5 Ways INSEAD’s MBA Programme Can Help Sharpen Your Venture Capitalism Skills

Venture capital (VC) firms are a vital funding source for new businesses and a major driving force behind innovation. In exchange for evaluating a fledgling company’s growth potential and providing funds and mentoring to help it develop, venture capitalists gain an ownership stake – or equity – in the business. Often, they’ll aim to cash out of the investment once the startup reaches a size and credibility that will allow it to be taken public or sold to a major corporation.

Starting a New Business During a Pandemic

COVID-19 closed business school campuses and forced thousands of MBA students into studying online. But it has also been a trigger for innovation. Some of the world’s most exciting startups have come out of the pandemic, and many of them have been started by MBAs. Edward Tsim from INSEAD's MBA Class of 2020 shares how the pandemic has sparked a business idea and launched the next step of his career as a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur.  

Building Business in Silicon Valley

At the end of August, I had the opportunity to attend an elective in Silicon Valley, as part of my MBA. INSEAD has been a wonderful opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and explore different career paths, and I signed up for the Building Business in Silicon Valley (BBSV) trek to do just that: explore the epicentre of tech startups, and what makes it so unique and successful. 

The "Tesla" of Food

Impossible is redefining how we make meat: without animals.  If you think about it, meat is really just the product of several key components: water, fats, proteins, and carbohydrates – including key vitamins, amino acids, minerals and iron. And all these can be sourced directly from plants (including “heme”, that critical ingredient that makes meat taste and smell like meat), eliminating the need to involve cows, chickens, pigs or fish entirely. 

MBA Careers in Technology, Startups, Media & Telecomms

More MBA students are now going into technology companies and startups because of the exciting opportunities to solve big problems and build the future. Through INSEAD's Career Development Centre, our MBAs get support in refining their "pitch" to employers to make their desired career switch possible. Beyond our CDC resources, INSEAD MBA students also benefit from the programme's rich entrepreneurship content, diverse population and intense 10-month structure.

Summer Internship with Start-up Farmers

Founded by INSEAD Alum Romain Sautrau ('12D), Start-up Farmers is a venture capital fund and startup accelerator based in Paris, France, that is dedicated to solving the challenges of feeding a growing population in an environmentally sustainable way. It works to support entrepreneurs based in France, Western Europe, and Israel who have innovative disruptive solutions for the future of agriculture.

They Call Me Mr. Start Up

“Well, it’s not so bad! I think I’m even going to have time to read a couple of novels along the way.” These are exactly the thoughts I shared enthusiastically with my friends back home when I received the course schedule a few days before kick-off. Then the first week hit, leaving me with only a few hours of sleep and a whole lot of networking and career workshops.
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