Breaking into VC through Marketing

So I am curious about something. I watched "Something Ventured" over the weekend and thought it was a good movie. One thing that was highlighted was that there are multiple ways into VC. I did some research and read on a few VC blogs how banking is not exactly the best way to get there, because you are not dealing with actual products, but companies as a whole. Now I am not here to argue that, because obviously people from IBD do go to VC. However, how many people in VC know of people who got in through Sales or Marketing routes? Would working in Microsoft of Yahoo marketing department or a start-up get you into VC just as banking will (if not better)?

Thoughts?

2 Comments
 
Best Response

I work with a guy who is in our marketing group for this exact reason.

He was an ibanker and then in pe out of UMich undergrad. He said he wanted to get away from just being an excel monkey and actually manage businesses and transactions. He claims that while those experiences taught him a lot the #1 thing he learned is that the finance people involved are just there to provide a service for the transaction. He wants to be on the management/leadership side.

He sees F500 marketing and strategy as the perfect experience for him to get into pe or vc in our sector. He went and got his mba and is now in a corporate marketing role. I have no clue if it will work out for him, but he's a pretty bright guy with good experience so I wouldn't bet against him.

twitter: @CorpFin_Guy
 

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