Deciding on VC sourcing vs. fortune 200 corp strategy
I am graduating this semester (last final is on Friday) and am very excited and lucky to have two great offers to chose from. My first offer I received last week, stalled as long as I could and received the second offer this afternoon. I need to make a decision and get back to the first offer by tomorrow EOD though.
1) Sourcing Analyst Role at a well respected VC fund (not sequoia, but they've been around for a while, are smart money, the guys are well respected and know their stuff). Approximately 38-40 hours a week.
2) Analyst Role in the Market Planning/Resource Strategy division in a fortune 200 firm. Approximately 45 hours a week.
My background:
- 3.7 GPA at a US-News top 25 undergrad overall, Business Week top 25 undergrad business
- Interned over the summer in the Management Consulting part of an Accenture/Deloitte caliber/brand consulting firm
- 4 Years of programming/IT internships in a tech startup, started two businesses, one of which has put me through a private university and I am planning on selling this year
My VC Thinking:
I love tech and working with entrepreneurs excites me. I think I would be pretty good at the VC job because of this. The downside of the VC job is it is pure phone sourcing - I am not on the investment committee and they've been clear to me that it's a two year position without the opportunity to do any due diligence, etc. The VC job's salary is also very low, would require me to relocate with no relocation money, and the average bonus numbers are more in-line with high consulting rather than finance (not that significant). Finally, the linked-in profiles of the people that have had my role in the past/bios of people that have it currently are markedly different in caliber than the rest of the people at the firm and a good bit different than mine (most of the people a few years of sales experience or a mid-level management rotational program, top 50 school, etc). However, it would get my foot in the VC door.
My Corporate Strategy Thinking:
I think strategy work would be interesting and would get a lot of the hard financial modeling skills that could be transferable in the future. While many people leave in 2-4 years for an MBA/to be a manger at another department in the firm, they will keep you as long as you want to stay. My main concerns are being pigeonholed into the specific industry the firm operates in and the bureaucracy surrounding working in a larger corporation even though the group I would be in is only 35 people. The job is described as "internal strategy consulting" to the rest of the firm and I went through same rigorous case interviews I went through in my Bain and ATK first/final rounds (these were actually much more quant. rigorous and just as qual rigorous). There is no bonus, but the salary is much higher than the VC and equals the same amount as the VC offer + the top bonus number the VC said was possible. The salary is an average management consulting salary, but I'll be working 25% less hours. No relocation is required.
I'm not sure of my long term goals. Some options I have thought of are:
- Start more businesses (probably something in the tech space)
- Get an MBA (since I did undergrad business, would mostly be for the networking rather than the coursework - so it would only be worth it if I got into a top program)
- Pursue VC Associate/PE roles
- Possibly climb the corporate ladder?
I really like the people at both places, but prefer the almost start-up feel culture at the VC.
I need to let the VC know by tomorrow, I have stalled for as much time already as I can while waiting to the other offer and talked to as many people as I could that would have knowledge to impart. I already talked to the VC firm (in a very nuanced way) about the salary being below market and they didn't budge.
Speaking with a friend that has been very successful in consulting and finance, one thing we came up with was offering to the VC shop to work an additional 10 hours (say 5-7pm every day) a week for free doing basic analysis/modeling/due diligence grunt work which might position me much better at the end of the two year role period and would assuage some of my fears of taking a pure sourcing role in relation to my long term career options.
I never thought I'd be making one of these posts, but would love any advice as soon as possible while I am trying to figure out my decision. Thanks!
Just my two cents, but I think the Strategy Role will do more benefit for you in the future if you. The sourcing opportunity will not provide you any analysis skills, which is necessary for any type of role you are wanting to explore in the future.
I would work for a few years in the strategy position and then go to a top 10 MBA program and try to go the VC/PE route then - if you are still set out on being in VC.
If I were successful in negotiating to work literally for free 10 extra hours a week on the deal/due diligence/modeling side of things at the VC would you still say the strategy role over the VC role?
You may want to go with Strategy...if all you're going to do is pound the phones without doing any work with the Investment Committee, then you're not going to learn as much as you think, and if they lay you off, you don't want to be stuck with "Made cold calls all day" as your only bullet point.
Get some technical skills, which the Strategy role seems to offer. I don't recommend doing the due diligence/modeling/etc. for free...you may never get that work.
Take this for what it's worth, the sourcing role is going to pigeon hole you. I think you are better off offering 10 hrs a week to aid in modeling/due diligence/grunt work. This will get you relevant experience and really shed light on your character - which will be very important if a position opens @ said firm, or using the seniors as references for b school / other jobs. As you said, the salary sucks and you will not be gaining any tangible buyside experience. Sure, it will be great to be in the environment, but do you really want to simply cold call for 2 years? It does nothing in terms of gaining experience for B school or other buyside shops. Conversely, if the role was hybrid between sourcing/ deal team, I would say by all means take it regardless of the salary.
Corporate strategy will potentially give you relevant experience - perhaps if you shed light on the industry you will be focusing on, I can offer more advice. I am in VC and am familiar with a variety of strategy types that have broken into the industry, although not easy.
Hi Jimmy - Thanks so much. The corp strategy is at a major energy company, and because of the state it's in there will be a lot of long term planning focused on green/renewables.
Well given the future of green energy I think it would be fantastic experience for you - there are a lot of PE / VC funds out there that will certainly value the experience you will gain in this role. I would still pursue the VC part time opportunity if they are open to it, it is only going to add to your resume and allow you to gain skills you won't get in your strategy gig. Either way, there are much worse places to be right now than a Fortune 200 company - take it and continue your search if that is what you desire, but I think you will be fine if you make the most of your opportunity and network.
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