MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: Profile Evaluation
[#permalink]
08 Oct 2009, 10:38
Schools look at your entire GPA.
In any case, keep in mind that VC is NOT a finance job. I've written about it elsewhere here on this board, but in short it's about your ability to be a matchmaker - matching experienced tech execs with promising tech business ideas. Figuring out whether to fund Facebook isn't an exercise in financial modeling - it's a gut call as to whether the actual concept or idea will eventually make money - and whether one can build a strong team of people around that idea to make it happen.
A startup's financial situation is pretty elementary. They get a bunch of money from investors. They spend most of it on salaries, rent for the office, phone bills, etc. They issue invoices to customers, and get money paid to them within 30 days. It's practically a cash business. The actual financials aren't much different from a mom and pop small business (i.e. why would you invest in a dinky startup with a complicated balance sheet full of deferred tax assets, pension liabilities, fixed asset schedules, complicated inventory mgmt, etc.).
Even as a VC associate where a big chunk of your job will be reviewing business plans, it doesn't come down to "financial projections". It's about making a judgment call as to whether the business idea itself is compelling enough (i.e. is there a market for this product, will that market grow in the next 5-10 years, is the product good or a piece of crap, etc.), and whether there is a capable team of people behind that idea to make it happen (and if not, do your VC partners have the contacts to find the right execs to work at this startup).