Entrepreneurial Careers: Joining a Start-Up or Starting a ...€¦ · Catapulter - Co-Founder...
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Entrepreneurial Careers: Joining a Start-Up or Starting a Business September 6, 2017 Jennifer Savoie
Transcript of Entrepreneurial Careers: Joining a Start-Up or Starting a ...€¦ · Catapulter - Co-Founder...
Entrepreneurial Careers: Joining a Start-Up or Starting a Business September 6, 2017
Jennifer Savoie
Agenda
• Entrepreneurship at Wharton
• Starting a business
• Joining a startup
• Next Steps
MBA Career Management
Entrepreneurial Interest on Rise
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
WG15 WG16 WG17 WG18 WG19
% of Class – Entrepreneurial Interest
considering starting yourown business duringschool or upongraduation?
MBA Career Management
Categories of Entrepreneurial Interest
MBA Career Management
Start own venture at Wharton
Longer term entrepreneurial
career path Work at startup
• Before Wharton: Consulting (Tech focus), Nike Innovation Team
• At Wharton: Leveraged faculty (Grant, Massey, Fader, Lodish, Friedman, Lautman) as advisors and tapped into alumni/current student network for customer/investor intros, VIP, PennAppsAccelerator, Innovation Fund
• First Year, Summer and After Wharton: Co-Founder, Twine Labs
• Wharton was one of first paying clients!WG17
MBA Career Management
• Before Wharton: Rock Health, Health Tap, HC Consulting
• At Wharton: Wharton Angels, Dorm Room Fund, Semester in SF
• Summer: Maveron LLC – Summer and Fall Associate
• After Wharton: Partnerships, Earnest (Series A FinTech Startup)
• Update: Director Of Business Ops at Dolls Kill (as of July 2017) WG15
Exploring Entrepreneurship at Wharton
How We Support Entrepreneurial Careers
CAREER ADVICE/
EDUCATION PROGRAMMING STARTUP/VC
RELATIONSHIPS
MBA Career Management
Career Advice
Self-assessment & decision making
Research, networking & pitch development
Industry & company insights
Resumes, cover letter & interview prep
Startup Company Relationships
Develop employer outreach strategy based on student interests
Strategize best recruiting approach for variety of early-stage companies
Programming
Develop programs and events for students interested in entrepreneurial career paths
MBACM Entrepreneurial Careers TeamMaria Halpern & Robyn Ettinger
Venture Development Programs
Venture Initiation Program (VIP-C & VIP-X)
Startup Challenge & Startup Showcase
Summer Venture Award
Career Related Resources
Peer Lunch & Learn Sessions
Startup Internship Award
Small Business Development Center
Other Resources
Start Here Mondays
Entrepreneur & Experts in Residence
Entrepreneurship Courses
Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship
MBA Career Management
How We Support Entrepreneurial Careers
Semester in San Francisco 2012
8
SSF Cohort 2012
Net Promoter Score higher than
Apple iPhone at it’s peak
• Q2 NPS = 74%
• 2010 Apple iPhone NPS =
73%
Students said…
“I couldn’t look at my pictures from
San Francisco when I came back to
Philly.”
“It was my best experience at
Wharton.”MBA Career Management
Starting a business
Why Become an Entrepreneur?
“It's a wonderfully challenging career. Finding a
product that makes sense to build -- building it --
testing it -- raising money -- iterating on user feedback
-- monetizing user desires -- building user habits in
users -- it literally tests every part of my brain and
stretches me in every possible way. It's an amazing
experience.”
- Omar Seyal, WG11
MBA Career Management
Wharton Graduates Starting Businesses
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
% of class
MBA Career Management
Wharton Graduates Starting Businesses
MBA Career Management
What Kind of Businesses Are They Starting?
