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PrivateMarketplace
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Profile Evaluation Request [#permalink] New post   15 Aug 2016, 23:01
Hi Jon,

Appreciate your help in evaluation of my profile for an MBA. Age: 29 at matriculation. Indian male.

1) GMAT: Haven't taken it yet. Let's say 680-700
2) Undergrad: Top public university (Finance major)
3) Work Experience: 5.5 yrs at matriculation
a) 1 year in internal consulting within an Insurance giant in NYC
b) 4.5 years in a Venture Capital (200M) investing digital tech in Asia & Europe (based out of Singapore)
c) Currently a Principal at the firm started as an Analyst. Rapid career progression due to adding incremental value to the firm.
d) Achieved over 300MM+ in exits of portfolio firms.
e) Operationally worked with C-level management to devise strategies.

I have equity in the firm and as a condition of it, I had to stay at the firm for the last 3 years to earn my payout. My payout scheduled in March 2017. I am looking to take some time off from work and decided pursuing an MBA could be worth the investment.

I would appreciate feedback if I have any chance of making it to these schools with my profile.

2 yr MBA: Stanford/Harvard/Wharton
1 yr MBA: INSEAD

Thanks!

Best,

SM
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Re: Profile Evaluation Request [#permalink] New post   16 Aug 2016, 05:31
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PrivateMarketplace wrote:
Hi Jon,

Appreciate your help in evaluation of my profile for an MBA. Age: 29 at matriculation. Indian male.

1) GMAT: Haven't taken it yet. Let's say 680-700
2) Undergrad: Top public university (Finance major)
3) Work Experience: 5.5 yrs at matriculation
a) 1 year in internal consulting within an Insurance giant in NYC
b) 4.5 years in a Venture Capital (200M) investing digital tech in Asia & Europe (based out of Singapore)
c) Currently a Principal at the firm started as an Analyst. Rapid career progression due to adding incremental value to the firm.
d) Achieved over 300MM+ in exits of portfolio firms.
e) Operationally worked with C-level management to devise strategies.

I have equity in the firm and as a condition of it, I had to stay at the firm for the last 3 years to earn my payout. My payout scheduled in March 2017. I am looking to take some time off from work and decided pursuing an MBA could be worth the investment.

I would appreciate feedback if I have any chance of making it to these schools with my profile.

2 yr MBA: Stanford/Harvard/Wharton
1 yr MBA: INSEAD

Thanks!

Best,

SM


Hey SM,
So the best thing in your profile is by far your work experience. I'd love to hear more about it, the type of deals, the sums, what stake you have etc. which will all influence your profile.

Other than that, Im missing too much info. I dont know where you went to school, what your GPA was, what EC activities you have, what volunteer work, etc. All of that is important as well.

Finally, if your work experience is very strong (as it seems to be) you might have a shot at M7 programs with a 700 or so, but make the lives of the Adcoms easier, and make their decision easier too - a 720+ would help you more :)

I know you will do the best you can though,

Best of luck,
JF
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PrivateMarketplace
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Profile Evaluation Request [#permalink] New post   16 Aug 2016, 20:01
Hi Jon,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

1) Work Experience: I have worked on 4 deals in total throughout my tenure at the firm.
a) We usually co-invest with other larger VCs. 2 of these deals were European digital marketing firms that we co-invested in Series A and B funding rounds. Usually it is 1-5M stakes. 1 of these companies have exited and we got a 2x return on invested capital.
b) The 2 other deals were more interesting as we did a joint venture with two mid-sized (Revenues 50M to 80M) European tech firms. We run their Asian operations for them, through building a team, getting clients, devising go-to-market strategies, etc etc. Basically we ran the business in behalf of the parent company in APAC through a JV between us and the parent company. For these deals you usually fund the initial and subsequent expansion strategies (main costs are employee salaries, travel and rental expenses). Usual investment is around 2-4M for it to breakeven and then just finance the working capital needs from time to time. Due to us being very operational, we have proprietary exit structure for these kind of investments. We exited from one of these investments and are in the process of exiting from another. The returns are 10x and should be 12.5x with earnouts.
c) Operationally I have been highly involved in recruiting, devising go-to-market strategies and providing business development efforts.
d) Other than my operational duties, it is mostly typical financial/operational/market due diligence and deal execution for the investments which I carry out with my team. I have 1 Associate and 1 Analyst I work with supervising research and due diligence.

2) Undergrad school: I don't want to identify myself. I would just mention it is a top ranked Big Ten school. GPA: 3.3 (Finance major)

3) ECs: Nothing much after school. I am actively involved in pro-bono consulting where I manage and advise a group of college juniors/seniors in working through a pro-bono consulting project.

