Breaking In: Finding Your Future Job

The path to Justin’s VC dream job was anything but straightfoward.

Justin E is a mentor with BeenThere and recent graduate from Harvard Business School. After undergrad at University of Georgia, Justin worked in finance roles at Coca Cola. During his MBA, he explored numerous stages of investing across the growth curve. Following his MBA, he’s now working as a Venture Investor at Playground Global.

“Be ready to hustle, especially if you come from an non-traditional background.”

You started your career at Coca Cola — how did you end up there? What was the experience like?

I had always planned on attending law school after graduation. I spent two years down this path — studying for and taking the LSAT (twice), applying to various schools, and then negotiating scholarships after being admitted.

Funny enough, about six weeks before enrolling at Vanderbilt, I had this sudden realization that I really wasn’t passionate about studying law. It sounds crazy, but it ended up being a huge blessing in disguise.

I was one of only a handful of folks from my peer group who graduated without a job, and I had no idea what I wanted to do next. I spent the next few weeks ferociously calling on my network and sending out resumes, eagerly hoping that something would stick. I ended up getting an offer with Coca-Cola and was thrilled to work for a global brand in my own backyard (I’m a native Atlantan). I started that October.

I spent 3.5 years at Coke and couldn’t have imagined a better experience. I worked in the finance organization and received great exposure in several areas — managing foreign currency portfolios, raising debt, and investing capital from the balance sheet. I also was fortunate to be able to launch and lead an entrepreneurial effort with three other colleagues. It was around this time when I started considering an MBA as a logical next step.

How did your involvement with NextGen Venture Partners begin? Did that inform your desire for an MBA and your post MBA goals?

My father was a lifelong entrepreneur, so I’ve always had an inclination towards small businesses and the way they operate. During my third year at Coke, I began spending most of my free time reading about technological trends and venture capital in general.

It seemed like a pipe dream career at the time, but I knew I had to start somewhere. I ended up meeting the COO of NextGen through a mutual connection, and we hit it off during a few ensuing conversations. I joined NextGen as a Venture Partner — working part-time to help the firm source and diligence deals. I became absolutely hooked and knew that I wanted to pursue this route full-time during business school.

I ended up applying to four MBA programs that year (2016) and visited a few campuses during admit weekends. I narrowed the decision to two schools, and although it was a difficult choice, I knew once I stepped onto the HBS campus that I wanted to spend my next two years there. Once I accepted my offer, I spent three months doing a pre-MBA internship with a VC firm in Atlanta. This was a great experience and validated my excitement to pursue a role in the industry during business school.

You tried on a few different internships and externships during Harvard, including VC, growth and private equity. What drove those decisions and what were your takeaways?

I came into HBS knowing that I wanted to pursue a career in investing. During my summer internship search, my goals were relatively straightforward: I wanted to work in a new city and I wanted to find a unique experience that allowed me to learn as much as possible (in this case, that meant investing in sectors in which I had no previous experience).

Late in the school year, I came across a job posting for a company called
Sidewalk Labs, which is the smart city organization within Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Based in New York, Sidewalk was looking to expand a recently formed growth equity team, and I was excited to get in on the ground floor. The interview process lasted all of two weeks, and I accepted the offer almost immediately. My experience with Sidewalk was great (and spending a summer in New York was unforgettable), but I ultimately decided that I wanted to find an investing role that better aligned with my industry interests.

During my second year at HBS, I was fortunate to land an externship position with Advent International, a large private equity firm in Boston. I had never worked for a buyout fund and was curious to learn more about later-stage company diligence. I worked with a small team to form investment theses around the consumer internet space, and together we identified several potential investment targets. Once again, I had a wonderful experience learning from world class investors but didn’t quite get the same thrill as I did during my brief time in venture. I thus pivoted full-time into VC recruiting — which meant my time at HBS had finally come full circle.

You’re now at Playground Global after school. How did you end up there? What’s your focus?

I began speaking with Playground shortly after graduation. I had heard rumblings about the firm and knew that they were gaining a lot of momentum in Silicon Valley. Though I was talking with a few other VC firms in the Bay Area, I enjoyed my conversations with Playground the most. After a lengthy interview process, I finally accepted an offer late in the summer to join their growing investment team.

My experience thus far has exceeded all expectations. Playground prides itself in being a different type of venture capital firm. We have a foundational belief that the best companies of the next generation will have a deep technology component, and thus we invest in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and life sciences. I consider myself incredibly lucky to work with some of the best entrepreneurs in the world on a weekly basis, and it’s motivating to see what types of technological advances are on the horizon.

What advice do you have for those pursuing venture capital and growth equity?

Be ready to hustle, especially if you come from an non-traditional background. These industries are extremely competitive and finding a way to stick out from the crowd is paramount. Be a tireless networker and utilize warm introductions when possible.

During the interview process, showcase that you want the job more than anyone else and highlight unique ways in which you can add value. For venture capital specifically, read up on various sectors and be ready to advocate for companies that you’re excited about investing in.

The unfortunate truth is there just aren’t that many available jobs in these industries in any given year, and luck invariably comes into play as well. You need to be in the right place (or meet the right person) at the right time. With that said, if you’re willing to outhustle your peers, you’re more likely to stumble upon good fortune.

Any advice for MBA applicants that you think you benefited from?

Tell a story in your application that only you can tell. This may sound cliché, but in my opinion it’s undeniably the most important factor in the application process. There are hundreds — maybe thousands — of others with similar test scores and undergraduate transcripts. For me, this meant shedding light on obstacles I had overcome in my life and how those hardships made me a more interesting and well-rounded candidate.

What have you done that nobody else can claim? What unique experiences
have contributed to your achievements? What challenges have you endured on your path to success? Weaving these storylines together to tell a distinctive and compelling narrative might just be the ticket to your dream school.

If you’re interested in other mentor’s career paths, check out our previous interviews with BeenThere mentors Mattia and Lauren, guide to VC recruiting, and other follow-up resources.

For questions on your career search or MBA application, schedule a free consultation with one of our founders, or search and connect with a mentor like Justin by creating a profile on beenthere.mba!