Post MBA MBB startup exit opps

There's been a lot of discussion in the past regarding exit opps in general, but does anyone have a sense of what exits to well funded startups and/or VC's look like at the post MBA level? What does the comp look like and are companies/HH reaching out like they do for F500 roles?

For context, I'm starting at an M7 in the fall and debating between going straight into tech (shooting for VC but otherwise joining a startup) or doing the MBB->industry route? On one hand, the former makes more sense if I'm a 100% certain of my interest in it but I'm wondering if MBB would allow me to accelerate my career a little bit if I'm looking to join a well-funded startup and/or place me better to move into VC (which is my ultimate LT goal).

8 Comments
 
"bayareaballer"

For context, I'm starting at an M7 in the fall and debating between going straight into tech (shooting for VC but otherwise joining a startup) or doing the MBB->industry route? On one hand, the latter makes more sense if I'm a 100% certain of my interest in it

You mean former.

It's not an uncommon exit, post-MBA MBB to a startup. Simply not enough VC spots to generalize, but a Bay Area recruiter on my Linked regularly posts VC spots for MBB folks.

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Yup I meant former.

I think I know which recruiter you're referring to but I only see pre-MBA VC spots. Any insight into comp for post MBA MBB startup exits? Looked at a few comp reports but couldn't find anything meaningful.

 
Most Helpful

From what I've seen, start-ups and VCs are different paths in terms of levels of competitiveness.

If you're 100% sure your ultimate goal is VC, I think tech would be a better option. Thinking through people who successfully transitioned into top VC funds straight from or post business school (without previous VC experience), they largely fall into the following categories:

1) People who have built / was an early employee of a start-up that got funded and/or acquired.

2) People with product background (especially Product Managers, but have seen PMMs and Growth Marketers) who know how to evaluate a start-up's product and help them grow, etc.

3) People with BD backgrounds who can add value on the deal side.

You can do MBA > MBB > VC , but I think it's a tougher transition from what I have seen (especially if you want to go to a good fund, and there are a lot of terrible ones) because you're competing with people who have tech / VC background.

MBA > MBB > Start-up is a much more common route,. You get recruiting e-mails about these all the time. There are some start-ups that were founded by consultants and are especially fond of them (e.g., BirchBox, Harry's, etc), but you can also go to a much smaller, earlier-stage start-up too.

 

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