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Comment by hntrader | Hacker News Reader

Right, but a lack of pedigree is more of a handicap at McKinsey than it is at Facebook, and it's more of a handicap at Facebook than your own startup. It's possible to earn your way in to McKinsey after going to a tier-3 college, but it's just way harder all else equal (and why would anyone bother without the boost of pedigree at a place that highly values it, we will be at a disadvantage from day one).

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Investors certainly care about pedigree and having McKinsey on your resume (or Google or Facebook if you will), not to mention the experience and connections, are going to help when you're trying to raise money for your startup. There's no escaping from signaling simply because of the impossibility of evaluating every single person on merit (as you can see from discussions on hiring here), so it doesn't hurt to play the game when the opportunity arises.

And generally speaking, lack of pedigree is much less of an issue once you're in and once you have prestigious employers on your resume, where you went to college becomes a lot less important to prospective employers.

McKinsey is in the business of convincing governments and other entities into parting with massive sums of cash for relatively simple research and recommendations. They get by mostly on the appearance of prestige rather than any legitimate value add, thus their focus on hiring based on school prestige.

I can't speak for McKinsey at all. I will take your word for it. My limited experience has not been positive.

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