7 minute read
Goals and Gifts
Photo by Megan Bean
Goals and Gifts
By Carolanne Roberts
Picture the late 1990s – Seinfeld reigning on the small screen, Titanic in the multiplexes, Michael Jordan dominating basketball, dot-com companies bursting on the scene like popcorn kernels, and the Internet drawing us in with the simple words, “You’ve got mail.”
On campus at Mississippi State, Starkville native Stephen Buehler was exploring his infatuation for day trading, venturing his scholarship money in the stock market.
“I was pretty much the only kid on campus I knew of who was doing this in those days,” Buehler explains. “People thought I was crazy. And maybe I was.” But the world of investing sparked a fire in Buehler.
“Obviously back then I couldn’t follow stock prices in real time on a smart phone,” he recalls. “So, I’d sit in the computer lab at Mitchell Memorial Library or in McCool Hall, trading stocks. I’d run across the Drill Field to class, then run back after class to see where the prices were. Things were going up and down so quickly in those days. A big part of my college experience was living through this time period, reading every financial reference I could get my hands on and channeling this newfound passion. It certainly got my adrenaline pumping.”
It also paved a way to his future. Buehler, son of two MSU professors, finished his accounting degree in three years, earned a finance degree the next year and then headed for Memphis. There, he worked first with Arthur Andersen, followed by KPMG. It was a deliberate part of a plan to go from Starkville to the business world, then on to an MBA program and finally to Wall Street.
“The Memphis years were a great education on how companies work, the inner workings of financial statements and the foundation I’d need to make it in the investment world,” he says. Hard work, determination and ability provided ammunition for him to succeed at his plan. From Memphis, Buehler headed north to Chicago to get an MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Not knowing exactly what to expect or if he could measure up to his classmates, many of whom had gone to Ivy League schools, he quickly realized he did belong and was as capable as his peers.
“Honestly, I was intimidated at first,” he says. “I was surrounded by brilliant people from around the world. Many of my classmates had already worked in investment banking or on Wall Street, which was where I was trying to get. It was a lot to take in, and I wasn’t sure if I could compete.”
But Buehler didn’t just compete. He excelled and ultimately achieved his goal to make it to Wall Street, landing a coveted job at Blackstone, the largest alternative asset management company in the world.
“I was so excited to have an opportunity to work alongside a collection of the best investment minds in the world across private equity, real estate and hedge funds,” he remarks.
In the ensuing years, the Mississippi State alumnus rose to become a Managing Director and
Photo by Megan Bean
the Chief Operating Officer of the Individual Investor Solutions business, a strategic initiative he helped launch within Blackstone’s hedge fund division.
“We started from scratch, and by the time I left, our team managed $9.5 billion in assets – so it was an exciting run and a tremendously rewarding experience,” Buehler says.
While there were many reasons to remain in New York, others pulled him in a new direction.
“I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to work at Blackstone,” he states. “It was a dream come true, and I cannot say enough good things about the company and all of the people who work there. But my wife is from Virginia, and I’m from Starkville, so we knew on a personal level we eventually wanted to be closer to our families and friends.”
What Buehler wanted to do in terms of the next phase of his career was to harness all he had learned and bring that experience back to the South. He has always wanted to be an entrepreneur, to see if he could build something truly special.
“I don’t want to look back and regret that I never tried,” he says. The result of this entrepreneurial ambition is an asset management firm that has a focus on “alternative” investments such as private equity, real estate, hedge funds and venture capital. Based in Nashville, TN, Buehler’s firm works to demystify these types of investments to offer them to clients in the Southeast and beyond. Buehler describes the value proposition of his business as very simple.
“First, we aim to offer access to best-in-class investment exposures on a global scale. We tap into my network and invest with a handful of the most sophisticated and exclusive investment managers in the world,” he says. “Second, we channel our experience to make investments in local businesses and entrepreneurs and will work with them as value-added partners to drive growth.”
This second area of focus puts into positive action Buehler’s mantra: “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” “This is the ‘pay it forward’ phase of my career,” he says.
When Buehler is in McCool Hall, he no longer has to visit the computer lab to check his investments.
Photo by Megan Bean
There’s more – and here’s where Mississippi State comes in. During his tenure at Blackstone, Buehler helped connect Mississippi State’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach (E-Center) with the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. The E-Center received a sizeable grant that helped launch what has grown into a thriving platform for entrepreneurs at Mississippi State.
“It was good for the E-Center when it got the grant from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, but it was also an eye-opener for me,” he says. “I thought, ‘This is something I really love doing – being more involved with people from Mississippi and perhaps helping to open doors for students.’ I want to help level the playing field. Our students don’t have the advantage of the business ecosystem of Silicon Valley or New York, so we have a bit of ground to make up in Mississippi and the Southeast. But with the E-Center and engagement from our alumni base, we can definitely do it.”
Buehler’s first investment in a company coming out of the E-Center was the Starkville-based, fast-growing Glo, which developed and manufactures liquid activated light cubes used in beverages, bath products and children’s toys. Since then, he has invested in a number of other exciting companies founded by Mississippi State entrepreneurs.
Buehler is at a stage in his career where he continues to look forward but also reflects appreciatively on all the people who helped him over the years. He is quick to point to his parents as the most influential. His German father and Ohio-born mother instilled a deep-seated work ethic, reminding him, “Your ceiling is set only by your own capability.”
Buehler is also grateful for his two brothers, who always pushed him with brotherly competition.
Beyond his family, Buehler is thankful for many others who have helped shape his career. Dr. O.A. Cleveland, now a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural Economics, facilitated the opportunity for his first-ever professional job, a Washington, DC, internship with alumnus James Newsome, a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. And Buehler is also thankful to Blackstone’s Brian Gavin who “took a chance on this kid from Mississippi.”
Being geographically closer to campus means Buehler gets back to Starkville more often. He can stroll campus and remember growing up with the broadening experiences of the University, with cultural events like concerts and plays, sporting events and the influence of academia. He can retrace his eager sprints from class to computer lab to check the wild movement of stock prices. And he can work with the E-Center to nurture the talents of today’s student entrepreneurs.
“We have students at MSU and across the entire state who can match up with the best and brightest minds around the world,” he notes.
Knowing the talent is here, Buehler channels his mantra – that the purpose of life is to give your gifts away – and says his purpose is to ensure students in Mississippi have the same opportunities that others do, so each can make the most of his or her abilities. And how does that make Buehler feel? “Excited. The future for MSU and its students is very bright.”
