Essay: Why Stanford?
Profile: Mr. J
Profile (Background): Mr. J, a Brazilian investment banker, advised on pension funds. With a mandate to include ESG metrics in the fund, he explored deals that brought funds to farmlands in South America. With a family business in Africa in the agriculture sector, he wants to leverage his deal experience to bring sustainability to African farms.
Essay Approach: “Why Stanford?”
Mr J should explain how GSB offers the foundation to marketing farm products to clientele willing to pay a premium for authentic organic produce, build a strategy to scale the vision, and network with the right investors to invest in small farms and bring sustainability practices to small farms.
Core Curriculum
Marketing
The marketing core course would offer Mr. J the insight to segment the ESG investor market, study their investment criteria, and position the opportunity to invest in an organic, sustainable farm.
On the small farm side, the applicant will learn pricing strategies to position the small farm produce as a premium brand. By studying the product life of the produce, he will learn to manage the timeline of the marketing campaign and apply the go-to-market strategy.
Strategy
Apart from the go-to-market strategy, Mr. J also must find a strategy to get the attention of ESG investors, who are looking beyond long-term investment horizons as a criterion, to enter the Agri business. Positioning Sustainable competitive advantage in farms is crucial to persuade ESG investors. The applicant with the course will understand and apply strategic positioning to attract investors.
For the small farms, Mr. J must find differentiating factors from large farms to present the commercial viability of scaling small farms.
On the brand strategy side, the applicant must learn to position small farms from large farms, as he had already persuaded pension funds to invest in large farms. One insight from the course he could acquire is the sustainability practices that could be turned into a unique brand positioning strategy.
Note: Complete Core, Electives and Experiential Learning Courses are Quoted and narrated in F1GMAT's Why Stanford MBA Sample Essay as part of F1GMAT's Stanford MBA Essay Guide
Essay Planning
Problem: The high failure rate of small farms in Africa and the lack of sustainability practices among small farmers managing them
Problem (Explained): When a PE firm or a large fund invests in farms, meeting sustainability standards is a regulatory requirement. The applicant in one such deal brought fund influx into large farms in Africa. The implementation of sustainability practices, following the arrival of the funds, improved profitability, reduced the carbon footprint, and introduced water conservation and sustainable irrigation practices to the farms. But small farms exist in siloes, at the mercy of the weather. They struggle to survive.
Feasible Goals: Finding a premium market for small farm produce and finding investors interested in creating a marketplace for small farms.
Short-term Goal: Acquire the marketing skills to segment ESG investors and find investors passionate about sustainable Agriculture.
Long-Term Goal: Create an umbrella brand for small farms to offer collective bargaining power in the marketplace.
Stanford’s Strength: Stanford’s IMPACT fund with specialization in Agriculture and the larger VC community, and the strong marketing foundation offered through the core.
Opener: Starting with a connection with the farmers in Africa helps the Brazilian applicant build a case for the small farmers.
Strategy: I wanted to achieve three objectives: demonstrate the applicant’s passion for Africa, his success in persuading a large pension fund to invest in farms, and his skill gap in marketing that Stanford could address. He also needs the peer group and the agriculture focus of the IMPACT fund. Cliché as it may sound, reiterating the value of the influential VC community in Silicon Valley is worth mentioning for all applicants with entrepreneurial and investment goals. Networking matters the most in accessing these investors. Stanford certainly opens doors.
Why Stanford MBA Essay Seven: Investment Banking to Venture Capital (Agri Business) (347 Words)
2014 was catastrophic for farmers. Years following the crop failure, the tension between herders and farmers escalated from disputes over water and grazing rights. The impact of climate change required enforcing sustainability standards through capital infusion. In 2018, I helped the largest pension fund diversify into the Agri industry, which requires a long-term investment horizon. With small farms operating with outdated processes, our acquisition of large farms introduced sustainable water, energy, and soil management practices to the region.
Last year, we witnessed positive returns on our investments, but small farms continue to struggle. With a Stanford MBA, I want to pivot from Investment Banking to a Venture Capital role and start a fund investing in the Small Farm Agri market in Africa.
By joining the Stanford IMPACT fund in the Food and Agriculture niche, I will expand the fund’s portfolio into ..
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