Hi there,

in short - it can be great experience to share, but you should position it in a way that McK does not smell “conflict”. 

If it's on halt now and you frame it as a recent, but past experience, it should be a safe enough to play this. If the company senses, however, that your start up involvement conflicts with the high demands of working in a strat consulting firm, then this can have negative implications, in my experience.

Given the stage you are in the process, wondering what's the upside of discussing this topic though? As it seems that from an experience and technical standpoint, you already convinced them - so what's the benefit of bringing up the topic? Suggest you don't take unnecessary risks.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Andi 

Hi,

Technically, if this is not an instance of moonlighting against your contract, then it's technically fine to talk about the experience. 

But I really second what Andi has mentioned about not taking unnecessary risks. To convince the interviewer that this is not unethical/moonlighting, you would have to spend time to explain that clearly, which takes up precious time in the interview. And if you don't explain it well, the wrong impression could be made.

So if you have other stories that could serve as good experiences for the fit questions, use those instead.

(editiert)

Hi there!

Yes, you should be sharing this. 

This signals to them a lot of good things so you should think of it as a strength. 

I've had colleagues before in McK who had startups before joining and it wasn't a problem during the recruitment process. After they got the offer they just had to discuss how to legally move themselves out of that business entity, but these are just details that you can figure out afterwards. 

Best of luck with the interview!
Cristian

Hi there,

Q: Should I disclose this information in my interview? How will McKinsey take me building my own startup while also working on a job?

First of all, I am very sorry to hear about the issue of your cofounder, I hope that recovery is still possible.

Yes, it is fine to disclose your entrepreneurial experience if there was no conflict with your full-time job. I would recommend to prepare as well an answer for why you would prefer McKinsey now rather than the startup as they might ask that question.

Best,

Francesco

Hello,

You should absolutely bring this up in the interview, this sounds like great experience! Bear in mind what other coaches have said re: making it clear why you want to move on to McK and that this will not present a conflict.