"Don't be too studious at B-school"

Avnish Bajaj, co-founder of Baazee.com and Matrix Partners India talks with PaGaLGuY.com.
Get the full interview here


What would your suggestion be for MBAs wanting to be a part of Matrix Partners?

We never hire graduates straight out of a business school. We want to witness people achieve something in life by the virtue of working successfully in an operating position. To give you an example, seven out of the nine partners of Matrix Partners US used to be entrepreneurs in companies that Matrix funded. Perhaps the best way to join a VC firm is to be a successful entrepreneur!  There is a huge demand supply gap between the number of people who want to join a VC and the number of people hired into such firms.

Our view is that either one joins a start up which is funded by a VC and does so well there that the VC actually pulls you out. I always tell people that one should get ‘pull hired’ rather than ‘push hired’ into a VC firm. One can never push oneself to a VC. In fact a VC will pull you if you fit the bill. Personally I don’t entertain any emails by any MBA just out of B-school, be it an Indian or from schools like Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, MIT etc. Many people apply but we don’t even look at it, as we believe in identifying the kind of people we want and then going after them aggressively. So my advice to people wanting to join firms like Matrix is to work in a startup and do such a great job that the VC wants to hire you. It doesn’t matter if you do not succeed. Even the best of VCs have failed but it’s most important to give it your best.

Sometimes VCs do hire from consulting firms like McKinsey etc. because we believe that those individuals get a lot of exposure in different fields. If you have a strong background in consulting that would definitely be considered. Ideally one could do two to three years of consulting then go in for some years of real operating role – e.g. do sales on the field.

What would your suggestion be to MBA students who would like to have a full time career in funding business? What is the skill sets required for such an individual?

I am only a little familiar with how the IIMs work but I am more familiar with the US business schools. So for example if you ask me what did you learn at Harvard, my answer would be everything and nothing because I cannot point out to you one course that taught me something. But at the same time something definitely happened as the person who went into Harvard and the person who came out of there were two different individuals. I think if I analyze it the way it happened, it is more by interaction via case study method, by really putting yourself into the real world situation and trying to solve those problems because business is all about solving problems. One of the issues I think with IIMs little bit is that they take people without work experience.

I think they are trying to change it but my belief is a MBA is much more useful once when you have actually been there and experienced so you can relate to the business situation. An MBA is very bookish and theoretical.

My advice would be don’t be too studious. If you yourself have no work experience pay attention to what people with work experience have to say and try to pick up good business insights rather than picking good grades. One of the issues as I went to IIT was that I experienced people who tend to memorize everything and unfortunately our education system encourages that. But that’s not how life is in business. I always have access to resources; information is one of my resources so why do I have to memorize anything?! The best utilization of your resources makes a person successful or not. For that reason, at Harvard all exams are open book and take home.
In fact, at HBS I was taking a final exam the Indonesian currency crisis and I remembered an article I had read in a magazine. So I called my supervisor and told him about the article and asked whether I could use it. He said to absolutely go ahead but also made sure that I mentioned the source. I got an A in that particular paper! I would advice individuals to think more real rather than being bookish and do as many projects in actual business situations. I think most B-schools have one such project in the last semester, so try and use it to the fullest.

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