Victoria G.

Victoria G.

5.0

You DON'T need to spend $Ks to get your πŸ₯‡ MBA offer! Work SMART, not hard.

Stanford Graduate School of Business Logo

Studied at Stanford Graduate School of Business

Octopus Group Logo

Works at Octopus Group

Available tomorrow at 8:00 PM UTC

Usually responds within 4 hours

At capacity for full package / Round 2 MBA clients. Please only book an intro call if you're OK to commence working together on Jan 12 at earliest, or if you are looking for: secondary review of a complete application / help getting off a waitlist / ding analysis / etc.

Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.

Victoria’s MBA Qualifications

Coaches professionally

40+ people coached for MBA

Open to working with clients outside the U.S.

Victoria has helped clients get into these schools:

πŸŽ‰ Candidates I've worked with have got into: Stanford GSB, Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg, Booth, INSEAD, Stern, & many others πŸŽ‰ ⏳ Fair, honest pricing: 4-5 hours is usually enough coaching time for 1 full b-school application (promise!) ⏳ πŸ’° Automatic discounts on 3+ hours booked πŸ’° My story: I was 23. My GMAT was an uneven 710: 99th percentile verbal, 55th(!) non-verbal. My major was English literature. I was at a non-MBB consulting firm with 0 US brand recognition. I only had 3 years of work experience. I couldn't afford an admissions consultant. And yet... I got in. How? Because I'm an expert-level storyteller. And telling your story is >50% of your application. A bad story can kill an otherwise-great application. A GREAT story can make up for a mediocre GMAT, work experience, etc. Beyond your qualifications and institutions, you have several short- and long-form essay/answer prompts, and 2 letters of reference. Together, these present you with an opportunity to craft a COMPELLING, HOLISTIC narrative for why you belong at the business school of your dreams. What got me over the line and won the heart of my AdCom reviewer was that I treated these answers not as distinct opportunities to shine, but a tapestry through which I wove a singular, compelling narrative thread. On Leland, I help others achieve the same. I am confident that any life, no matter how mundane-feeling, carries a powerful growth story. I will help you tell that story in a way that feels authentic and inspiring, making your offer a no-brainer to AdCom. I work with candidates for any school, and have a range of approaches based on your specific focus points & needs. I particularly love to work with international applicants - the US has a specific culture and set of values that I've had the privilege of adopting, through the lens of both a Brit (where I grew up) and a Russian (where I was born). No need to message ahead - my calendar is up to date. Schedule an intro call anytime!

Victoria can help with:

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Editing

Recommendations

Interviews

Ding Analysis

Waitlist Strategy

School Selection

Secondary Review

Application Strategy

Essays

Resume

View all of Victoria’s categories

About Victoria

Hi there, I'm Vica. I am a double Γ©migrΓ©e (age 7: Russia -> UK, age 24: UK -> US.. and then back again to London at 28), former Silicon Valley tech executive and startup founder, now working on the investor side focusing on for-good financial services at Octopus Group. I grew up poor and watched my mum make some crazy sacrifices to get us out of Russia, then out of UK council (state-provided) housing, & into a life full of amazing opportunities and adventures. I studied English literature at the University of Cambridge, spent 3 years at a top-tier strategy consulting firm in London, then got into Stanford GSB on the day I turned 24 - with an 80% tuition discount / scholarship. I worked at Salesforce, directed sales at a startup, then raised $300K for my own venture from Silicon Valley angels and VCs. I moved from an F1 visa to a H-1B visa, and went through a denial of admission on the border - so I know both the pros and the cons of moving to the US via a degree program intimately well. I was NOT a likely candidate for Stanford - too young, state-schooled, non-MBB, non-STEM, wonky GMAT (99th percentile verbal, 55th non-verbal πŸ˜†)... But I AM a strong, persuasive storyteller, incisive editor, & expert seller. I never used an admissions consultant myself because I could not afford one. The one I spoke to for a free 30-min consultation told me to give up hope on my dream schools... but I got into GSB and INSEAD without professional support, and proved her wrong. I was FOR SURE an underdog in every process I ended up successfully completing. With my help, it can work out for you too. You CAN do this! The only failure is not to try at all. These days I coach students for business school, law school, doctorate programs, recruitment, and career advice. If you want to work on something not on this list, let me know - happy to offer a steep discount to expand my expertise!

