into a model we’re building on the energy storage market. It’s a 10-year global market forecast, breaking out spending on distinct applications for energy storage technology (e.g., helping integrate renewable energy sources into the grid).
11:00 AM
I order coffee online from my favorite local cafe, Big Bear. Over the past two months, they’ve switched to solely offering take out. I’m telling you – it’s good enough that there’s an hour long wait. Have to plan ahead!
11:15 AM
I have a great discussion with the professor in Italy. Speaking with professors about the topic they love is always a highlight of primary. If they had it their way, they would talk about it all day!
12:00 PM
I head over to Big Bear and grab my coffee. When I get back, I heat up a quick lunch with my roommates.
1:00 PM
It is time to shift my focus to my second project, which is examining federal early childhood development programs. I gather my notes prior to a collaborative workshop we’re leading this afternoon.
We’re helping the client think about how they might want to update their current offering to better address evolving customer requirements.
2:00 PM
The workshop begins. The Managing Director (MD) facilitates the session, running the client through a wide range of discussion topics we’ve prepared. The conversation ends up centering on our client’s likely advantages over potential competitors.
4:30 PM
The workshop wraps up. I comb through my notes, write up a quick summary and circulate it to the rest of the team.
5:30 PM
The day is starting to wind down. I turn back to my energy storage project.
I reach out to a primary contact from a national lab to finalize a time for another primary call in the morning.
6:00 PM
I circle back to the global market model and continue filling in inputs.
7:00 PM
It’s dinner time! I am incredibly lucky to have phenomenal cooks as roommates. They’ve grilled up some corn, chicken and brussels sprouts. We end up eating in our backyard.
8:00 PM
We watch an episode of Homeland. Don’t tell me what happens, I’m only on the third season.