Please let me know if that's enough information. Thanks.
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Re: Profile Evaluation Request [#permalink] New post   18 Aug 2016, 22:35
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PrivateMarketplace wrote:
Hi Jon,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

1) Work Experience: I have worked on 4 deals in total throughout my tenure at the firm.
a) We usually co-invest with other larger VCs. 2 of these deals were European digital marketing firms that we co-invested in Series A and B funding rounds. Usually it is 1-5M stakes. 1 of these companies have exited and we got a 2x return on invested capital.
b) The 2 other deals were more interesting as we did a joint venture with two mid-sized (Revenues 50M to 80M) European tech firms. We run their Asian operations for them, through building a team, getting clients, devising go-to-market strategies, etc etc. Basically we ran the business in behalf of the parent company in APAC through a JV between us and the parent company. For these deals you usually fund the initial and subsequent expansion strategies (main costs are employee salaries, travel and rental expenses). Usual investment is around 2-4M for it to breakeven and then just finance the working capital needs from time to time. Due to us being very operational, we have proprietary exit structure for these kind of investments. We exited from one of these investments and are in the process of exiting from another. The returns are 10x and should be 12.5x with earnouts.
c) Operationally I have been highly involved in recruiting, devising go-to-market strategies and providing business development efforts.
d) Other than my operational duties, it is mostly typical financial/operational/market due diligence and deal execution for the investments which I carry out with my team. I have 1 Associate and 1 Analyst I work with supervising research and due diligence.

2) Undergrad school: I don't want to identify myself. I would just mention it is a top ranked Big Ten school. GPA: 3.3 (Finance major)

3) ECs: Nothing much after school. I am actively involved in pro-bono consulting where I manage and advise a group of college juniors/seniors in working through a pro-bono consulting project.

Please let me know if that's enough information. Thanks.


Well, youve pretty much confirmed my suspicion that your work experience was the best part of your profile.

Keep in mind that your school and your GPA are both "below average" for Top 10 programs, and your ECs/Volunteer work are lacking. So what that means is:
1. A good GMAT is all the more important
2. You will have to see how much of the lacks you can cover in the essays.

So let's leave off any final judgement till you come back with a GMAT score. But we are for sure looking at Top 20 schools here, and your GMAT will define the rest.

Best,
Jon
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Profile Evaluation Request [#permalink] New post   18 Aug 2016, 23:00
JonAdmissionado wrote:
PrivateMarketplace wrote:
Hi Jon,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

1) Work Experience: I have worked on 4 deals in total throughout my tenure at the firm.
a) We usually co-invest with other larger VCs. 2 of these deals were European digital marketing firms that we co-invested in Series A and B funding rounds. Usually it is 1-5M stakes. 1 of these companies have exited and we got a 2x return on invested capital.
b) The 2 other deals were more interesting as we did a joint venture with two mid-sized (Revenues 50M to 80M) European tech firms. We run their Asian operations for them, through building a team, getting clients, devising go-to-market strategies, etc etc. Basically we ran the business in behalf of the parent company in APAC through a JV between us and the parent company. For these deals you usually fund the initial and subsequent expansion strategies (main costs are employee salaries, travel and rental expenses). Usual investment is around 2-4M for it to breakeven and then just finance the working capital needs from time to time. Due to us being very operational, we have proprietary exit structure for these kind of investments. We exited from one of these investments and are in the process of exiting from another. The returns are 10x and should be 12.5x with earnouts.
c) Operationally I have been highly involved in recruiting, devising go-to-market strategies and providing business development efforts.
d) Other than my operational duties, it is mostly typical financial/operational/market due diligence and deal execution for the investments which I carry out with my team. I have 1 Associate and 1 Analyst I work with supervising research and due diligence.

2) Undergrad school: I don't want to identify myself. I would just mention it is a top ranked Big Ten school. GPA: 3.3 (Finance major)

3) ECs: Nothing much after school. I am actively involved in pro-bono consulting where I manage and advise a group of college juniors/seniors in working through a pro-bono consulting project.

Please let me know if that's enough information. Thanks.


Well, youve pretty much confirmed my suspicion that your work experience was the best part of your profile.

Keep in mind that your school and your GPA are both "below average" for Top 10 programs, and your ECs/Volunteer work are lacking. So what that means is:
1. A good GMAT is all the more important
2. You will have to see how much of the lacks you can cover in the essays.

So let's leave off any final judgement till you come back with a GMAT score. But we are for sure looking at Top 20 schools here, and your GMAT will define the rest.

