"Do I need a MBA to become a VC?"

Here is Fred Wilson's (of Union Square Ventures) answer to this often-asked question:

I never place any value on the schools people went to and the degrees they have. It's bullshit for the most part.

My partner from Flatiron Jerry Colonna has a liberal arts degree from Queens College and he was one the best VCs I've ever worked with.

My partner Brad Burnham doesn't have an MBA either and he knows more about startups, technology, and markets than almost anyone I've ever met.

I don't have anything against MBAs. Going back to school and getting an MBA can be a great break from the career path that allows someone to find out what they really want to do. And you can learn some things along the way.

But you can't learn real life business in school. That requires doing it, not studying it.

So I'll take a candidate who's got the track record over the pedigree any day.

Arun Natarajan is the Editor of TSJ Media, which tracks venture capital activity in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide. View sample issues of TSJ Media's Venture Intelligence India newsletters and reports.

PE-VC investments decline 8% to $6.2 B in Q1'24

Press Release: Private Equity - Venture Capital (PE-VC) firms invested over $6.2 Billion (across 205 deals) in Indian companies during the first three months of 2024, shows data from Venture Intelligence , a research service focused on private company financials, transactions, and their valuations. (Note: These figures include Venture Capital type investments, but exclude PE investments in Real Estate). The investment amount represents a 8% fall over the $6.7 Billion (across 242 deals) invested in the same period during 2023 and also down by 6% when compared to the immediate previous quarter (which witnessed $6.6 Billion being invested across 200 deals). Deal volumes in Q1'24 also declined 15% compared to Q1'23 and were up by 3% compared to the immediate previous quarter. Q1’24 witnessed 8 mega deals ($100 M+ rounds) worth $3.5 Billion, compared to 17 such investments (worth $3.6 Billion) in Q1’23 and 15 such deals (worth $4.1 Billion) in the immediate previous quarter. Th

AZB tops League Table for Legal Advisors to PE deals in H1’24

Trilegal and Khaitan & Co. claim the No.2 & No.3 slots AZB & Partners (AZB) topped the Venture Intelligence League Table for Legal Advisor to Private Equity Transactions in H1 2024 advising 41 deals worth $5.4 Billion. It was followed by Trilegal ($5.1 Billion across 54 deals) and Khaitan & Co. (4.8 Billion across 46 deals) in the second and third spot respectively. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) ($2.9 Billion across 34 deals) and Talwar Thakore & Associates ($2.4 Billion across 9 deals) completed the top five. Among the larger Private Equity deals during H1’2024, Khaitan & Co., Talwar Thakore & Associates, S&R Associates ,and Trilegal a dvised the $2 Billion acquisition of the Indian business of American Tower Corporation by Brookfield which was the largest PE-VC investment in 2024 . AZB advised the $900 Million acquisition of Altimetrik by TPG Capital and the $840 Million acquisition of Healthium Medtech by KKR . Resolut Partners , Khaitan &

Avendus tops League Table for Transaction Advisors to PE deals in H1'24

Citi and Ambit claim the No.2&3 slots Avendus topped the Venture Intelligence League Table for Transaction Advisor to Private Equity Transactions in H1’2024 advising 12 deals worth $2.4 Billion. Citi stood second, having advised 1 deal worth $2 Billion. Ambit followed with 7 deals worth $797 million. Kotak Mahindra Capital ($735 million across 2 deals) and Ernst & Young ($657 million across 7 deals) completed the top five for H1’ 2024. The Venture Intelligence League Tables , the first such initiative exclusively tracking transactions involving India-based companies, are based on the value of PE and M&A transactions advised by Financial and Legal Advisory firms. Among the larger deals in the latest quarter, Citi, KPMG , Ernst & Young advised $2 Billion acquisition of the Indian business of American Tower Corporation by Brookfield . Avendus, Ernst & Young, JM Financial, Barclays and KPMG advised $ 554 million acquisition of Shriram Housing Finance by Warburg

Citi tops League Table for Transaction Advisors to M&A deals in H1'24

Ernst & Young and Avendus claim the No.2 & No.3 slots Citi , which advised the $2 Billion acquisition of the Indian business of American Tower Corporation by Brookfield, topped the Venture Intelligence League Table for Transaction Advisors to M&A Deals during H1 2024. Ernst & Young stood second advising 8 deals worth $1.5 billion. Avendus followed with 7 deals worth $1.2 billion. KPMG ($1.1 billion across 5 deals) and JM Financial ($900 million across 4 deals) completed the top five. The Venture Intelligence League Tables , the first such initiative exclusively tracking transactions involving India-based companies, are based on the value of PE and M&A transactions advised by Financial and Legal Advisory firms. Among the other larger M&A deals in H1 2024 (other than the ATC-Brookfield deal) , Ernst & Young, KPMG and Deloitte advised $1.1 Billion acquisition in PNC Infratech 12 Road Projects by Highways Infrastructure Trust . Kotak Mahindra Capital,

AZB & Partners tops League Table for Legal Advisors to M&A deals in H1’24

Khaitan & Co. and J Sagar Associates claim the No.2 & No.3 slots AZB & Partners topped the Venture Intelligence League Table for Legal Advisor to M&A Transactions during H1 2024 advising 37 deals worth $14.8 Billion. It was followed by Khaitan & Co. ($12.8 Billion across 32 deals) and J Sagar Associates (JSA) ($9.8 Billion across 13 deals). Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) ($6.2 Billion across 38 deals) and Trilegal ($4.8 Billion across 20 deals) completed the top five. Among the largest M&A deals during H1 2024, AZB, JSA and Khaitan & Co. advised $8.5 Billion acquisition of Disney Hotstar by Reliance Jio . S&R Associates , Talwar Thakore & Associates (TTA), Khaitan & Co. and Trilegal advised the $2 Billion buyout deal of ATC India by Canadian infrastructure investor Brookfield Asset Management . CAM advised the $1.3 Billion in the acquisition of a further stake in Ambuja Cement by Adani Enterprises . Among foreign firms, Kirkland &a

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