The Apprenticeship Mindset

I frequently get solicitations from medical students and physicians inquiring about how I managed to transition from medical practice to the world of investing, finance, and entrepreneurship. The question I get most often is the following: “Do I have to go to business school?”

It’s understandable that medical professionals would reflexively think this way, since becoming a practicing physician entails a long sequence of formal educational programs, including multiple years of medical school. But the reality is that becoming an entrepreneur and venture capitalist wasn’t something I achieved in school: it was a function of learning the ropes by active participation and apprenticeship. I was fortunate in this respect. Unfortunately, my feeling is that apprenticeship and mentorship have become a lost art in our society.

With the advent of the internet, where information is abundant, a DIY culture, and a skepticism about the wisdom of prior generations, the concept of apprenticeship seems antiquated to younger generations. In many ways, platforms like YouTube and TikTok have become the “masters,” the always-available repositories of the latest information on the right way to do anything and everything. And interestingly, the very term “apprenticeship model” has been co-opted by robotics, AI, and natural language processing programs to indicate machine learning that’s based on imitation. With so many other outlets for information, many young professionals, it seems, are less focused on learning and more focused on raises, job titles, and influence.

Okay, grandpa—right? Don’t get me wrong, these are all attractive aspirations. Who doesn’t want pay bumps, promotions, and more clout? Yet, in the early stages of your career, attention is best placed elsewhere.

I’m a huge proponent of the apprenticeship model, whether formal or informal. It’s less about creating a specific opportunity, and more about the mindset you adopt in approaching career development. Early in my career, I made a conscious effort to identify mentors who I thought I could learn from. In my head, I knew I was their apprentice, even if the mentor never perceived me that way. In one instance, I told someone he was my mentor. He laughed and chided me: “I’m not your mentor. I’m your business partner.” But I was far behind in my career relative to this individual, who ran a very large and successful enterprise. At the time, I was just trying to get off the ground. The fact that he didn’t consent to being my mentor didn’t prevent me from approaching our relationship with an apprenticeship mindset.

What is the apprenticeship mindset? It’s simply a learning-based orientation with which you’re seeking knowledge and growth above all else.

This means you may defer promotions and compensation in favor of maximizing your career trajectory. I’ve only received one promotion in my career—and it was actually a half-step promotion—from a medical analyst to a research analyst. Climbing the org chart was never my focus. I had a clear vision of what I wanted to become and identified people who fit this vision. These were people who were already excelling in their disciplines. I asked little to nothing of them. Instead, I focused on being useful to them.

I started my investing career at Sands Capital, a nearly $50 billion asset management and investment firm. I knew Frank Sands Jr., the CEO, was passionate about private market financing and developing new capabilities, and I was able to align my interests with his. He loved to talk about deals, so I spent as much time as I could absorbing his wisdom on a host of opportunities. He was a master at building funds and new organizational capabilities, so I prioritized being around him during the developmental process. He was a man of integrity. He taught me that when making a deal, if there are a few crumbs left on the table, always push them to the other side. Doing so, he advised, would create goodwill in the future. He was a master at facing issues head-on, and not mincing words. If an initiative failed, he called it like it was, even if he was personally responsible for the bad decision.

I challenged myself to incorporate his attributes and characteristics into my dealings. It didn’t always come naturally or easily, yet I persisted.

I’ve always looked at my relationship with clients as an apprenticeship, as well. More than a source of capital, interfacing with clients is the best education you can get in terms of what’s required to succeed. There’s such a strong compulsion to tell clients what you think they want to hear, since you’re reliant on their support, that often you don’t listen as well as you should, let alone absorb any possible lessons. But I’ve learned countless lessons from my clients—and they’ve continually made me better. My biggest clients are also mentors to me, and I see myself as taking part in a lifelong apprenticeship under their tutelage.

To be very clear: Maintaining an apprentice’s mindset is not about subordination. Instead, it’s about recognizing that there are always aspects of what you do that others do better, or at least do in a complimentary fashion. And if you maintain the right attitude, you can grow from their experience and wisdom.

As I’ve advanced in my career, I’ve received many solicitations to be a mentor. At Northpond, we proudly run a dedicated interns and fellows program that brings in young people ranging from high school students through post-doctoral fellows to learn about scientific entrepreneurship. Beyond this, people frequently ask me to be their personal mentor. Because of my belief in lifelong learning and personal growth, I’m naturally inclined to do so. All too often, though, the onus is put upon me to produce something of value for them—to actively teach, guide, and direct them. This takes a tremendous amount of time and can create counterproductive tension within a relationship.

Instead, I highly recommend the opposite approach of simply making yourself their apprentice by maintaining an apprentice’s mindset during your interactions, rather than asking them to put themselves out by acting as an educator. Be present, pay attention, and learn from their words and actions.

This sounds simple, I know. But it’s easier said than done. In team meetings, I often propose novel projects. These are clear opportunities to experiment with new ideas, work with senior teammates, and learn from others’ experiences. But it always surprises me that most young professionals prefer to avoid these opportunities. They shift their eyes, look down, and stay quiet. There’s a very real power in showing up, in taking on a challenge. And if they take on a project that I propose, do a great job, and advance it to the next phase, they’ll have captured my interest. I’ll naturally turn to them, interact with them, and mentor them on what to do next because they’re advancing something that is of interest and importance to me. It doesn't matter if they’re a first-year analyst or a partner at the firm.

Remember this: If you advance initiatives important to people who have much to teach you, you’ve earned an apprenticeship, whether they’ve consented to it or not. A relationship has been created, and you’ll have opportunities to learn and grow.

Ultimately, whether it’s law or medicine, business or art, if you want to achieve the upper echelons of success, you’ll greatly benefit by finding people who can make you better. Although it may not be intuitive, rather than merely requesting a mentorship or apprenticeship, find out how you can be of use to your desired mentor. Even if you’re a novice and have limited experience and skills, you can be of far greater use than you realize if you’re willing and motivated. It can be as simple as collating data in a spreadsheet, doing some background research, or putting a slide deck together for a speculative proposal. Listen to your prospective mentor. She’ll tell you what she wants; she’ll show you how to engage with her.

I wear my interests and passions on my sleeve, as do many others. Ask a master practitioner what they’d like to achieve if they had more time or more resources. What new program would they start? What stretch-goal would they reach for? What interest would they translate into a new product or business? Then do whatever is in your power to help them.

It will be worth far more than any promotion or raise.