Guide to VC Recruiting for Incoming MBAs

By Rani Kubersky (NYU Stern ’23) and Rebecca Mandel (NYU Stern ‘23)

So you got into Stern — Congratulations! Now what? If you’re going to business school to pivot into venture capital, there is no time like the present to begin mapping out your game plan for recruitment. At NYU Stern, venture capital has become an up and coming industry for recruitment, though a majority of the students still go down more “traditional” career paths, like investment banking or consulting.

Venture capital is an industry that requires intimate knowledge of, and passion for, entrepreneurship, high-growth industries and relationship building. Despite its smaller career presence at NYU Stern, it’s crucial that you do the legwork ahead of matriculation so you can stand out to these competitive VCs.

We have put together a list of some of the things you can do to set yourself up for success as an incoming MBA student and aspiring VC.

Connect with Current Aspiring VC MBAs

There is a reason why MBA programs are known for their networking opportunities. Though a majority of business school networking will take place as a current student, incoming MBAs should take advantage of the Stern network ahead of orientation week, especially if they plan to pursue a career in venture capital post graduation. From personal experience, we began conducting outreach to various VC interested MBA1s a few weeks after committing to Stern and received enthusiastic responses from 100% of the students to whom we reached out. It was through these conversations that we were able to develop a recruitment game plan, so that upon commencement of the fall semester, we felt prepared to begin its execution. To save our readers some of the trouble, here are some of the most helpful tips received from Stern MBAs:

• Sign up for newsletters! Fellow Sternie, Hillary Bush, published a fantastic blog post highlighting some of her favorites, which can be found here. These newsletters and resources are an excellent way to stay informed of the latest trends in both VC and the NYC startup ecosystem.
• Brainstorm a personal story for why you want a career in VC — most student run funds (which we cover later in this post) release applications at the start of the semester, so it’s helpful to have your thoughts organized to avoid reinventing the wheel in a time crunch
• Start making a list of target firms. Find out if they have summer MBA internship programs and do research on how your background can add value to them.
• Be aware that a majority of your classmates will have summer offers well before you begin interviewing. Most VC firms conduct more “ad hoc” summer hiring and will likely release applications in the spring, if at all. Knowing this ahead of time will help quell some nerves as you witness your investment banking and consulting friends conclude their recruitment before the spring semester and so you can avoid asking yourself questions like “was pursuing VC a mistake?” (answer: it is not!)
• Do your research! Find the funds that have active relationships with your program and/or current students involved with their investment team through in-semester fellowships, part-time internships

Pre-MBA Internship at a VC Firm or High-Growth Startup

Time permitting, landing a pre-MBA internship in either venture capital or a high-growth startup is an invaluable experience you certainly will not regret. Especially if you do not have previous experience in VC or as a founder or operator of a startup, a pre-MBA internship can be a key differentiator on your resume when you begin recruiting for summer or full-time positions. Apart from beefing up your resume, a pre-MBA internship in one of these two roles serves a dual purpose:

A) Confirm (or deny) that VC is the right career for you — especially helpful for the two year MBA program, when career paths are largely predicated on the summer internship.

B) Familiarize yourself with industry jargon — while newsletters and informational books can help you navigate industry lingo, there is nothing more comforting than knowing you have the experience of using it firsthand.

While securing these types of internships can be challenging, or may not be feasible due to time/financial/employment constraints, VC is ultimately a career path that rewards the efficient and well-connected. It’s nice to take some time off before the start of the school year, but what will set you apart from your peers is the extra effort you spent in your free time to immerse yourself within the VC world.

Develop a Track Record

Developing a track record is one of the best ways to stand out during the recruitment process. With a portfolio of investments, you can illustrate your point of view and investment taste to funds that you are interested in. You might be an accredited investor. If that’s the case, you can consider angel investing and writing checks directly into startups. If you are not an accredited investor, you might also consider running syndicates. Syndicates are special purpose vehicles that allow you to raise capital from high net worth individuals to invest directly into startups. Syndicates are a great excuse to start acting like a VC, by building relationships with founders and understanding how to support them.

You might also consider joining a fund for student founders, where you can invest in and support the ventures of your classmates. Applications typically go live at the start of the school year. You might consider asking MBAs in participating student funds for advice about the application process.

