From partner to co-founder: Q&A with QS scholarship winner & Chicago Booth MBA graduate

Konstantin’s MBA at Chicago Booth played a huge role in shaping his career trajectory. “Not only was it my first time in the US studying at a top-ranked business school, but prior to my MBA, opportunities for Ukrainian professionals were limited, particularly as I was looking to move from consulting into private equity.” 

Konstantin secured two internships during his MBA, his first at Deutsche Bank in London and the second at Horizon Capital in Ukraine. After completing his internship at Horizon, he was then offered a full-time role where he chose to specialise in private equity and eventually progressed to managing partner.  

“The internships were useful in helping me understand the different facets of finance. I gained an in-depth understanding of investment banking and private equity, and, more importantly, what I wanted to do long-term. I also met lots of great people on my course, who were very ambitious and hard-working. It was an eye-opening experience as a non-American.” 

Konstantin acknowledges that applying for several business schools and scholarships at the same time can be an exhausting and time-consuming process. “It’s difficult but I think it’s worth putting in the extra effort when it comes to applying for scholarships.”  

Having received both the QS scholarship and a fellowship from Chicago Booth, he said: “Scholarships give you freedom in a financial sense because you’ll graduate with less student debt. In terms of non-financial reasons, both of my scholarships heavily subsidised my study costs which was extremely important in allowing me to develop the expertise I needed to succeed in my career.”  

Having awareness of current trends is essential but it’s important not to lose sight of your long-term goals, Konstantin says. “When I was applying to Chicago Booth, the only career I could imagine was working in big consulting firms such as McKinsey, because that was seen as the ultimate goal. 

“During my MBA, investment banking then became a trending topic in terms of careers. This was right before the 2008 financial crisis, and so I decided to go along with everyone else and try to get into investment banking. I didn’t get an internship and at that point I realised it was actually private equity that I wanted to pursue. 

“It’s easy to get stuck in a herd mentality mindset and copy what other students are doing, but you need to talk to your inner self and understand what you want to achieve. That also means thinking about how you can play to your strengths in your chosen career.” 

But what about students who are unsure of what they want to do? “What’s great about the MBA is that there are so many different projects and modules which gives you the opportunity to work out what you enjoy. 

“Internships are also a good way of finding out what you would like to specialise in. Companies often come to campus where you can learn more about potential opportunities. It’s also worth speaking to second year students who have already done internships in various industries.” 

Konstantin attended a QS event twice, which helped him decide where he wanted to apply and to also secure funding through the QS scholarship. 

“It’s a great opportunity to meet different business schools and I would recommend speaking to as many alumni as possible. They’re well-positioned to give you good advice because they’ve been in your shoes and will understand what you’re going through.”