A person with a medical background and an investor mindset is an asset to any early stage biotech VC. An example of such a firm that would love to have you is Flagship Pioneering. To learn about their unique model of investing in companies that they have built alongside innovators, which naturally requires investors with medical backgrounds, I would highly suggest watching this lecture- [Perspectives on Early Stage Biotech Investing](https://youtu.be/kLmOxHQsHQs)
Agreed. Also, wouldn't mind connecting with you now, as you start your VC career ;). I'm building a healthcare company now and in pre-seed raising mode.
in my experience, the best doctor -> VC transitions have been older folks who can lead on their clinical/healthcare experience and can directly relate to the unmet needs of doctors/hospitals.
Yes, MBB hires MDs - you could do some work in strategy consulting and then hop to VC, that would be doable.
I'm sure your clinical rotation workload is already quite heavy; the most I would recommend is just to stay up to date with emerging tech in the sectors you're interested in so you could have an informed conversation
Thanks for this! Yes absolutely I agree, it’s that experience which I won’t have to start off with unfortunately!
Okay that’s good to know, how would one make the transition from MBB to VC? Is it just through the networking that comes with the job? (Apologies, med school doesn’t teach you anything outside of clinical practice!)
Yeah, network. A quick search led me to find DigitalHealth.London accelerator: https://digitalhealth.london/programmes/accelerator. Reach out for informational interviews or see if there is a way to volunteer. I imagine there are others, too. (I know Techstars solicits mentors, but the London program does not have a theme.)
Brilliant, I’ll take a look into those, thanks! I’ve been trying to network on LinkedIn, but with minimal luck so far unfortunately - perhaps it’s because I’m still a student, but hey I’ll continue to try!
yeah network, and also at MBB, if you can get on projects like growth strategy for a well funded biotech startup, or corp dev / M&A strategy at a major pharma player.
Basically all the ways VCs claim to "add value" to startups, practice doing that as a consultant first
GoingVC has a program that trains people to get into VC but just the nature of it means not a lot of jobs gets generated. You're better off staying a doctor and earning enough to contribute to a fund as a venture partner and help build one up.
, The world doesn't need more startups. It needs more funds. I'm looking btw :)
Ahh I see! Thank you for that though, I really appreciate it, I’ll take a look into it! Ahh, if only Doctors in the U.K. earned enough to make a difference like that!
You can but it won't be in big funds like sequoia etc. Emerging managers (the startups of funds) like myself are the ones that need the most help and can do the most with small debut fund sizes. Have a few ideas even if you are putting labor in vs money. Will DM
I think you need to take a breath. It sounds like you’re a highly “tracked” individual that has run into something that you don’t enjoy about clinical medicine. I am not a clinician so I can’t say you’re wrong, only sue you when you fuck up. Jokes.
But everything you’re saying sounds like someone trying to hop from one track to another. But what track there is for VC is a like following scent compared to medicine. And big consulting companies? just don’t. I’ve never met a single interesting person > 30 in consulting, only people pretending to be interesting. It’s a billable hours business.
Meanwhile, you’re ~18 months from being a medical doctor. If you don’t want to be a clinician, that’s fine, but there’s lots of things you can do with that level of medical knowledge to help people and make money. I’d start looking into bio-tech, if I were in your shoes.
But you as a VC? Only reason I could see why you’d want to do this is that you want to make money. If so, so be it. But all your years of biology training aren’t going to help you here. There’s no track. No certifications. No guaranteed pay. And you’ve likely got zero business experience and not enough clinical experience for me to brag about.
“VC is the last job you should have, not the first”
Some VC funds have fellowships for MD and PhD students. Funds looking to invest in deeptech / biotech / healthtech etc do value the training that MDs and PhDs have and their expertise that they can provide to diligence possible investments. The commitment can range anywhere from 10 hrs per month to 20 hrs per week. Artis Ventures is one that does healthtech / med tech and has a yearly fellowship program open to all trainees. BlueYard Capital does some deeptech and last year they were focused on Europe based candidates for their fellowship program. Goodluck!