23.33%
16.67%
13.33%10%
6.67%
6.67%
3.33%
3.33%
3.33%
3.33%
3.33%3.33%
3.33%Technology
Consumer Products & Retail
Health Care
Real Estate
Private Equity
Social Impact
Consulting
Energy
Hedge Funds / Other
Insurance
Manufacturing
Media & Entertainment
Professional Services
% Own Venture by Industry
WG’17, N = 30 *
*7 additional WG’17 startups did not identify industry at time of reporting
MBA Career Management
Find the
resources
you need now
Meet with
a member of our
knowledgeable staff
start hereAll of Penn and Philly
entrepreneurs,
in one big room
September 25, 4:30 pm
Houston Hall’s Bodek Lounge
MBA Career Management
Venture Development Resources by Stage
Concept Development
Team BuildingBusiness
EstablishmentFunding
Startup Challenge / Startup Showcase / PennVention
EIR
Penn Center for Innovation (PCI)
Startup Weekend
Weiss Tech
Conferences / Events
VIP
Incubator / Accelerator Programs
SVA / Penn Wharton Innovation Fund / M&T
Innovation Fund
FNCE 750 / MGMT 804
OIDD Product Design
Penn / Drexel Legal Clinics
MGMT 801 / 806 / 810 / 813
MGMT 612
MentorTech / DormRoomFund
MBA Career Management
Student Clubs
(Founders, eClub, Wharton FinTech, WI&D, WDAC, Digital Health, WSVF)
Founder Career Paths FOUNDER > STARTUP > BIG
TECH
Jenny Cheng
WG11
Google- PMM, Emerging Prods
2015-16
Pebble - Marketing Director
2014
KiwiCrate- Marketing Manager
2013
Joss & Main - Customer Acq.
2012
Catapulter - Co-Founder
2010-2012
MBA Career Management
FOUNDER > PM LEADER
Omar Seyal
WG11
Head Discovery Product
Head Growth Product (6mo)
Product Lead (6 mo)
Product Manager (5 mo)
Egomotion, Corp - Co-Founder
YC / Google Ventures Backed
2011-2015
FOUNDER > FOUNDER
Stephan Jacob
WG11
Cotopaxi.com
CO-Founder / COO
2013-2016
Kembrel
Founder/CEO
2010-2013
JOINING A STARTUP
The Startup Perspective
MBA Career Management
“Build relationships
early, so by the time
you need to apply it
comes off as much
less opportunistic
and more organic.”
“Go into interviews with
a mindset of having
something to prove.
Dispel stereotypes right
away (be creative,
hungry) in a pleasant
way. People say that the
MBA is negative value.”
“Don’t ping us
because we are a hot
startup. Be humble,
be thoughtful, be a
user. Have an opinion
and ask really good
questions.”
“Too much general
interest and
volume of
informational
interview requests
is huge. Have an
idea of what you
could do for us.”
When I see "I
want to come
help you with
strategy," I stop
reading.
What stage is the company in – funding and/or employees:
Early Stage: i.e. getting things off the ground
Middle/ Hyper Growth Stage: i.e. expanding into new markets
Late/ Maintenance Stage: i.e. building specific functional teams
Across industries: technology, healthcare, energy, media, retail, social
impact, etc.
MBACM generally uses following guidelines:
pre-IPO
<250 employees
do they hire like a startup?
MBA Career Management
What is a Startup?
The Upside
Exciting, fast-paced work environment and high-impact
roles
Exposure to many functional areas and responsibilities
Direct access to company leadership
Opportunity to influence strategic direction and
decisions
Financial potential
MBA Career Management
Considerations for Joining a Startup
Level of Structure
HIGH LOW
•Banking
•Consulting
•CPG
•Start-Ups
Interviews and recruiters come to you
Defined role / project
Defined function
Defined salary
Defined career path
Brand recognition
Early recruiting process
Heavy networking required
Pitch the role yourself
Jack of all trades
Lower pay and/or creative comp structures
Undefined career path
Brand recognition??
Late recruiting process
MBA Career Management
Startup Recruiting Growth @ Wharton
210
843
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Companies Jobs
2017 Internship Postings
MBA Career Management
Startups That Made Internship Offers in 2017Tech
Agolo
Airbnb
AlphaVate
Auth0
Autogravity
Brickwork
Cardiologs
Chatbooks
Consensys
Haystack
lyft
MikMak
Mixpanel Inc.
Orchard Platform
Radius
Rappi
Sense360
Spotify
thredUP
TransferWise
Uber
Unity Technologies
Workday
Retail / eCommerce
Blue Apron
Dig Inn
Fishpeople Seafood
Fresh Direct
Glamsquad
Harper Wilde LLC
Harry's
Helix Sleep
HelloFresh
Love Grain
Rent The Runway
Sakara Life
Try The World
Tula
Verts Medit. Grill
Vipshop
Zola
Health Care
Accolade Inc.