Best,
Jon


Hi Jon,

Thanks for your evaluation. Yeah, my GPA was never good haha. But I am not really interested in joining a top 20 school. Not sure if that would add much value to my career prospects. I am mostly looking at Top 5 schools in the US + INSEAD (that being my current top choice). Anyway, as you said we will see after the GMAT.

Thanks & Best,

SM
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Re: Profile Evaluation Request [#permalink] New post   22 Aug 2016, 00:29
Expert Reply
PrivateMarketplace wrote:
JonAdmissionado wrote:
PrivateMarketplace wrote:
Hi Jon,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

1) Work Experience: I have worked on 4 deals in total throughout my tenure at the firm.
a) We usually co-invest with other larger VCs. 2 of these deals were European digital marketing firms that we co-invested in Series A and B funding rounds. Usually it is 1-5M stakes. 1 of these companies have exited and we got a 2x return on invested capital.
b) The 2 other deals were more interesting as we did a joint venture with two mid-sized (Revenues 50M to 80M) European tech firms. We run their Asian operations for them, through building a team, getting clients, devising go-to-market strategies, etc etc. Basically we ran the business in behalf of the parent company in APAC through a JV between us and the parent company. For these deals you usually fund the initial and subsequent expansion strategies (main costs are employee salaries, travel and rental expenses). Usual investment is around 2-4M for it to breakeven and then just finance the working capital needs from time to time. Due to us being very operational, we have proprietary exit structure for these kind of investments. We exited from one of these investments and are in the process of exiting from another. The returns are 10x and should be 12.5x with earnouts.
c) Operationally I have been highly involved in recruiting, devising go-to-market strategies and providing business development efforts.
d) Other than my operational duties, it is mostly typical financial/operational/market due diligence and deal execution for the investments which I carry out with my team. I have 1 Associate and 1 Analyst I work with supervising research and due diligence.

2) Undergrad school: I don't want to identify myself. I would just mention it is a top ranked Big Ten school. GPA: 3.3 (Finance major)

3) ECs: Nothing much after school. I am actively involved in pro-bono consulting where I manage and advise a group of college juniors/seniors in working through a pro-bono consulting project.

Please let me know if that's enough information. Thanks.


Well, youve pretty much confirmed my suspicion that your work experience was the best part of your profile.

Keep in mind that your school and your GPA are both "below average" for Top 10 programs, and your ECs/Volunteer work are lacking. So what that means is:
1. A good GMAT is all the more important
2. You will have to see how much of the lacks you can cover in the essays.

So let's leave off any final judgement till you come back with a GMAT score. But we are for sure looking at Top 20 schools here, and your GMAT will define the rest.

Best,
Jon


Hi Jon,

Thanks for your evaluation. Yeah, my GPA was never good haha. But I am not really interested in joining a top 20 school. Not sure if that would add much value to my career prospects. I am mostly looking at Top 5 schools in the US + INSEAD (that being my current top choice). Anyway, as you said we will see after the GMAT.

Thanks & Best,

SM


Hey SM,
Well first of all good luck on that GMAT!
I can totally understand that you want to limit what schools you would go to, given your prestigious position and the opportunity costs, and I think in your case, even if your GMAT is lower than expected it's totally fine for you to build a "Top school or Bust" strategy, and say "hey school X Y and Z are worth it, but not P and Q". Anyhow I would say, keep an open mind. There are schools outside Top 5 that can probably get you where you want to go too, so for example, NYU is not in Top 5, but still ends up being a pretty awesome school for Finance goals.

But worry about that later, first: go kick some ass.
:)

Cheers,
Jon
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Re: Profile Evaluation Request [#permalink] New post   22 Aug 2016, 19:09
Hi Jon,

Thanks for your replies and suggestions. Do you have any other schools outside the top 5/10 that deliver strong results for PE/VC career prospects like NYU? Thanks

Best,

SM
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Re: Profile Evaluation Request [#permalink] New post   23 Aug 2016, 00:33
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PrivateMarketplace wrote:
Hi Jon,

Thanks for your replies and suggestions. Do you have any other schools outside the top 5/10 that deliver strong results for PE/VC career prospects like NYU? Thanks

Best,

SM


Well look at placements from the schools, but basically what I hear from a lot of friends and clients in finance is that Top Finance schools + networking your ass off = M7 finance.

So the ones offhand where I know you can get recruited into where you want to go: UNC, Yale, Johnson, NYU. Maybe Duke/Ross (Have to look into those, but they are much more general management schools).

So do start talking to folks who went to those schools, but first things first: that pesky GMAT!!!

Good luck!
Jon
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