University

Partnerships
Information Packet
Winter 2018-2019
Summer 2019
 Table of Contents
Introduction to Beacon • 3
A Look Into Beacon’s Programs • 4
Partnership Proposal • 12
Why Universities Partner • 14
Next Steps • 15

Contact
4301 N. Fairfax Dr. #701
Arlington, VA 22203
contact@beaconfellows.org
www.beaconfellows.org

2
 History
Beacon was established by J.P. Toste, an immigrant from
Portugal. After working at the Boston Consulting Group
and McKinsey and Company and then obtaining his MBA
at Stanford University, J.P. set out to create the world’s best
educational consulting experience. Beacon’s first program,
the Beacon Fellowship, began with only a handful of
students and now will have hosted roughly 1,000 students by
the end of 2019.

Mission
Beacon’s mission has always been to build better business
people. We aim to complement the wonderful university
education they receive by giving them the opportunity to apply
many of the topics and concepts the students learn on-campus.

Vision
Our vision is to become the world’s leading non-university business
institution, which will enable us to serve thousands of students
every year. Ultimately, we aim to expand beyond serving only
undergraduate students and to instead serve high school students to
post-MBA graduates.

3
 A Look Into
Beacon’s Programs
The Beacon Fellowship
Beacon’s flagship program is the Beacon Fellowship, a two- or four-week
program in the Winter and Summer, respectively, in which multiple groups of ten
undergraduate students go abroad to consult on-site for a client under the
guidance and mentorship of an experienced consultant from such firms as
McKinsey, Bain, and BCG.

The Fellows
Fellows come from most every state and nearly every university. The typical
Fellow is a junior studying economics, finance, or business
administration/management, but Fellows have been of every age and
background. We pride ourselves in taking all students who meet our criteria of
professionalism, eagerness to learn, and desire to improve. Our Fellows are
passionate about growth through new and challenging experiences.

4
The Clients and Projects
Beacon partners with a wide range of clients, ranging from fintech startups to
large, multinational companies. The consistent theme across all clients is that the
clients have given the Fellows a real, significant problem to solve that they’ll
implement. This manifests many ways, but all clients are engaged, willing to
provide insight, and eager to hear what the students recommend. Historically,
roughly 70% of the Fellows’ recommendations are implemented.

The Project Leads

Beacon differs from most internships in that rather than simply place and leave a
student to do basic data entry, Beacon hires leaders from top consulting firms
whose sole job is to ensure that the Fellows whom they manage have an
incredible internship experience, full of learning, challenge, and growth. The
students spend dozens of hours with a consultant at the top of his or her field,
learning both directly and via osmosis from him or her.

The Rationale
Fellows participate in the Beacon Fellowship because they’re afforded
the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in university, do
meaningful and impactful work autonomously, and position themselves
to more confidently navigate and succeed in their career path.

5
 Dates
Winter 2018-2019
Session One (2 weeks):
08 Dec 2018 - 22 Dec 2018
Session Two (2 weeks):
29 Dec 2018 - 12 Jan 2019

Summer 2019
Session One (4 weeks):
18 May 2019 - 15 Jun 2019
Session Two (4 weeks):
15 Jun 2019 - 13 Jul 2019
Session Three (4 weeks):
13 Jul 2019 - 10 Aug 2019

Fees
To cover the cost of establishing the
partnerships, hiring Project Leads
and other personnel, providing
housing and insurance and many
other benefits, the cost of the
Fellowship is $2,499 for a two-week
Winter Fellowship and $3,999 for a
four-week Summer Fellowship.

6
Locations

Madrid
Beautiful Madrid is home to a number of leading
businesses and is a cultural hub of Europe. Madrid was
the first location wherein Beacon ran a Fellowship and
currently serves as our most popular location. Madrid
is available in the Winter and Summer.

Barcelona
Expanding from the demand for Madrid, Beacon
recently expanded into Barcelona, where many more
great clients and cultural immersion experiences
exist. Barcelona is available in the Summer.

London
London has for a long time been the financial center of
the world. Today, it continues its tradition of being one
of the most desirable cities to do business in. As such,
Beacon can run especially strong programs that
students love. London is available in the Summer.

Rome
Rome is one of the most desirable cities in the
world, and Fellows are able to enjoy not just top
clients but also an ancient city that has been so
fundamental to the world today. Rome is
available in the Winter and Summer.

Beacon continues to expand and

will soon offer even more cities.

7
 A Typical Week
on the Fellowship
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

7:00 am Wake and Prepare

8:00 am

9:00 am
Project Work
at Client-Site
10:00 am

11:00 am
Excursion/
12:00 pm Lunch Cultural
Immersion
1:00 pm (Lunch
Included)
2:00 pm
Project Work Free
at Client-Site Day
3:00 pm

4:00 pm

5:00 pm Return to Housing

6:00 pm
Consulting Consulting
Training Training
Office Visit Office Visit
7:00 pm
Free Free
8:00 pm
Free Group Free Group Time Time
Time Dinner Time Dinner
9:00 pm

10:00 pm Bed

8
Testimonials
"A lot of other internships don't force interns out
of their comfort zones... Beacon does that, and
they get to grow not only professionally
but also personally."

Eric Cao, McKinsey & Company

Alumnus and Project Lead

"This Fellowship really provides a

real-world experience and a relevant
exposure to a field that they can then
take and evaluate as a future
career option."

