I know most people won't believe this but here goes...
I studied pre-med in college (at a very non-target school) and immediately landed at a startup thereafter that grew pretty quickly during my ~4 years there. I mainly did solutions architecture and product work (startup-- multiple hats). I wanted to go to business school to recruit for VC and/or StratOps at a B-stage startup. Earlier this year, I got recruited to join a family office. Basically, I got the job because they were looking for an interesting hire, and my tech background fit the bill. We run a crossover strategy--hedge fund + direct investments in venture-stage companies. I essentially took the job because it was immediate exposure to VC and figured it would make my resume a lot more interesting for business school / recruiting. Now I'm very confused. I essentially want to go to business school for a few reasons:
- Chip on my shoulder for not attending a good school.
- I've had to work really hard teaching myself everything since I studied pre-med. Business school could provide a nice foundation.
- Credibility: I recognize this story does not sound possible, so business school provides a way for me to earn some credibility and for people to "make sense" of my background.
- I'm in a fairly wealthy city, but it's not one of the big five-- SF, LA, Boston, NYC, Chicago. I've been pretty lucky to date, but I'm thinking business school could actually create more opportunities. Also, not sure if my location is a plus or minus. Minus because exiting appears hard. Plus because I don't have to live in a highly over-populated area to do what I do.
- Compensation at my current spot is poor. I was making more in tech (still waiting on the bonus though, so tbd).
- Yes, it's cool that I get to work on a crossover strategy, but I really enjoy entrepreneurship. I'm thinking that business school can be a catalyst to recruit for where I actually want to be (VC).
The main reason I shouldn't go is opportunity cost. Over the last few years, there have been a lot of personal things that have happened so I don't have a lot of money (I do not come from a wealthy family either). And I already mentioned the compensation at my current spot.
I should also add that I would only go to business school for H/S/W + Columbia and I'd consider Booth if there was a meaningful scholarship. Before this job, I would consider others (Fuqua, Johnson, etc.), but not anymore. I'm fairly confident in my profile-- D1 athlete, URM, co-founded a non-profit, mentor for immigrants/refugees, and GPA is good (cum laude).
Anyways, am I crazy for wanting to go back to business school? Should I just dig in and build skills/network where I'm at?
Business school is perfect for you.
You went to a solid non-target, studied a non-finance topic and currently work at a family office where you are underpaid. Sure, it's cool you wear multiple hats at your firm and do cool stuff, but aside from the institutional family offices (MSD, etc...), these family office roles can be a career dead end. The problem is these roles may offer an interesting experience but they lack pedigree, compensation, proper training and good exit opportunities. You could also be crushing it there, but if no one knows the firm, you're going to have to convince ppl that you work for a real place. It's also great you trained yourself, but there's something to working at a notable firm with a repeatable track record of success and being trained in their methods. That brand / training can often carry your entire career. Your best way to get into one of these firms is via the MBA route.
To sum it up, you are the perfect MBA applicant and a top b-school will get you a great firm where you can compensated well and have a name brand CV addition.
Best of luck!
Mostly agree, I think the general fit is there. You have a reason to go to business school which is to fill a knowledge gap, which is business, get a better brand, and to pivot into a new, yet somewhat adjacent career. Opportunity cost is probably fairly lower for you given your comp, so unless you really need the money, B-School can probably help increase that.
The one big thing I'd be mindful of is your story about pivoting into traditional VC. VC is one of the hardest career paths to get into and although you have a little bit of prior experience, I'd think about what experience you can speak to at your family office. Have you been sourcing deals? Leading them from end to end? Is your family office co-investing with others or leading rounds? Even if you get into a H/S the competition for top VC jobs is fierce, so you might want a plan B or to think about the types of VC funds you'd be ok with working at post-school. That's really my only caution, B-School is a great fit, but it's a long shot to end up at a brand name VC. Just something to be mindful of.
Thanks for this great feedback. I'm probably on the optimistic side considering I've made some pretty hard pivots already. I'll be able to speak to both co-investments and direct deals, so I've both sourced and led deals end-to-end.
On the long-shot front, is that mostly because of competition for the jobs? I've done a few deals this year, and all were led by top-tier VC firms. I was assuming, if these investments perform, investing in the same round as top funds would make me more competitive during recruiting? Not saying I'd at a top firm, though.
You're probably in good shape then, sounds like your experience has been pretty robust. I've talked to folks in the past who represented that they had done VC investing whether at a family office or perhaps some co-invest at their organization. After a quick conversation, it became pretty clear that all they had done was read over a memo that had been presented to them by a larger VC firm. Not to diminish that, but those folks were often times surprised when they didn't get callbacks from VC firms.
If you've done deals end to end, have had to do/think about sourcing, and can articulate why VC, spaces you're excited about, etc, then most of the M7 will give you a good shot at making the leap to a more traditional firm. Obviously H/S will give you more options, but there are a handful of strong placements from the rest of the M7, so you don't necessarily need to be a H/S or bust. Honestly, your network within VC will be an important factor in where you end up.
One last thing I'll leave you with, I interned at a number of buyside firms during my MBA. I really enjoyed getting to see how a number of different firms operated, getting another couple of deal reps, and building out my network. Something for you to consider when picking schools. It's not uncommon for career changers to try and build experience this way, for you, it would be more of a continuing expansion of deal work, but it keeps you sharp for interviews and gives you an additional network to tap into. Buddy of mine interned part-time for almost two full-years during his MBA, the fund didn't have the capacity to hire him, but he ended up getting a role largely due to a partner referral.
Thanks for this great feedback. You nailed a lot of the things I have been thinking about, especially the long-term effects, both skill-wise and exit opportunities. Thank you!
I think business school makes sense, but I don't think your background / compensation commands a HSW or bust mentality
Thank you for the feedback. I agree that probably any of the Top 15 schools would benefit me in terms of skills/network. I've known quite a few people who have gotten into the aforementioned schools with weaker profiles than me, so that's mostly where my H/S/W/Columbia/Booth or bust mentality is coming from. But I do appreciate the candid feedback and will keep an open mind.
I agree with the other replies here. Don't be so conservative with your target schools as your profile is good but not knock out the lights stellar. As a former D1 athlete, the admissions committee will scrutinize you very closely against other applicants who were also D1. They usually went to the large consulting/IB/PE firms after graduation, or were beasts who carried on and played at a professional level or at the olympics
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