Hi Nnaemeka! The short answer is, there is no single ideal candidate; we usually end up with 10-15 quite different folks on the program. That said, there are perhaps ~10 common archetypes, such as “the disgruntled nonprofit worker”, “the medical professional unhappy with how little impact they’re having”, “the consultant who wants to radically switch careers to change the world” etc.
Perhaps more useful for you to develop a sense of your fit for yourself, I’d like to share a recording of a talk I gave on this question 2 years ago: youtube link to 20 minutes 16 seconds in. This both presents some misconceptions, then the top 5 traits, and has some questions for you to ask yourself to explore if this could be you for each trait. Quick overview:
Hi Nnaemeka! The short answer is, there is no single ideal candidate; we usually end up with 10-15 quite different folks on the program. That said, there are perhaps ~10 common archetypes, such as “the disgruntled nonprofit worker”, “the medical professional unhappy with how little impact they’re having”, “the consultant who wants to radically switch careers to change the world” etc.
Perhaps more useful for you to develop a sense of your fit for yourself, I’d like to share a recording of a talk I gave on this question 2 years ago: youtube link to 20 minutes 16 seconds in. This both presents some misconceptions, then the top 5 traits, and has some questions for you to ask yourself to explore if this could be you for each trait. Quick overview:
Ambitiously altruistic
Results-focused
Start-up fit
Scientific mindset & good epistemics
Collaborative and ecosystem/community-oriented
In case of doubt I recommend to just apply! :-)
Furthermore, I recommend Probably Good’s nonprofit entrepreneurship career profile, and the adjacent for-profit entrepreneurship profile!