Founder, Black Swift Angel Group
A self-starter, Harris Cunningham (Fin’24) didn’t wait for opportunities to fall into his lap; rather, he created them himself.
Cunningham enrolled at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs (UCCS) with plans to become a physical therapist, inspired by his grandparents in the same career. But after a semester, he realized it wasn’t for him.
“I wanted to find a new way to apply the people skills that I had and my interest in numbers as well,” he said. “Finance seemed like a better way to do that.”
After transferring to Leeds, he immediately got involved with the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. The Deming Center was looking for students interested in starting a venture capital club, and once he found out about this, he was all in. He spent his next class drafting a list of ideas for the club. Around the same time, he met a like-minded student, Jesus Soto, and together they co-founded the Boulder Venture Club.
“It's about investing in people,” Cunningham said. “Business is more than just the financial side of things; it’s getting creative with ideas and being able to fund the ideas that are ultimately going to change the world.”
The Boulder Venture Club recently partnered with Kickstart Fund, a venture fund out of Utah, to launch ‘14 Founders,’ a student-run venture fund with a $2 million allocation. The club now has over 200 members, and Cunningham is confident it will eventually be the biggest club on campus.
“I think it was the vision that sold people to join the club,” he said. “There are a lot of people like myself and Jesus who are looking for a place for people who think differently.”
He believes that having mentors has been a significant factor in his success. His mentors include the faculty at Leeds, David Forsberg of Ascent Energy Ventures, and Michael Leeds, whose family made a naming gift to the business school in 2001. Leeds came to speak to the Boulder Venture Club in April 2023.
“Mike Leeds has been super supportive of the club, but he has also given me a lot of life advice,” he said. “He’s helped me learn to aspire to be someone who isn’t a grindstone at the office,” he said.
He says he owes his success and mindset to Soto, Ethan Düster and Cat Pham, his fellow club executives and venture fund partners. Many other club members, especially those on the club's undergraduate Venture Capital Investment Competition team, have also been an inspiration.
“You deserve more than you have because you can become more than you are.”
Harris Cunningham (Fin’24)
Cunningham’s entrepreneurial drive hasn’t stopped with the club. He recently founded Black Swift Angel Group, a company that helps startups secure capital and investors.
He says being a self-starter doesn’t come without its challenges—there’s a constant balance between school, work, clubs and simply making sure he’s eating enough. After fainting in front of a few of his mentors, he had to reevaluate his work-life balance and started taking care of his health. He still believes the sacrifices are worth chasing his passions.
“You deserve more than you have because you can become more than you are,” he said. “I'm trying to do something really cool. Sometimes you have to sacrifice things.”
After graduation, Cunningham plans to work within the venture capital space while traveling around the world—he dreams of visiting Australia and France.
As for the Boulder Venture Club, he believes it’s being left in good hands with new leaders.
“There are a lot of bright ideas and directions the club could go,” he said. “They’ll keep integrating with other CU programs, so it will keep growing. Students will know it's the best club on campus in no time.”