Why do I coach?

After over a year on Leland, I can confidently say: I LOVE being a coach. There's nothing so singularly rewarding as helping lift someone a rung higher on the ladder of life. (What you DO with that privilege is another question!) Every "textbook" achievement I have managed to pull off was both unlikely-as-heck going in, AND utterly life-changing. The opportunities on the other side are endless. It would be an insult to my values not to attempt to share them with others. I'm hell-bent on working efficiently (ie, charging you the absolute minimum amount of hours needed to achieve your goals). That's important for me because I was shocked to find out that ~80% (anecdotal data) of my peers at the GSB used one - and the majority of my peers at Cambridge were private-schooled. I am living proof that you DON'T need to be born rich to get into these institutions, and a passionate believer in expanding access to first-gen, low-income, and/or international 'underdogs'. I'm here on Leland for YOU.

Work Experience

Octopus Group Logo

Portfolio Strategy & Inorganic Growth

Octopus Group

July 2024 - Present

Octopus Group is a Β£14B privately-held alternative investments firm in the UK. I'm working closely with the founders of their financial services and fintech portfolio on strategy, ops, and M&A. If you had told me even a year ago I'd be joining Team Investor, I'd have been incredulous... never say never!

Migo Logo

CEO

Migo

August 2023 - May 2024

Led a vast strategic transformation of a mobile content distribution company, recalibrating it to be a social enterprise aimed at bridging the digital divide in Emerging Markets, starting with SE Asia. Amazing work, but not enough $ in non-profit land to pay off my student loans.

Callity Logo

Co-founder & CEO

Callity

September 2021 - May 2023

Founded a startup during my last couple of Quarters at Stanford, to address a huge problem in B2B SaaS sales. Took it through Startup Garage (a famous Stanford d-school class). Ultimately pivoted into complex enterprise SaaS, with an initial focus on cybersecurity. Went FT on it as soon as I graduated. Recruited and led a team of 4, raised $300k angel funding, booked $40k ARR, built and shipped a marketplace MVP. Wound it down due to changing market conditions (less appetite from enterprise buyers for 'taking risks' with smaller vendors). Toughest and most rewarding 1.5years of my life 😊

RELAYTO/ Content Experience πŸͺ„ Logo

Director of Sales & Ops

RELAYTO/ Content Experience πŸͺ„

January 2021 - September 2021

Wanted to try early-stage, and sales. Convinced the founder on a 1.5h first call to give me a chance. Closed $50k of business, and left them with $200k oppportunity (ie >50% likely-to-close) pipeline. Offered COO/CRO role.

Salesforce Logo

MBA Intern, Strategy & Operations

Salesforce

June 2020 - December 2020

Got a summer internship in the SF office (virtually) and then took a Leave of Absence, extended the internship and got "transferred" to the UK office. Stayed working for the same high-calibre team throughout. Got a FT offer.

OC&C Strategy Consultants Logo

Associate

OC&C Strategy Consultants

September 2016 - June 2019

Applied during my 2nd year at Cambridge. Did the International Strategy Week program, and was offered a FT role at the end of it. Applied for business school while there, though ultimately chose not to accept funding/commit to coming back.

Education

Stanford Graduate School of Business Logo

Stanford Graduate School of Business

MBA, Business

2019 - 2022

Generalist 1st year, focused on entrepreneurial track 2nd year (eg Startup Garage, Innovator's Dilemma for which I was TA, & the Eric Schmidt VC/Ent class). Took 2 quarters out halfway through during the pandemic, to dodge virtual b-school.

University of Cambridge Logo

University of Cambridge

BA/MA (Cantab), English

2013 - 2016

I applied for and interviewed at King's College and got pooled. I then interviewed at Fitzwilliam and Churchill, and got an offer from Churchill. (Will never know if Fitz wanted me too! Apparently, hilariously, in that situation the student's fate is sealed by a coin toss πŸ˜†.)

Victoria was also personally admitted to

  • INSEAD Logo

    INSEAD

  • University of Durham Logo

    University of Durham

35 Reviews

Overall Rating

5.0


Knowledge

5.0

Value

5.0

Responsiveness

5.0

Supportiveness

5.0


Victoria has helped clients get into these schools:


Victoria has helped Leland clients get into Thai Union Group PCL

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Victoria G.

Victoria G.

5.0

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