(2021) Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years and what, in your imagination, would be your long term dream job?
Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years and what, in your imagination, would be your long term dream job?
During my time at [company], I worked with several founders of our portfolio companies as they navigated the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. The conversations I had with team members of our FinTech portfolio companies opened my eyes to the many shortcomings in the financial services industry and reminded me of the financial struggles that many of my friends in college had. They often worried about when their paychecks would clear their accounts as delays could affect their ability to pay rent. Furthermore, they paid exorbitant fees due to low balances in their checking accounts and paid high interest on late credit card payments. I realized the extent the current system disproportionately affects lower income individuals. With technology constantly improving, we have the tools to enact meaningful change in the industry. Upon completion of my MBA, I will spend the following three to five years working in a business operations & strategy role at an early stage FinTech startup that is striving to create banking solutions for underbanked and unbanked individuals. I am determined to ensure that all products that my company delivers integrate easily-digestible educational content to improve our customers’ financial literacy as I believe this is the key to bringing about economic change for this demographic. I intend on leveraging my strategic development and venture capital background along with the skills I acquire through my MBA experience to devise plans that help the company achieve its goals.
In the long-term, my dream is to take the learnings from both my successes and failures working at a startup and join a FinTech-focused venture capital firm such as Ribbit Capital to invest in innovative companies and partner with ambitious and passionate entrepreneurs to further revolutionize the industry. As a venture capitalist, I am not simply looking to make monetary investments; I intend to emulate the hands-on and collaborative approach that partners at Comcast Ventures adopted, as I have witnessed the ways in which founders have benefited from their expertise. I aspire to leverage my experiences to provide entrepreneurs with advice and guidance throughout their journeys, accelerating their paths to success.
The harsh reality is that groundbreaking startups are challenging to build, but I believe that the resources at Columbia Business School can best position me for success. Upon speaking with fellow UC Berkeley graduate and current Columbia Business School Venture Capital Fellow, [student], I have gained further insight into the plethora of resources the MBA program offers its students who are interested in a career in entrepreneurship and venture capital. I am excited to gain valuable startup and venture investing career advice through Lang Coach Office Hours, and I hope to form and refine my investment thesis as a Venture Capital Fellow. I am confident that the MBA experience at Columbia Business School will kickstart my dreams of making a lasting impact in the financial services industry.