Venture Capital

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  • #187622
    Anonymous
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    Anyone in here working within the Venture Capital world? I have a friend who graduated from school with a joint MAcc/MBA degree who then worked for a big 4 firm, and is currently working with a Venture Capital firm in CA. Wanted to see if anyone has taken this, or a similar path… if so, what are your feelings/experiences?

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  • #585625
    Anonymous
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    Audit could lead you there. Due Diligence would be a better way to land in VC/PE arena.

    A solid career progression would be: A year or two in Audit. Transition into Due Diligence, get MBA (a real one, at a good brand name school) while working due diligence, Then get into VC/PE. Approx time to VC/PE five years.

    I've been on a few due diligence engagements. Mostly working capital considerations & cash flow assessments. They're similar to an audit, but normally focus on cash & cost considerations without all that overly vague “risk” stuff.

    Also, you get to have some pretty interesting conversations about the organizational behavior, culture, and on the executives of the acquiree like who really runs the show. We were in one place where the CEO's secretary was basically the de facto CEO. Pretty wild.

    About the MBA:

    I was talking to my in-law about this. He's a pretty big time consultant on Wall St (been featured in Forbes couple of times). He basically said the CFA is for securities. MBAs are for PE/VC firms.

    When I saw MBA I mean top 50 program, preferably top 25. Don't waste your time otherwise. That's how it is in the NE. In CA, it may be a little easier to get into VC. That tech market is red hot right now.

    Disclosure: I'm not saying all MBAs are a waste of time, just that getting into a legit VC/PE firm with anything less than a top 50 MBA and a few years of professional experience under your belt is an uphill battle.

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