my biggest unlock occurred with my boss who was a former senior McK consultant
i learned corporate incentives, pace, outcomes, where line was, etc. in enterprise
essentially, a baseline for what I could and could not get away with
the most important thing I can share is the market will be far, far more forgiving to a founder if they overstep than a sales rep who doesn’t know what they’re doing
Founders; your time in ENT is one of highest leverage activities
A lot of VCs (myself included) used to shit on the ex-banker/consultant founder archetype.
But I'm increasingly realizing I was wrong. In an age where building is easier and distribution/execution is still hard, these programs are the perfect training grounds.
2 years at McK/GS/etc. teaches you how to grind, how to sell to enterprises, how to work effectively in a team, and gives you a deep understanding of business models. Exactly what it takes to succeed as a founder in 2026.