Ela Castelli T’25 reflects on her Tuck Global Insight Expedition (GIX) experience in Australia. She joined Professor Gordon Phillips to learn about private equity and venture capital, impacting investing, and Australia’s advancements in EdTech.
What interested you about the GIX location and topic?
I chose this GIX for two main reasons. First, as an entrepreneur, I am eager to understand how private equity and venture capitalists think—what trends they are watching, what gives them confidence when making investments, and how founders can structure their business plans to address investors’ concerns and secure funding.
Second, I firmly believe education is the key to empowering people and giving them greater agency over their lives. I was particularly curious about how EdTech advancements can expand access to high-quality education, enabling individuals to make informed choices and create opportunities for themselves.
Over the past decade, Australia—a country with fewer than 30 million people—has become a global leader in education and EdTech. I wanted to understand why. It turns out this transformation was highly intentional. Victoria’s EdTech ecosystem began with a government initiative called Educational Data and Insights (EDI). In 2015, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) launched the Australian International Education (AIE2025) roadmap, designed to position Australia as a leader in education, training, and research by 2025. This strategy led to The Innovation Alliance, a government-funded program that supports EduGrowth, helping new EdTech companies test and validate their products for global expansion.
What site visits, tours, meetings, and/or people were most impactful for you during the GIX?
One of the most inspiring visits was to First Australians Capital, an organization that builds investment readiness and designs capital solutions for Indigenous businesses. Given my deep interest in socially focused venture capital, it was fascinating to hear their perspective on impact investing and compare it with the discussions I’ve been having as a director of the Tuck Social Venture Fund.
Our conversation raised thought-provoking questions: Can an investment still be considered impact-driven if the company could secure funding from traditional return-seeking sources? What differentiates socially responsible investing from true impact investing?
In the U.S., impact-driven venture capital is still underdeveloped—98 percent of VC funding goes to white male founders. Meanwhile, our English-speaking peers in the Southern Hemisphere are pioneering models that reduce systemic barriers to capital access. First Australians Capital, for example, provides bridge loans, equity investments, and management support to Indigenous businesses. Their work fosters a more inclusive and equitable investment ecosystem—something U.S. markets could learn from.
What should prospective students know about the GIX and/or TuckGO requirements?
As with anything in life, what you get out of an experience depends on what you put into it. Tuck will push you beyond your comfort zone and into the “zone of productive discomfort,” as our professor Scott Anthony would say, but you must co-invest and embrace the opportunities. With nearly 300 students in each class, you can either stick with the same familiar faces or you can choose to learn about each interesting mind within reach, and I promise, the latter is far more rewarding.
TuckGO is one of those truly transformative experiences. While I was in Australia exploring capital markets, my classmates were in India, South Korea, Chile, Japan, Vietnam, Kenya, Sweden, and Taiwan, diving into topics like emerging market strategies, sustainability in agriculture, and technological innovation. Now that we’re back on campus, we continue to share our learnings, creating a rich global exchange of ideas.
One of the unique aspects of TuckGO is that you don’t get to choose your travel group. This creates an opportunity to deepen relationships with classmates you might not have connected with as closely before. Additionally, you meet Tuck alumni living in the countries you visit, who offer valuable local perspectives, help you interpret your observations, and provide a deeper understanding of the region’s culture and realities.
Coming from a tertiary town in a developing country, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to 37 countries so far. But the more I see, the more I realize how much I have yet to learn. This past December, thanks to friendships I formed at Tuck, I had one of the most eye-opening trips of my life—to India. Experiences like GIX continue to broaden my perspective, reminding me that no matter how much I explore, there will always be more to understand.
Ela Castelli is originally from Brazil and joined the Tuck School of Business driven by a passion for social change and expanding access to education. Before Tuck, she worked as an entrepreneur and served as Head of Commercial Strategy at Brasol, a Brazilian startup backed by Siemens AG and BlackRock. Her career also includes experience in investment banking at Citigroup and Safra, as well as a stint as a cook at D.O.M., a two-Michelin-starred restaurant.
Ela holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a focus on Finance and Sustainability from Fundação Getúlio Vargas – EAESP. Outside of work, she is an avid bucket-lister, constantly seeking new adventures. Her favorite hobbies include scuba diving, hiking, cooking and hosting gatherings, skiing, pottery, and reading.
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