Aledade
Berg Health
Bima
Denali Therapeutics
Doximity
Fathom
Guardant Health
Healthie
Modern Meadow
Nuna Health
Oncora Medical
Oxeon Partners
Verb Surgical
Welltok
OtherChangeWAVE
Fatherly
Glideslope
GRA Maven
Tellurian
Social Impact
African Clean Energy
AV Ventures
Dasra
ILUMEXICO
Oakfield Holdings
Off Grid Electric
Suyo
The Palladium Group
The Primary School
Tideline
FinTechCommonBond
DRB Student Loan
Hippo Insurance
PayJoy
Ripple Labs
SoFi
Source of Startup Internship OffersWG’18, n=98
2%
12%
13%
40%
24%
5%
3%
Trek Networking
Wharton Alumni Contact
Other
Personal Networking
Wharton Job Posting
Wharton On-Campus Recruiting
Career Fair
Timing of Startup Offers
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
WG'17 FT
WG'18 Summer
PA
Company Examples – U.S.
CANY
MA
DCTX
IL, IA, IN
MBA Career Management
Company Examples - International
MBA Career Management
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
Full-time Intern
Full-time yearly median (WG16)
$125,000 (up 8%)
25%: $115,000
75%: $135,000
Range: $95,000 to 200,000
Internship monthly median (WG17)
$5,600 (up 8%)
25%: $3,268
75%: $7,083
Range: $0 to $10,417 / month
(yearly)
(monthly)
Accepted Startup Offers: Base Salary
MBA Career Management
Candidate Skills & Personality
What is Important to Startups
Industry
Passion/
Experience
Execution
Skills
Functional
Skills
Culture
“Fit”
Fast-Paced
& Problem
Solving
Self-Starter
Flexible
& Responsible
Soft Skills
Risk
Tolerant
MBA Career Management
Sample Intern Projects by Function
MBA Career Management
PRODUCT MARKETING / ANALYTICS
Case Study:
• Built marketing analytics tool to deepen promotional
power with engineering and design teams
• Scoped MVP requirements, created wireframes and
low-fi prototypes, defined project milestones and
product roadmap
• Led daily standup meetings, UX explorations, and
user feedback sessions to prioritize work and
validate product requirements
• Identified unserved customer segment worth 36% of
market share and recommended go-to-market plan
to meet customer needs
Case Study:
• Conducted A/B testing to determine optimal email
frequency resulting in a 30% increase in revenue/send
• Worked with digital marketing agency to create a
google ad spend optimization tool that uses cart
profitability and merchandize mix, increasing
correlation of ad spend to predicted customer lifetime
value by 2x
• Performed sequential testing to change shopping cart
abandonment triggered emails, increasing conversion
by 10%
Sample Intern Projects by Function
MBA Career Management
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS / FINANCE
Case Study: Case Study:
• Sourced three high-value partnership targets that
are now in advanced-stage talks; led strategic
assessment of Doximity’s API partnership
opportunities
• Developed and recommended a user growth
strategy & produced a framework through which
future opportunities can be evaluated
• Assessed company’s top business development
opportunities via market sizing; did competitive
analysis to help leadership set strategic priorities
• Managed 1-hour delivery program and daily
operations for SF market
• Built P&L and projections for 1-hour delivery
program for the first-time ever - provided insights
into costs, inventory needs, and profitability
• Insights led to company decision to wind down
program in the SF market and redirect resources to
retail pilots
• Worked with team members in Engineering,
Product, Merchandising, Inventory and Logistics
Startup Recruiting: Timing of Key Events
Sept October November December January February
Industry Chat
Network with
Peers
Industry Comms
Resume Book
Launch
Enterprise
Workshop
Heavy
networking
during FRP
Startup
Workshops
Treks
CP Postings
Peak
March April May June July August
Interviews
NYC Networking
Expo
Receive Offer
Interviews
SF Networking
Expo
Receive Offer
Interviews
Receive Offer
Apply to Startup
Intern Fellowship
Rock
internship
Rock
internship
External Networking
Networking Continues
Identify companies
MBA Career Management
Internal Networking
Tips for Startup Recruiting
• TechCrunch
• VentureBeat
• Business Insider @SAI
For events…
• Startup Grind
• Startup Digest
READ EVERYDAY!