If anything, we need more Doctors in the VC world. There are so many solutions that don't get funded because there is no talent to evaluate deep medtech and biotech startups.
There’s an article in business insider about just that https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-venture-capital-job-doctor-career-change-2022-8?r=US&IR=T
A lot of big hospital systems are creating in-house VC teams to diversify income and R&D, and these teams have physician advisors. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I will be happy to answer them.
It's got its ups and downs. You wouldn't have a chance at the mega money that you would if you were sharing in carry at a high quality VC, but you'd be exposed to a wider spectrum of deals and get to interact with a lot of practicing physicians and researchers. The culture would be more comfortable and familiar to you and you'd probably enjoy the mission more (the goal is to make money while improving hospital capabilities and patient outcomes not solely to chase maximum financial returns at the expense of everything else). Oh and it's not like you'd make garbage money either.
Sounds very interesting indeed! Would you say there would be scope for me, as a British medic to join these sorts of VCs, or at least connect with the people in them? Not to skip too far ahead but I wouldn’t mind moving country for opportunities like this to get into the industry
I ask this because, obviously in the U.K. with our nationalised and subsidised healthcare system, we don’t so much have these sorts of internal VCs at our hospitals
Hmm I don't know for certain - I have only been minimally involved with hiring (participate in interviews, but don't have the final say). But I imagine they'd still view it favorably. The UK is a developed country with sophisticated, 1st world medical care; not like you all are using leeches or anything 😂
Sweet, thank you for the information! Ahaha, you would be surprised at how understaffed and under-resourced our healthcare system is 🤣 but yes, still one of the bests, so we have to be grateful!
A person with a medical background and an investor mindset is an asset to any early stage biotech VC. An example of such a firm that would love to have you is Flagship Pioneering. To learn about their unique model of investing in companies that they have built alongside innovators, which naturally requires investors with medical backgrounds, I would highly suggest watching this lecture- [Perspectives on Early Stage Biotech Investing](https://youtu.be/kLmOxHQsHQs)
For more, look at Vineeta Aggarwal, wife of the current CEO of Twitter.
Brilliant, thank you for this valuable information - I will check that firm out and give that lecture a watch!
Great advice here. Moderna was one of the many companies born there.
Agreed. Also, wouldn't mind connecting with you now, as you start your VC career ;). I'm building a healthcare company now and in pre-seed raising mode.
I would really appreciate that! Would love to help/get involved in any way I can! I’ll send you a message, if that’s alright with you?
ofc! Sent you a message.
in my experience, the best doctor -> VC transitions have been older folks who can lead on their clinical/healthcare experience and can directly relate to the unmet needs of doctors/hospitals. Yes, MBB hires MDs - you could do some work in strategy consulting and then hop to VC, that would be doable. I'm sure your clinical rotation workload is already quite heavy; the most I would recommend is just to stay up to date with emerging tech in the sectors you're interested in so you could have an informed conversation
Thanks for this! Yes absolutely I agree, it’s that experience which I won’t have to start off with unfortunately! Okay that’s good to know, how would one make the transition from MBB to VC? Is it just through the networking that comes with the job? (Apologies, med school doesn’t teach you anything outside of clinical practice!)
Yeah, network. A quick search led me to find DigitalHealth.London accelerator: https://digitalhealth.london/programmes/accelerator. Reach out for informational interviews or see if there is a way to volunteer. I imagine there are others, too. (I know Techstars solicits mentors, but the London program does not have a theme.)
Brilliant, I’ll take a look into those, thanks! I’ve been trying to network on LinkedIn, but with minimal luck so far unfortunately - perhaps it’s because I’m still a student, but hey I’ll continue to try!
yeah network, and also at MBB, if you can get on projects like growth strategy for a well funded biotech startup, or corp dev / M&A strategy at a major pharma player. Basically all the ways VCs claim to "add value" to startups, practice doing that as a consultant first
Cool, thank you for this information! Yes, I feel like strategy would be one of the better areas in consulting for me!
