VC vs Consulting

Hi Charlotte,

I went from consulting to VC, here are my thoughts:

1) I wanted to know whether I could go from VC to consulting (let's say I work in VC for 1 or 2 years and then move straight to consulting MBB possibly)? Or does it only work the other way around? 

Technically it is possible. But usually the flow is the other way around for the reasons mentioned below.

2) Have seen many go from consulting to VC but not from VC to consulting. Any thoughts? 

The main reasons why you normally see the trend as consulting ⮕ VC are the following:

1. It is more difficult to move to VC than to consulting - simply because VC is a very niche industry with a limited number of positions available. I had to network for 3 full months to get in and I got lucky.
2. VC in general offers more specific skills/career path. Most candidates that are not sure about what to do prefer to rather do consulting, then if they understand they prefer VC, they try to move there.
3. Most candidates prefer to have a strong brand name at the beginning of the career to get more flexibility later on. There are very few VC funds that have a strong brand name.

The best option in your case depends on your long-term goals. If you want to eventually be in consulting, I would recommend to join that industry now. If you would prefer VC then it is totally fine to network to try to get there instead.

Best,

Francesco

Hi Charlotte,

Much has been said already in terms of the general direction that people start/move to.

The other aspect you have to consider also is the nature of the job. Many consultants do end up moving to VC as some of the skills you learnt are transferable/useful, but the jobs can be quite different:

• Type of work (i.e. sourcing & investing in VC; vs the potentially very diverse projects in MC)
• Types of ‘clients’ (i.e. working with early-stage startups, founders in VC; vs dealing with behemoths in MC)
• Progression (I would say there is a more defined progression in MC) 

Probably best to also figure out what you'd like to do in the mid-long term, to see which path will help you get there better. Most of the VC people I know stay in the investing space, versus my consulting friends who have exited to a variety of spaces.

All the best!

Hi there, 

I've seen it go both ways but realistically it's more common for people to go from consulting to VCs. 

It's mostly because VCs required a more niched set of skills that consultants usually develop (especially if they do due diligence type projects) whereas consultants require a broader set of skills that VCs don't necessarily prepare for. 

In that sense, it might make sense to first get clarity on what is the end objective and then pursue the jobs accordingly. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi Charlotte,

I might be biased since I started in consulting but I would recommend doing consulting → VC rather than the other way around. Here's why:

- the first 2 years of consulting will provide you with a really strong consultant toolkit which will come in handy when you move to VC

- I find that arriving as a consultant after a experience somewhere else is always difficult: harder to fit in (because you'll have missed all the initial trainings during which you create really strong bonds), harder to adjust (consulting ways of doing are quite different I find), harder to have an accelerated career (you will probably lose in seniority if you make the jump to consulting, and it usually takes longer to be promoted)

Hope this helps! 

Hi Charlotte,

You have the right instrincts here. The flow is generally consulting ==> VC but not the other way around.

If you ultimately want to do both, consider starting first in consulting.

By the way, it's certainly do-able to go the other direction (a consultant in my cohort had just sold his startup). It's just less common

Hi Charlotte,

It can definitely work both ways, but as others here have mentioned, consulting → VC is more common and has a more established pipeline. When I worked at McKinsey in San Francisco, lots of consultants exited to VC firms. The opposite trajectory is not impossible, but you might need to hustle a bit harder to establish a network, find a consulting role that fits you, and build momentum to make the transition. If you wanted to start in VC, another option to think about might be to do an MBA before transitioning to consulting, to get on the more established MBA → consulting pipeline.

Hi, 

For the first experience, I would definitely recommend going consulting first. 

- In VC, you'll get less “trained”, and often will be working with people who lack of management skills and still expect you to get things done without explaining how. In consulting, you'll learn what are the best management practices and how you can do shortcuts to get things done more effectively.

- When you start in VC after graduating, the main part of your work will be making screening and sourcing companies, which is very repetitive and sometimes might be not stimulating enough. In Consulting, you'll be working on various topics (strategy, operations, implementation).

In both VC and consulting, you have the opportunity to work on different industries.