MBA Career Management
• Immerse yourself early – get
introduced
• Show you know and are willing
to adjust to startup culture
• Have a POV – show you care
about the product & why
• Think about brand, product,
company, user traction
• Develop your online presence
DO’S
Tips for Startup Recruiting
MBA Career Management
• Take “no” personally!
• Mention constraints – time,
salary, function
• Be entitled or patronizing
• Follow templates
DO NOT’S
• Immerse yourself early – get
introduced
• Show you know and are willing
to adjust to startup culture
• Have a POV – show you care
about the product & why
• Think about brand, product,
company, user traction
• Develop your online presence
DO’S
Startup Recruiting FAQ’s
MBA Career Management
What is the perception of MBAs at startups?
It depends on the startup. Biases exist. Dispel them by acting humble and proving you
understand startup culture. If startup has hired from Wharton before, they are likely
pro-Wharton.
Do startups sponsor US work authorization?
For internships, students can use CPT; for full-time, every year ~15% of US-based
offers go to international candidates (only ~10% if you exclude Canadians).
What is the right time to start reaching out to alumni?
Once you have a better sense of your story (sector, role, size, location, etc.); do
homework first by talking to experienced 1Ys and 2Ys
How do I identify companies of interest?
Daily reading of industry blogs and news, CareerPath, Offer Directory, Crunchbase,
AngelList
How do I know which startups are hiring interns?
Use Offer Directory filtered by startup to see who has hired in past; otherwise, nearly
all startups have problems that need solving, so let’s figure out where you fit in!
We Are Here to Help Wharton MBA Career Management
50 McNeil Building, 3718 Locust Walk, 215-898-4383
Website: [email protected]
General Email Inquiries: mbacareers.wharton.upenn.edu
MBACM Retail Industry Team:
MBACM Contacts Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship
Contacts
eClub President Founders Club Presidents
Jennifer Savoie
Jill Anick
Alex Mansfield
Adina Davis
Harry Du
TBD (Employer Services) Valentina Goutorova
Kelly Chent
Shoshanna N Israel
Manisha Jain
Nellie Gaynor
Dhruv Vasishtha
Office Hours @ MBACM: - Jenn: Mon: 3-4 pm and Weds 12:30-1:30 pm ET
- Manisha: Tues: 11:30-12:30 pm and Weds 3:30-4:30 pm ET
MBA Career Management
Upcoming events
eClub / Founders Club Welcome Happy Hour
Mon, 9/11 | 6:30-8:30 pm | Devil's Alley, 2nd Floor, 1907 Chestnut St
eClub Information Session / 2Y Internship Panel
Tues, 9/12 | 12-1:30pm | JMHH G60
Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship -- Entrepreneurship Expo
Mon, 9/25, 4:30 pm | Houston Hall’s Bodek Lounge
MBA Career Management workshops:
The 2 Hour Job Search – Monday, October 9
Navigating the Enterprise Job Search – Monday, October 24
Follow MBA Career Management:
@WhartonMBACM
WhartonMBACM
Questions?
Appendix
Thoughts on Starting a Venture at Wharton
• How much are loan payments?
• Family? Supportive partner?
• Resist temptation!
• Support network?
• Accelerator or not?
• Co-founder?
• Pick partners well!
• Is this now, later, or much later priority?
• If now, move from analysis to execution!
• Threshold for risk?
• Comfort with autonomy?
• Pension for building things/selling?
• Handling rejection? Personality
Fit Timing
LifestyleEcosystem
MBA Career Management
More Startup Career Paths
STARTUP > VC STARTUP > FOUNDER
Sara Wyman
WG12
Affirm – Head of Merchant Strategy
June 2015-Present
Reformation – VP Ecommerce &
Retail
2013-2015
Etsy – Global Payments, Program
Mgr.
