Curious as to why many venture capital firms prefer that people have an MBA in order to get hired or promoted. Is it solely due to the branding and larger network one could build in an MBA program? If so, why is that preferred over building a network by reaching out and going to conferences?
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Comments (5)
Curious too. Anyone?
Because the mba students that go to Harvard / Stanford / Wharton usually create companies that need venture capital to grow. You form closer relationship over mba than some random person you met at a conference.
A lot of this is a "hire what you know" situation where people feel comfortable bringing on junior level staff that have certain credentials or similar backgrounds to the core team.
With that said, there are plenty of firms that will look outside of the MBA landscape for quality candidates that can provide unique skills to the firm. I wouldn't so much worry about having or not having an MBA, but instead focus on what value you can and will bring to the firm. Do you have experience with cold calling founders/directly sourcing deals? Do you have a technical background where you can analyze the company in a different way from an MBA? Do you have a network that is additive to the team?
Earning an MBA can be a nice feather in your cap, but an MBA won't help you do any of the things mentioned in the previous paragraph. If you can't go the way of education, go the way of being the most additive/helpful person possible.
I actually disagree with the entire premise here. I don't think that most VCs prefer MBAs and there are many that actively look down on them. Presented with two job candidates that have the same resume except one person has an MBA from a top school and the other spent two years as an operator at an early-stage startup backed by a good VC, the person with operating experience is going to get the job nine times out of ten.
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