How to break into VC as an MBA with Adina Davis
This week, we spoke with Adina Davis, a second-year MBA student at Wharton. Adina graduated from Cornell in 2012 and spent four years working at J.P. Morgan in both private banking and investment banking.
Adina is a Venture Fellow with Rough Draft Ventures, General Catalyst’s student-focused program that backs founders at the university level. She’s also spent the past year as an MBA Associate at Red Sea Ventures, an early stage VC in NYC. Adina embodies the definition of hustle — she spends Mondays and Tuesdays in NYC, and then travels back to Philadelphia for classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays. To get enough credits to graduate, she’s taken courses over spring break and on the weekends.
We asked Adina about her decision to go to business school, her tips for other MBA students looking to get into VC, and her thoughts on the investor vs. operator VC debate.
How did you make the decision to get an MBA?
I’m a planner — I took the GMAT when I was a college senior, and because I’ve always loved school and learning, business school was very much on my radar. When it came time to make a decision, though, it was tough. I had tried out two roles at J.P. Morgan and liked both of them. I was happy where I was and so it was hard to decide between sticking with the status quo or leaving to find a little adventure and a great job that I was more passionate about.
So far, I’m really glad I chose to go to business school. I’ve taken some incredible classes that will continue to shape my thinking. Kirsten Green and Eurie Kim (Forerunner Ventures) have spoken to my digital marketing and e-commerce class, and today I had to give a presentation critiquing the computer mouse patent. I’m also constantly learning from my peers — they have really diverse backgrounds and experiences.
How did you decide you were interested in venture?
Early stage venture combines relationship management, which I loved in my roles at J.P. Morgan, with analytical skills and the opportunity to think about different problems, industries, and markets. At times, traditional finance can feel a little static, especially if you are doing the same type of deal over and over again. Venture allows you to challenge yourself, take risks, meet interesting people, and have thoughtful conversations. I also felt ready to have more accountability and ownership when making business decisions, which is 100% the case when you’re investing.
How did you start to pursue your interest in venture?
Pursuing venture can be scary, because it’s hard to break in, but it is doable — it comes down to sweat equity and networking. You have to be committed. Like many people, I was doing a lot of networking and eventually got lucky. Scott Birnbaum (Red Sea Ventures) was speaking at a panel for NYU students (I actually snuck in), and I spoke with him afterward. He mentioned he was hiring a new intern, and so I went through the interview process, which included a diligence project and behavioral interviews.
I started working at Red Sea in January 2017. I go to New York on Mondays and Tuesdays to be at Red Sea, and then come back to Philadelphia and go to classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I took a class over spring break and some over the weekends to keep up with my credits. My internship has been one of the most amazing opportunities and a pivotal component of my MBA. I try not to sacrifice too much of the MBA experience, but I think if you really want to do venture, you have to prioritize it.
As someone with a finance background, what’s your take on the investor vs. operator VC debate?
The New York tech ecosystem seems a little more generous when it comes to accepting VCs with more traditional investment backgrounds, since many in New York have that DNA. My finance experience definitely impacts the way I think of investing in a positive way — the best venture investment teams have diverse perspectives, and I bring a new lens to the table.
For example, I was working on a thesis last year around the beauty and grooming space, which came from my understanding of companies like Estee Lauder and L’Oreal. I knew these companies sold high margin products and had large cash positions, and money for large acquisitions, which makes beauty a venture investable category. There have been a few cool investments in the space, including Prose, whose seed round Red Sea Ventures just led. It’s been fun to watch my thesis play out in the market.
Can you tell us about what you do at Rough Draft Ventures?
Rough Draft Ventures has been amazing! I’m part of the New York team — we have partners from Princeton, Columbia, Yale, and NYU. We all source interesting student-led companies for RDV and then invite them to the General Catalyst office in New York, where we meet every other Friday. They pitch the group and we make a recommendation on whether Rough Draft should invest. This year, we’ve already made four investments in some really exciting companies.
I have such an appreciation for what RDV does — it supports students through the time that often comes before a seed round and can be make or break for a lot of companies. Our portfolio companies have gone on to raise $230M+ in additional capital, and we provide a ton of community support and mentorship along the way.
What do you look for when funding companies through RDV?
I’m always looking for students who are taking their startups seriously, know their market and their customers inside out, and have made some progress on their company. It’s called Rough Draft because we want students to have more than just an idea — whether it’s a prototype, a working beta, or early sales. But like any other type of early stage investing, it’s really about investing in the founder. You want to believe they can deliver on their vision and that they have the passion, commitment, drive, and skills to play in their market.
What’s your advice for other students looking to break into VC?
Anyone who wants to pursue a career in venture can start on their own campus. Investors find companies, pick companies, and build companies and luckily we’re all capable of doing that from our dorm rooms. To find companies, I’ve built a diverse network on campus, participated in programs like RDV, and gone to events in Philadelphia and NYC. You can also visit or volunteer at a local accelerator, and get the word out to friends and family that you’re interested in learning about great startups — people now text me out of the blue about companies they’ve heard of, which can lead to uncovering some interesting opportunities.
On the picking side, students don’t necessarily have the means to invest, but you can invest your own brand equity in companies through offering to help them or blogging about them. And in terms of building, you can experiment with your own startup or try working for a local one — I did a consulting project for Skillshare, helping them think about new ways to expand their product offerings. Given all of that, in a lot of ways, it’s almost easier to demonstrate an aptitude for venture investing than most other jobs. But again, the commitment and the passion have to be there to make it worthwhile and keep things fun.
Big thanks to Adina for taking the time to talk with us and share her advice! We’d love your feedback on this post and other career questions we should cover — you can reach us at justine@crv.com and olivia@crv.com. You can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Accelerated, for more tips on finding the perfect job or internship: https://accelerated.carrd.co/
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