2012-2013
BAML -Summer 2011
UBS – 2007-2010
Charles Birnbaum
WG11
Bessemer Venture Partners –
Investor
2013-Present
Foursquare - Mobile BD
2010-2013
Bank of America
2007-2009
Silverlake
2007-2009
Joey Zwillinger WG10
Allbirds – Co-Founder
2015 - Present
Solazyme - VP of Industrial
Products, Chief of Staff, MBA
Intern
2009-2015
Industry Ventures 2008
Deloitte 2004-2007
MBA Career Management
STARTUP > STARTUP
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
Full-time Intern
Full-time yearly median (WG15)
$120,000
25%: $104,750
75%: $130,000
Range: $85,000 to 150,000
Internship monthly median (WG16)
$4,500
25%: $3,000
75%: $6,400
Range: $0 to $12,000 / month
(yearly)
(monthly)
ARCHIVE: Accepted Startup Offers 2015-2016: Base Salary
MBA Career Management
Archive: Accepted Startup Internship Offers by Stage: WG17
25%
20%
17%
11%
9%
8%
5%
4% 1%
N=71Series A
Series B
Unsure
Series C
Angel
Founder funded
Series D
Series E
Post IPO
Archive: Accepted Startup Internship Offers By Stage: WG16
MBA Career Management
22%
19%
11%9%
8%
7%
5%
5%
5%
5%
1%
1%
1%1%
Startup Intern Offers by Funding Stage n = 81
Series A
Seed
Series B
Bootstrapped,Friends & Family
Series B
Private Equity
Other (specify below)
Series C
Series D
Series E and greater
Angel
Aquired
Debt
IPO
Archive: Source of Startup Internship Offers: WG16
MBA Career Management
49%
23%
9%
6%
4%4%
3% 2%
N = 106
Personal Networking Connections
Wharton Job - Job Posting
Wharton Alumni Contact
Other
MBA Career Management Contact
Trek Networking
Career Fair
Wharton Job - On CampusRecruiting
Archive: FT Startup Offers by Funding Stage: WG15
32%
20%13%
13%
10%
3%3%
3% 3%
n = 31
Series B
Series A
Series C
Series E
Seed
Bootstrapped
Friends & Family
IPO
Other
More Sample Intern Projects by Function
MBA Career Management
PRODUCT MARKETING / ANALYTICS
Case Study:
• Created product recommendation for mobile
application focused on discounts for consumers
• Executed surveys to gauge consumer interest and
certify that solution met consumer needs
• Pinpointed cost reductions to fund steep customer
discounts
• Collaborated with designers to create prototype of
the proposed user experience
Case Study:
• Led statistical modeling and machine learning projects
on user behavior and survey data
• Used factor analysis to combine three product
feedback surveys into one
• Performed Venmo’s first user segmentation and built
customer personas.
• Created segmentation through model-based
clustering on a sample of users
More Sample Intern Projects by Function
MBA Career Management
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS / FINANCE
Case Study: Case Study:
• Pitched to twenty potential partners; securing one
new employer partnership, leading five firms through
to final partnership negotiations
• Conducted due diligence on partnership verticals
and competitive landscape; recommended new
product now in development phase and strategy for
entering a new vertical
• Streamlined and automated monthly external and
internal data reporting for affiliate partners
• Built 18-month sales forecast model. Implemented a
more granular and flexible structure to project
weekly revenue, unit sales, and orders as well as
easily incorporate future changes to the business
• Developed forecast process for new product
launches. Collaborated with teams to identify
relevant inputs, create necessary materials, and
solicit buy-in across company
MBA Career Management
Typical startup
job seeker
I want to take time
from you, to give me
something…
Typical
entrepreneur
…I have no time,
but I need you to
give me stuff
• Often huge gap between approach of job seekers and what entrepreneurs need
• The truth is that most small startups are dealing with a series of problems and
trying to answer a series of questions
• If you can be helpful in tackling either, then you’re someone they want to talk to
Your job as startup job seeker is to make it easy for them to figure out how
you fit in the organization and to envision you working by their side.
• “Fit” with the culture
• Interest in change and fast
paced environments
• Self starter (do not require lots
of direction) ability to multi-task
• Risk tolerance and ability to
tolerate flexible pay structures
• Ability to take on and comfort
with lots of responsibility
PERSONALITY
MBA Career Management
• Industry expertise or passion
• Functional Skills: sales,
marketing, analytics,
operations, finance, product
development
• Execution skills:
communications, organization,
project management
• Solution orientation, creativity
and strategic thinking
SKILLS
What is Important to Startups
