Johns Hopkins UniversityEst. 1876
America’s First Research University
Jon Kling calls his experience at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School a defining part of his professional life. He credits his Carey education for motivating him to establish his real estate investment firm Municipal Acquisitions where he is the CEO.
“The opportunity mid-career to step back and create was special,” says Kling, Bus ’04 (MS). “I was in an academic environment, where freedom of thought and creativity was fostered. It’s where I identified my business plan for Municipal Acquisitions.”
When Kling enrolled in the Real Estate and Infrastructure program at Carey, his career was in investment banking. He says the program enhanced his business and entrepreneurial background.
“I wanted to focus the balance of my career in real estate investment,” says Kling. “My graduate degree helped me get to the ‘sticks and bricks’ to understand the business of real estate. It filled in the gaps where I wanted to grow.”
Today, Kling is a member of the Carey Business School Dean’s Advisory Board and the Real Estate and Infrastructure Advisory Board. He is also a sponsor of the Johns Hopkins Student Venture Showcase, an opportunity for students from across the university to learn from and network with investors. Student teams compete and pitch their business startup ideas to a panel of venture capitalist judges. Municipal Acquisitions funds the grand prize of $25,000 to the winning team to grow their business.
“Hopkins has given me so much,” says Kling “The opportunity to support students to pursue their own entrepreneurial process is rewarding.”
We spoke with Kling about his giving, passion for entrepreneurship, and the advice he shares with Hopkins students.
For me, this is the best way to give back: by creating the opportunity, not just for a non-dilutive cash prize, but to offer students, who like me, may have an idea that they’re trying to get out. It gives them a platform to come in, compete with other student entrepreneurs, and be tested by venture capitalists. The students are put through the paces, just like they’re going to be in a non-academic environment.
This is my passion project. This is what I do to help the Hopkins community foster budding entrepreneurs, and over time, it’s grown beyond the business school to Hopkins as an institution. It’s been incredibly gratifying.
It teaches me to look at things differently, to constantly innovate, and to approach every business opportunity with a fresh set of eyes. It’s personally rewarding to have an idea, put it on paper, implement it, and watch it grow and succeed.
I founded Municipal Acquisitions 18 years ago, and sometimes, I lack some of the passion I had when I was younger. My interaction with the students reminds me of who I was back then. The ideas are different, but there’s an excitement. Their enthusiasm is contagious.
My involvement is because of my positive experience at Johns Hopkins. Without my time at Carey, I’m not sure I would have established my company. When I graduated and reentered the workplace, I kept in the back of my head my original capstone project thesis idea of real estate investment. That idea presented itself again in the credit crisis of 2007 and 2008, when companies in institutional real estate were circling the drain. I remembered what I had written, ‘This is the time, this is the time.’
Don’t be afraid to take a risk, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and don’t be afraid to admit that you’re wrong. Listen more than you talk and absorb what people tell you. The comments, the advice that you hear are more valuable than you could ever imagine. If you’re passionate and have a vision, people want to help, whether they’re alumni, business contacts, professors, or other students. The resources at Hopkins are extraordinary.
Topics: Alumni, Faculty and Staff, Carey Business School, Fuel Discovery, Support Scholars