• Rough Draft Ventures: backed by General Catalyst. Rani is a venture fellow at RDV and has found it to be one of her favorite parts of the business school experience.
• Dorm Room Fund: backed by First Round Capital.
• Contrary: $20M fund.

Develop an Investment Thesis

This section is partially a plug for Stern Venture Thesis, which is a program through which a select cohort of Stern MBA students research and develop a thesis on an emerging sector under the guidance of experienced venture capitalists. Thesis development is a crucial skill for VCs, as it strengthens the muscle needed to form sector-specific opinions on what future successful startups could look like, ultimately helping them make investment decisions. Why is this important for an MBA? Several reasons:

• Expanding your network: one of the best ways to familiarize yourself with a vertical is to have conversations with the VCs and founders who are immersed in the space. Not only will this help you develop an understanding of sector trends, tailwinds and risks, but it also allows you to organically network with relevant thought leaders, which may ultimately be helpful when recruiting begins.
• Recruiting: Sending your completed thesis to potential employers helps to differentiate you from other candidates. It showcases your ability to use critical thinking to form a point of view on your specific sector and is a value add for VCs who are interested in potentially expanding their investment scope.
• Building the muscle: Many VCs use theses to drive their investment decisions. Developing this skill will help you hit the ground running at the start of an internship or full time position and will allow you to establish yourself as an asset early on in your career.

Identify High Growth Sectors and Brand Build

As you consider participating in the Stern Venture Thesis, be strategic about your focus area.

Identify interests in high growth areas: crypto, healthcare, climate, etc. and make a list of the VCs that are investing in these spaces.

There are so many venture capital funds with different mandates. Some exclusively focus on sectors like enterprise SaaS, while others specialize in geographies. When you are recruiting, you will be aligning yourself with partners who are specialized. For example, if you are interviewing at a healthcare fund, make sure that you have content and / or startup recommendations that align with the partner / funds mandate and illustrate your knowledge of the space.

If you have already identified a high growth area to focus on, congrats! Now, consider brand building on Twitter and Linkedin. Start engaging with founders, investors, and thought leaders in your sector of choice. Many funds will ask for your Twitter and Medium links during the recruitment process. If brand building online feels inauthentic to you, consider hosting live events like founder breakfasts or happy hours.

Hustle. Get Comfortable Working Autonomously

Overall, a career in VC requires comfort working autonomously, taking initiative, and forming relationships. Before going full speed into VC recruitment, make sure that you are comfortable with hustling on your own and making a career within an inherently self-starter industry. Fortunately, VCs love collaboration and there are endless communities of budding investors who are constantly looking to expand their networks. Here are some of the communities we love:

• Gen Z VCs: A collective of 12,000+ global VC and startup enthusiasts, founded in November 2020
• All Raise: Community of women founders and VCs with a mission to enhance representation in the VC industry
• BLCK VC: Non profit organization with the mission to empower, educate, connect and advance Black VC investors
• Seed Club: DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) for VCs passionate about web3 communities
• Confluence.VC: Slack group for investors in VC and growth equity. Confluence.VC gives community members exclusive access to their resource library, directory and much more.
• VC Unleashed: Global community of BIPOC and women MBA investors.
• Cleo Capital SAGA Fellows: Slack group for WOC MBAs recruiting in venture.

Build Authentic Relationships ahead of Recruitment Asks

Venture is a relationships job. You might have a stellar resume but without the relationships, recruitment will be difficult. The best way to start relationship building is to talk to people (founders, investors) before making a concrete ask. If you network with VCs the summer before matriculation (and even recruitment), you are ahead of the curve and the process will be that much easier.

It is simple enough to say to an investor “Hi! I’ve so admired your content in [sector] and investments in companies like x,y,z. I’ve been talking to a few companies like x and y that fit within your thesis. I am happy to make introductions. Separately, I’d love to chat if you have 15 minutes in the coming weeks.”

Don’t be shy about asking for introductions and offering up your own connections to others. Venture is a collaborative community that rewards hustle and reciprocity. You might feel self-conscious about your lack of investing experience. The good news is that you don’t need investing experience to get started. Maybe you worked in consulting and have experience supporting healthcare companies. Absolutely lean into that to strategize about how you can add value to VCs and those in your network.

If you want to discuss any of this further, feel free to reach out to Rebecca Mandel or Rani Kubersky directly. Good luck!