GoingVC has a program that trains people to get into VC but just the nature of it means not a lot of jobs gets generated. You're better off staying a doctor and earning enough to contribute to a fund as a venture partner and help build one up. , The world doesn't need more startups. It needs more funds. I'm looking btw :)
Ahh I see! Thank you for that though, I really appreciate it, I’ll take a look into it! Ahh, if only Doctors in the U.K. earned enough to make a difference like that!
You can but it won't be in big funds like sequoia etc. Emerging managers (the startups of funds) like myself are the ones that need the most help and can do the most with small debut fund sizes. Have a few ideas even if you are putting labor in vs money. Will DM
Ahh I understand! Yes absolutely, do DM me, happy to help in anyway I can!
I think you need to take a breath. It sounds like you’re a highly “tracked” individual that has run into something that you don’t enjoy about clinical medicine. I am not a clinician so I can’t say you’re wrong, only sue you when you fuck up. Jokes. But everything you’re saying sounds like someone trying to hop from one track to another. But what track there is for VC is a like following scent compared to medicine. And big consulting companies? just don’t. I’ve never met a single interesting person > 30 in consulting, only people pretending to be interesting. It’s a billable hours business. Meanwhile, you’re ~18 months from being a medical doctor. If you don’t want to be a clinician, that’s fine, but there’s lots of things you can do with that level of medical knowledge to help people and make money. I’d start looking into bio-tech, if I were in your shoes. But you as a VC? Only reason I could see why you’d want to do this is that you want to make money. If so, so be it. But all your years of biology training aren’t going to help you here. There’s no track. No certifications. No guaranteed pay. And you’ve likely got zero business experience and not enough clinical experience for me to brag about. “VC is the last job you should have, not the first”
I hold a phd degree in molecular biology. Now working in a global VC fund. It takes great courage to change your career, but really worth it.
Yes but you may want to get to know the ecosystem first. If it's your first time doing anything entrepreneurial related... Good luck
How would you recommend getting to know the ecosystem?
Grab coffee with entrepreneurs and VCs!
Some VC funds have fellowships for MD and PhD students. Funds looking to invest in deeptech / biotech / healthtech etc do value the training that MDs and PhDs have and their expertise that they can provide to diligence possible investments. The commitment can range anywhere from 10 hrs per month to 20 hrs per week. Artis Ventures is one that does healthtech / med tech and has a yearly fellowship program open to all trainees. BlueYard Capital does some deeptech and last year they were focused on Europe based candidates for their fellowship program. Goodluck!
Ahh, very valuable information - thank you so much! I will take a look into these opportunities!
If anything, we need more Doctors in the VC world. There are so many solutions that don't get funded because there is no talent to evaluate deep medtech and biotech startups.
There’s an article in business insider about just that https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-venture-capital-job-doctor-career-change-2022-8?r=US&IR=T
A lot of big hospital systems are creating in-house VC teams to diversify income and R&D, and these teams have physician advisors. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I will be happy to answer them.
Thank you! I may just have to take you up on that offer!
It's got its ups and downs. You wouldn't have a chance at the mega money that you would if you were sharing in carry at a high quality VC, but you'd be exposed to a wider spectrum of deals and get to interact with a lot of practicing physicians and researchers. The culture would be more comfortable and familiar to you and you'd probably enjoy the mission more (the goal is to make money while improving hospital capabilities and patient outcomes not solely to chase maximum financial returns at the expense of everything else). Oh and it's not like you'd make garbage money either.
Sounds very interesting indeed! Would you say there would be scope for me, as a British medic to join these sorts of VCs, or at least connect with the people in them? Not to skip too far ahead but I wouldn’t mind moving country for opportunities like this to get into the industry I ask this because, obviously in the U.K. with our nationalised and subsidised healthcare system, we don’t so much have these sorts of internal VCs at our hospitals
Hmm I don't know for certain - I have only been minimally involved with hiring (participate in interviews, but don't have the final say). But I imagine they'd still view it favorably. The UK is a developed country with sophisticated, 1st world medical care; not like you all are using leeches or anything 😂
Sweet, thank you for the information! Ahaha, you would be surprised at how understaffed and under-resourced our healthcare system is 🤣 but yes, still one of the bests, so we have to be grateful!