By Scott Jackson
When the Carson College’s Business Plan Competition concluded this spring, students had already spent months refining ideas, pitching to investors, and navigating the uncertainty that comes with building a new venture from the ground up. Keynote speaker Dan Lynch (’84) reminded them that those challenges don’t end after graduation—and some of the most meaningful opportunities begin with unexpected setbacks.
A former Washington State football All-American, venture capitalist, and current angel investor, Lynch spoke about the path that took him from the football field to investing in startups across Central and Eastern Europe. Along the way, he learned the value of staying resilient and pursuing ambitious business ideas that improve the world—insights he shared at the competition awards ceremony.
Finding a new path
Lynch was poised for a professional football career after graduating from WSU. However, shortly after being drafted to the Denver Broncos, he developed Addison’s disease, a rare disorder affecting the adrenal glands. The diagnosis brought his football career to an abrupt end.
Lynch says recovering from the illness meant rebuilding nearly every aspect of his life. The disease caused him to lose more than 100 pounds, and even caused him to lose pieces of his memory. Drawing on the discipline he developed as a student-athlete and the education he received at Carson, Lynch returned to the workforce before earning an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Looking back, he sees this episode as a lesson in resilience.
“Life is going to throw you curveballs and challenges you didn’t expect,” Lynch says. “But you can overcome a lot and still achieve your dreams if you just pick yourself up and start moving again.”
An international exchange program with London Business School soon led him overseas just as the fall of the Berlin Wall reshaped Europe. He accepted an opportunity in Hungary and began building a new career in venture capital during a period of rapid economic transformation as the country emerged from communist rule.
Investing in ideas that matter
Over the next three decades, Lynch helped launch and grow companies throughout Central and Eastern Europe, working with entrepreneurs in industries including health care, telecommunications, and technology.
Looking back on his career, Lynch said the greatest satisfaction has come from helping entrepreneurs turn ambitious ideas into growing businesses that improve lives and society.
One example was an early investment in a small Romanian health care company that expanded from a handful of clinics into one of the country’s leading private health care providers. Other investments supported emerging technology companies that introduced new software and digital services to growing markets.
“I love companies that have a financial return and a societal return,” Lynch says. “Things that make the world better off are must-have investments.”
He says this perspective continues to influence his work as an angel investor, where he now backs startups developing technologies ranging from medical devices to employee training software.
Building something bigger
Today, in addition to investing, Lynch coaches high school football—a role he says has reinforced many of the same qualities he values in business leaders—commitment, teamwork, and a willingness to learn all contribute to long-term success, whether on the field or in a business setting.
For the student entrepreneurs present, Lynch’s message was ultimately one of perseverance. Careers rarely unfold exactly as planned, he says, but setbacks do not have to define what comes next. Instead, they can become the starting point for opportunities that might never have been considered otherwise.
