Breaking into VC after INSEAD
Hi everyone,
Can someone advise what are the chances of breaking into VC after INSEAD?
I have some prior experience in this field as well as years spent in IT/Tech, but geographically I am targeting Europe and Asia.
Would really appreciate any feedback from INSEAD alumni or those who know the industry.
Thanks in advance!
As an entrepreneur who has had to deal with plenty of MBA-turned-VCs, I'm just going to leave that there: if you want to become a better technology investor, go work in technology. Join a startup (judge people's qualities and character quickly, what happens during stressful times. Figure out what entrepreneurs need and how their relationship with their investors can be value adding way beyond the financial. Watch investors screw up, learn how founders manipulate their communication to them... Stop thinking "I can outsource it to the IT guys" and learn enough about programming to know what your "IT guys" are talking about, enough about design to know how to hire and work with a designer or build your own products if necessary (such as a marketing site). These things cannot really be learnt from books, they are high dimensional and require experience.
You'll become a much more pleasant, realistic and competent investor as a result, and you might even have a lot of fun in the process, but it's definitely a hard path, and pays a little less cash initially (mostly because your value to a startup is not that high, as a fresh MBA). Your first few startups will not be Uber and your social status will take a hit for a while (hello girlfriend/wife/family constantly saying things like "you know, you could make a lot more money if only you..."); things will be much better ten years down the road. Look for places led by people who have done it before a few times, even on a small scale (even less than 10m exits).
Alternatively, you could game admissions ("break into VC"), get into a medium sized, medium-quartiled-that-bills-themselves-as-top fund and hope the capital environment stays wonderfully bubbly for long enough for you to make a decent career in the field. About as much chance of that happening, as for a K KR analyst to become partner, for a variety of related reasons.
I think there are a number of things broken with the industry as it currently stands and markets will adjust. When they inevitably do and capital gets scarcer, you need to have real, core competencies people are willing to pay for, and those only come from experience. I might be wrong, YMMV, etc.
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