| Topic Name: |
Getting a VC job after Undergrad |
| Message Name: |
nurturing an industry career for vc - part II |
| Date Posted: |
05/06/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
I think your advice is not only sound, but realistic as well. I am about to graduate at an undergrad business school and have taken an offer as a Financial Analyst at Lucent's Global Leadership Program. Here, I am rotated in various divisions of the financial community at Lucent, inclusing M&A, internal audit, business development, treasury, accounting, etc. What are your thoughts about entering into the VC worl, specifically VC/s who focus on telecom and wireless, after my tenure at Lucent?
thank you.. |
| Message: |
2. Form
Outside of the substance of learning, you must pay attention to building your resume. Create key relationships with senior managers as well as people you've managed. Find as many people as you can who will go to bat for you on a reference call.
Shoot for awards, rankings, published papers, any kind of external achievement. VC is still a credential driven industry, you want to show that you were the very best in your cohort.
Also make sure you have a clear path to a top business school, in case your 3-5 year VC plans don't work out.
Finally, be willing to wait. Investing in your career is not too different from investing in early stage companies. You have to be willing to wait for the right opportunities. If your goal is to be a VC in 1 or 2 years, then perhaps you are better off joining a smaller firm immediately. Most of the greatest VC's, however, were molded over years spent in industry: Vinod, Doerr, Valentine.
John Doerr in a HBS interview stated that "The best preparation [for a career in VC] is operating experience in a well-managed, high-growth, high-tech company. Without that it's hard to support great entrepreneurs and teams. "
Even after a few years in industry you may find it hard to break into VC. But be patient, you will eventually get there.
This is a ridiculously long post, i'm going to bow out of taking any further questions.
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