Spencer Perron, Bain & Company

Alumnus and Project Lead

"My teammates were driven, they

were competent, and they helped me
to become the best professional
version of myself."

Margaret Youngblood,
Thomas Aquinas College, 2018

"This has been my best internship experience,

because what I've done has been meaningful
and...it's something I can directly apply to
school and work in the future."

Blake Birmingham,
USC 2020

Read more from our Fellows at www.BeaconFellows.org.

9
 MedLab Media Group
Project Type: Marketing and AI Strategy (Medical Tech)
Team: 8 Fellows + Project Lead

Project: Determine the available size of market of emerging technologies in

different regions, conduct a competitive analysis in the E-Health, Blockchain, AI,
and VR-AR realms, identify technology trends for future market penetration, and
implement a massive long-tail, low-cost PPC strategy for digital marketing.

Outcome: The client is actively implementing the Fellows' work across its main
marketing and strategy verticals.

Fintonic
Project Type: Market Entry and Strategy (Financial Tech)
Team: 6 Fellows + Project Lead

Project: Being a fast-growing company that is aggressively expanding, the client

had the Fellows focus on country analyses, including understanding the big picture,
deep market research, and barriers and competitors. The Fellows analyzed country
trends, optimal entry timelines, and recommend overall strategies.

Outcome: The CEO and Director are utilizing the Fellows' work to guide their
expansion strategies to determine where next to enter.

Black Limba
Project Type: Growth Strategy (Fashion Design)
Team: 6 Fellows + Project Lead

Project: Conduct market analyses of Italy, Mexico, France and Germany, then
create a comprehensive pricing strategy based on the competitive analysis and
brand positioning. Next, create an implementation plan and roadmap, including a
growth optimization proposal with appropriate measures.

Outcome: The client continues to use the Fellows' insights and applies them
directly to their expansion strategies.
10
Project
Examples

Beacon China
We recognize that it is
difficult for Chinese students
to acclimate to the U.S. and to
find meaningful work and
internships. As such, we are
also committed to serving these
Chinese students.

As part of the Fellowship, we aim

Project to include ever more Chinese

students, either in Chinese-specific
groups, or groups in which these
Examples students are integrated with other
U.S. students. Currently, we’re
partnering with Chinese Student and
Scholar Associations (CSSAs) and
other Chinese mainland student
organizations.

We aim to partner with universities to

create the best tailored solution and help
these students succeed while
here in the U.S.

11
 Partnership
Proposal
1. Share our message with business students
University administrators and professors alike know of many students, including
Chinese students, who want to go into business consulting, whether that’s
persons in their classes or particular student organizations. Below is a sample
message a university partner might share about the opportunity:

Hello students,

I recently discovered a business consulting opportunity that I

wanted to share with you. The Beacon Fellowship is a 2- or 4-week
consulting Fellowship abroad, during which you would consult
on-site in a team of ten other U.S. students for a client under the
management of a top consultant from such firms as McKinsey, Bain,
and BCG. They have multiple locations in Europe and thus create
several teams.

I’ve attached a flyer about the program so you can learn more.
You can request an application at www.beaconfellows.org/apply
or email them directly at contact@beaconfellows.org.

12
10
2. Create a team of Beacon Fellows at your university
Universities can use the Beacon Fellowship to create whole teams comprised of
only their students. Within this, universities are able to adapt the Beacon
Fellowship, especially by adding additional elements to it, such as writing a paper,
conducting research, or more. Universities may even create credit-conferring
versions of Beacon so that students don’t lose out on credit.

3. Share the opportunity with

student business organizations
Many universities host consulting clubs or broader business organizations that
have members interested in consulting. Universities may identify and share with
these organizations the above message and opportunity.

4. List the opportunity on your

university’s internship opportunities portal
Universities may also list the Beacon Fellowship on their career portal pages or
through their Career Center so that they may be made aware of the opportunity.
Beacon is happy to provide any and all additional information and resources which
you may wish to share.

13
 Why
Universities
Partner
Beacon is multi-faceted and a
wonderful complement to
university education. As such,
universities partner for many
different reasons. Below are
some of the common:

1. To provide an educational opportunity to the students

Beacon is the perfect complement to students’ university education. Beacon and
universities work together because students are able to apply what they’ve
learned in university to their Beacon project, after which the students return to
school with a deeper appreciation of the material they’ve been learning.

2. To help set up their students for success

Fellows receive extensive training both before and during the Fellowship and
leave with a broader and more refined business skill set. Upon completing the
Fellowship, students are better positioned to procure the next internship or job of
their choosing. Approximately 15% of Fellows receive return offers from their client.

14
3. To expand their
university offerings
Many universities partner in such instances
to craft their own version of the program
and offer it to students. This strengthens
the university’s colleges by adding more
value to the students.

4. To diversify their students

understanding of business
and other cultures
The world is increasingly globalized,
and cross-cultural understanding
and proficiency is more important
today than ever before. Universities
partner to diversify their students’
education and help them gain
international competency.

Next Steps
To learn more about Beacon, ask questions, and discuss formal
partnership, please email partnerships@beaconfellows.org.

In the meantime, we ask that you share the opportunity with

any and all students who may be interested in this opportunity.
We hope to help educate as many students as possible.

To conclude, we’d like to thank you for considering a

partnership with Beacon. Universities do a wonderful job of
educating students, and we hope to complement that
education. May your university and its students
experience nothing but success!

15