Annie Hazlehurst ‘09, Associate at DJF made time for us this week to talk about start-ups, clean tech, and venture capital. In her day to day role, Annie looks at new opportunities and does some work with portfolio companies. The deal flow is serious, but there is much less than 2 years ago. In her work, she must go much deeper in conducting due diligence on opportunities. Unlike tech that can be validated quickly or change rapidly, clean tech takes time and there is a lot more uncertainty in the market.
During her summer, Annie worked for Mubadala Development Company “a catalyst for the economic diversification of Abu Dhabi.”
Her perspective on clean tech might help job seekers think about the range of opportunities. She talked a little bit about the label “clean tech.” She prefers to think of these companies as innovators across sectors rather than an industry. Do kind of company do you want to work in? What is the overall industry? Software, agriculture, lighting, manufacturing or something else?
Annie sees that some MBAs thought that the clean tech companies would grow much fast than they have to date. Candidates have had to be patient and not expect to rise to the top at the same pace as tech startups. Clean tech companies can be capital intensive.
Each segment is a bit different, solar with have more sales and strategy roles. Depending on how technical the product or service, product manager can be hard to land.
Advice
- Do your research and be prepared to know the way the segments work
- Know how you can help the company you target
- Look at finance roles
- Be realistic