(Warning: Venting post)
Hello, WSO. In mid-June, I made the difficult decision to close down my technology startup due to a lack of demand for our product. I worked without pay for three years and was unsuccessful in securing significant VC funding. Now, I'm facing confidence issues, depression, and a negative self-image after facing multiple rejections from job applications. It has reached a point where I struggle to find the motivation to get out of bed. At almost 25 years old, it feels like I have nothing remarkable going on in my life. (I feel like I wasted my early twenties for nothing)
I founded the company in 2020 during my sophomore year of college. I attended a public Ivy known for its strong connections to the industry if you manage to get into a specific club. I graduated with a 3.7x/4.00 GPA, majoring in economics. Prior to this, I had no work or internship experience, so the only experience I have is the three years I spent working on a business that no longer exists.
Currently, I'm primarily focused on finding investment banking internships to acquire the necessary training for a career in high finance, as I lack the specific skill set. Additionally, product management is also of interest to me since it closely aligns with the work I was doing at my startup.
I'm wondering what options are available for me to secure a job in finance. While I could potentially enter a top Master of Science in Finance (MSF) program, it would put me in significant debt and does not guarantee job placement. On the other hand, is it too early in my career to consider top MBA programs, given my three years of startup experience? My dream school is GSB, followed by Haas, Sloan, and HBS. As I do want to do an MBA eventually.
I have set high expectations for myself, and it feels like I am constantly falling short. Many in my family, who once viewed me with pride and excitement, now look at me with pity or as a burned-out (what could have been). I fear that I will slip through the cracks of society without any meaningful impact. I'm very worried because my other Co-Founders have both found work in Tech Sales and Software Engineering, while I'm scrambling to find relevant work to not go couch surfing/homeless in the next two months.
