From VC to Operator to Entrepreneurship
How Julie Is Pivoting from Investing in Founders to Becoming One Herself Through a Booth MBA and Full-Ride Scholarship.
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Before MBA Protocol
I was working in VC investing and thinking about becoming an operator of some sort. Although the VC to operator pivot is common in the space, the roles that ex-VCs go into are far and wide, so I didn’t know which role specifically would be right for me. Since VC investing was my first role out of college, I felt the need to try something different, and at the same time I found myself attracted to the non-investing projects within my VC role. I was personally very interested in AI products, so I was generally looking in that direction, but I honestly didn’t have a clear idea of what kind of company or role to aim for.
Why MBA, why now
My VC role was my first job out of college, and I didn’t major in business. When I started working on more projects with our portfolio companies, I felt unknowledgeable how a business/product should be built and scaled because I had no direct experience in it. I felt that limitation for both my short-term goal of a product role and long-term vision to become an entrepreneur. I realized that an MBA would provide both the preparation to succeed in a product role and the more structured business education I lacked so that I can round out my business knowledge.
Post-MBA, I want to be a product manager or strategist at a tech company. I am targeting big tech or growth-stage companies. It’s most important for me to get my hands dirty building out a product, so I am open to similar roles in smaller companies as well.
My post-MBA vision was heavily shaped by the career gameplan exercise and discussions with Angela and Paul. I realized that my ultimate goal is to build a consumer wellness product, and we devised what needs to happen in between my current VC experience and future goal to be an entrepreneur. Product management was what excited me most, and it was helpful to get validation from my coaches that that made sense and was realistic. My coaches suggested that a product strategy role would also be a fit since my VC experience comparing companies/products would be relevant, and I was happy to expand my target roles, especially if I would be a more compelling candidate in that role.
Why MBA Protocol
When I started researching MBA applications (5 months before the deadline), I came across Angela’s videos on YouTube. They were fun and informative, so I kept watching more and more — over time, I felt that she and the team had a distinct human-focused approach to the application process and genuinely eye-opening, unique (and strong) opinions on what makes a successful application. That attracted me immensely because I wanted to use the MBA application process as an opportunity to reflect deeply on my past and gain clarity on what I wanted in my future. I loved the focus on introspection and discovering more of myself, rather than doing things just for the sake of completing the application, and I knew that I would benefit from receiving guidance along this application journey.
The work we did together
Firstly, I developed the very valuable ability to see my life experiences as interesting stories that show who I am. After reflecting on my entire life deeply and with guidance, I understood myself better and felt empowered to use my unique individuality to my advantage, not only for the application but generally in my life. The process made me stop and think about things like why I feel more attracted to certain projects, why I thrive in certain environments, and what role I play in a team.
I now feel a lot more confident about telling those stories as well. I felt that I had developed this new skill when I did my first mock interview with Angela and shared my draft response to “tell me about yourself” — we both felt that it captured the parts of me that I would want my interviewer to know in a cohesive way. I had just followed the Interview Hero program (I will definitely be taking everything I learned during the Interview Hero program with me in my MBA recruiting and beyond).
I felt very prepared for my interviews not because I practiced a ton but because I knew that I had the right mindset, frameworks, and just the right amount of preparation to guide me.
I also generally felt more calm and confident about my application, even before getting any concrete results. There was a lot of waiting and uncertainty throughout the process, but I knew that I had been genuine in showing who I am, and that made me feel at peace during the waiting period.
The MBA Protocol Coach Advantage
Both Paul and Angela were so supportive and patient with me throughout the entire process. For example, Paul offered to help me think through things when I was feeling nervous about telling my company about my MBA plans.
When I was on version 10+ of one of my essays but freaked out a week before the deadline not feeling good about it, Angela was such a calming source of wisdom and guided me to say what I really wanted to say in that essay.
Their “you got this” and many words of encouragement truly helped me keep going. It felt amazing to celebrate the good news together as I knew I couldn’t have felt this satisfied with my final application without them.
When we were working on my stories, my coaches connected the dots throughout my life in a way that I never saw before. It sometimes felt like they could see straight through me. It was very eye-opening to have someone reflect my life back to me in the Life Story Insights deck. Their deep understanding of who I am through my life reflections combined with their knowledge of the MBA essays was so illuminating and enabled me to focus on a smaller set of stories. I would’ve been pretty lost without their guidance on which stories were best for me.
During the editing process, I was amazed at how my stories transformed to more clearly convey who I am. It felt like discovering parts of myself that I didn’t even know existed before. I loved that the whole process felt like a self-discovery journey.
The interview coaching calls were also super helpful. Angela gave concrete suggestions on how I could formulate my responses, and that was the most incisive interview feedback I’d ever received. She made it easy to understand and adapt, as we were working on my specific responses together, not just a theoretical question/response.
MBA Admission Results
I interviewed with Kellogg, Wharton, and Booth. I was admitted to all three with scholarships. I got waitlisted at Sloan and Haas. I received an $85K scholarship from Wharton and a generous full-ride plus stipend offer from Booth, where I will be matriculating! I couldn’t believe it at all when I got the final scholarship offer from Booth, and it felt like they accepted me for the human that I am, not just as an applicant, and it made me grateful for the human-focused MBA Protocol approach once again.
I raised my GRE score by 6 points on each section within 3 weeks to get a final score of 170 Q/163 V. I would say that the feeling that I didn’t want to let down Paul and Angela played a role in my motivation (I envisioned sending them a happy email with awesome scores).
Advice to other pivoters
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to bring your full and honest self to your MBA applications. That is the person who will be doing the MBA and the pivot, so believe in that you!
Julie’s Success Statistics
- Admits: Wharton, Booth, Kellogg
- Total Scholarships: $335,000
- Pre-MBA: VC Investor
- Post-MBA goal: Healthcare operations; Wellness founder
- Test: GRE 170Q / 163V