Pharmacists working for venture capital firms?

[amam]

So I just learned that pharmacists can work for a venture capital firm by assessing start-up biotechs and advising the vc firm in its investments.

Does anyone here work for a vc firm, or know someone that does, or know how it works for a pharmacist? Or have any way I can look more into this? I've tried googling this but to no avail. I'm sure its somewhere but my search skills are lacking or something

I'd really love to learn more about these kinds of positions, as I actually find it quite exciting from what I (think) I know about it so far.

Any help/knowledge would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

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[catalyzt]

I'm also interested in this topic. My advice is to visit VC web sites, find the pharma guy - they usually write an article on the site's blog - and e-mail him. Let me know if you find out more specifics.

 

[panasoniku]

A MBA from a prestigious institution will get your foot in the door, otherwise; forget it.

 

[297point1]

I once worked for a man who was clearly misguided - he thought that our little outfit was qualified to do this kind of work.
It took him way too long to figure out that we weren't.

This isn't an entry-level position- you had better be an expert in your field.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

I do some consulting for hedge funds management consulting groups, and investors. They are only interested in my subject matter knowledge which they pay me an hourly rate for. I would never be invited to work for them unless I had an MBA from a big name school or other experience in the area of finance or management consulting.

 

[amam]

I do some consulting for hedge funds management consulting groups, and investors. They are only interested in my subject matter knowledge which they pay me an hourly rate for. I would never be invited to work for them unless I had an MBA from a big name school or other experience in the area of finance or management consulting.

A MBA from a prestigious institution will get your foot in the door, otherwise; forget it.

Thanks everyone for the responses!

So would you recommend getting the MBA (from a top school only) after getting PharmD? And to Chalupa, is that your full-time job, or a part-time thing? How did you get the position, and what would you recommend an undergrad to do to best prepare himself for such a role?

 

[amam]

I once worked for a man who was clearly misguided - he thought that our little outfit was qualified to do this kind of work.
It took him way too long to figure out that we weren't.

This isn't an entry-level position- you had better be an expert in your field.

Are you saying you worked for someone who tried to start his own vc firm? and it failed?

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Barely part time, like a few hours per month on conference calls, although lately it's been more. The consulting firms will find you on LinkedIn if you have the skill set they need. I only work with one firm but others have contacted me.

 

[amam]

Barely part time, like a few hours per month on conference calls, although lately it's been more. The consulting firms will find you on LinkedIn if you have the skill set they need. I only work with one firm but others have contacted me.

If I may ask, what is your full-time position? And did you get your MBA after PharmD? What experiences did you have/what did you do that most led the firms to ask for your services? If you'd like, I could pm you. Thanks so much!

 

[297point1]

Are you saying you worked for someone who tried to start his own vc firm? and it failed?

Nope- not at all.
We tried to get into the consulting business for VCs. It didn't go so well.

 

[amam]

Nope- not at all.
We tried to get into the consulting business for VCs. It didn't go so well.

I see. What went wrong?

 

[panasoniku]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

So would you recommend getting the MBA (from a top school only) after getting PharmD?

Yes, H/W/S will bring you the network connections. Note that just because you get in doesn't meant you will end up in VC, it's very competitive.

Check out these bios for an idea of their background. Bin Li is one of the most respected in Asia healthcare sector.

http://www.chinabiollc.com/events/SEED2010-FCD/en/speakerbios