jim1234 wrote:
Hi,
Thank you in advance for your time and effort to evaluate my profile.
GMAT: 740
Age: 26
Undergr. GPA (weakpoint): 63%/2:1 from Warwick University (BSc Management), i guess this would be a 3.3 or so?
- Scored low in my second year and have letter from personal tutor explaining mitigating circumstances (illness).
- Did well in final year (1st/4.0).
- I am considering obtaining an alternative transcript if need be.
Work Experience:
- 4 years in solid European venture capital firm, around $1bn AUM (in terms of brand name think Wllington partners, DN Capital or Holtzbrink).
- Summer internships at large hedge fund (think Soros, Bluecrest) & a German first league football club (in ticketing and marketing, because I really like football)
Extra-curricular:
- Set up own VC in Africa, through crowdfunding in Switzerland
- Founded a business recruiting football talents in Argentina and placing them in the German first league (giving them an opportunity at becoming escaping poverty)
Extra Info: German/English native (went to UK military school from age of 6) and fluent Swedish and Spanish
- Ran the 4 deserts racing series (if thats of any interest)
Aiming for:
Columbia
MIT
Chicago
LBS
Oxford
I have two specific questions:
1. My main concern is that I'm not sure how working at a VC will be perceived as so many people come from MBB and IBD. Would it be worth adding an MBB stint to strengthen my app?
2. On the side I have worked on a tech startup with a friend. The product is used by quite a few people albeit without revenue at this point. I am unsure whether to mention this as I have heard mixed reviews of what business schools think of startups.
Thank you for your time
Hello there,
I think you have a very interesting and fecund profile, despite your relatively low GPA, and that you can do well, and the schools you aim for should be attainable (not all, but if you apply to that list, I feel it would be reasonable for you to hope to get into one of them, although you may want to add Cambridge and NYU as safe schools, which will also help you attain your goals).
I think between your VC (yes VC is very good, just as good as MBB), your four languages, your military school and international experience, you should be able to build a solid story and make a great application.
To answer your specific questions: Only go to MBB if that's the path you want to take. As I mentioned VC is as good as MBB, so if you want the consulting change, go for it! If you like where you are, no need.
Secondly, tech startup is good! Forget about how much money its making etc. This is YOU, doing BUSINESS ,learning new stuff, managing, trying... it can always make a great story even if it ends up being a total business failure (although better if it isn't
)
Just figure out what your best stories, start talking to people now, visit the schools, if you can, and the rest should be good
Best,
JF