I'd like to hear from anyone who's made the move from consulting into a venture capital or private equity fund. Basically, that's my goal. Just to give you the background, I'm currently a consultant at one of the big brand names (can't mention, in case there's someone reading who's down the hallway in the next office). I came to this firm after my MBA (Harvard), but prior to this I was a scientist working for a biotech company in Silicon Valley. I've got an MSc and PhD from one of the good UK uni's. I'm regretting having left Palo Alto given the amount of VC in Silicon Valley, and I'm considering trying to get a transfer out there again with my firm (I'm now in London).Has anyone managed to crack into a VC firm post-consultancy?Thanks.

Loads of people have. You only have to look at the profiles of people working in VC to see that.Why don't you look in the HBS alumni database and start contacting a few??

Yes, I've done that. You'd be surprised how difficult it still is. People are happy to talk but there's so few openings in good funds.

Thought of an staying in Europe? I know of a vacancy in a big European company heading up their internal ventures arm.

As a VC newbie, what kind of transferrable skills would VCs look for in hiring consultants? Would any particular branch of consulting be an especially desirable match?

Depends if it's tech VC or healthcare VC really.I know nothing about tech VC. For healthcare VC you will pretty much need to be an MD or PhD to start with, ideally have an MBA, and have acquired knowledge of the drug development process in whatever roles you have had. It is all about understanding the technology, so if you are a consultant without a healthcare background you realistically have slim to no chance.No idea about tech though.

Do you need an MBA *and* PhD for VC? Is that the same for private equity?Do business PhDs count, or is it really only science-based PhDs that get a look in?

You don't "need" anything, but if you look at the competition for VC jobs you will see that most people have MDs/PhDs and/or MBAs with some research/operations/investing experience on top. There are obviously some that don't, but that is generally what you will be competing against if you apply for positions. This is just healthcare, which is all I know.Private equity is different. It is a different job entirely. In healthcare VC you need to UNDERSTAND the product being developed, the industry and the market, and work out why it is better and will remain better until you exit. Being really good at Excel is not going to help you there. I do not work in PE so don't know for sure but I imagine that financial engineering skills would be valued more highly there.

Thanks