My goal is spacetech VC, which offer to take?
I have an offer from a FinTech VC and a space-focused management consulting firm and I am wondering which one to take if my end-goal is spacetech VC.
I think the VC offer would be the more obvious one from a first look, because if your goal is VC then do VC. The issue is that my background is in finance, I haven't done any studies or worked in anything related to spacetech, so perhaps gaining some expertise in this area as a management consultant would be a better first step.
To summarize, is industry knowledge or VC-related knowledge (e.g. sourcing, deal structuring, investment analysis etc.) more valuable?
Thoughts?
Ordinarily I would advise to go into VC, even if in a different space, but space-tech is a bit different because it's so technical and specialized. In this particular case, I think having deep domain expertise & industry experience will help a lot. There aren't that many people out there with pre-existing knowledge in this field, so you'll really stand out.
Would appreciate more comments on this, have to decide soon.
Industry knowledge is more valuable here. Once upon a time I went from [highly specialized industry IB/CO/Industry] to a VC firm focusing on [highly specialized industry]. The whole reason they hired me was because I could plug in day 1 on exactly what's happening and who's who in the market. Besides, it is VC so there are not really any hard skills you can't pick up on your own or in Consulting. If it was growth or PE I might have a different answer but you can always spend your free time networking in your space (good for your consulting career to) and NVCA has some good cap table modeling templates that you can pick up over a weekend.
Thanks. To be more specific, my goal is to be on the later stage of VC where you already have some financial information (i.e. ~Series A/B). I realize that later stage in spacetech VC doesnt really exist yet, but I'd like to position my self properly ahead of time.
I'm not concerned about financial modelling, I have received a pretty good training during my previous internships/ uni.
I believe the most important components for me to reach my goal are i) startup ecosystem network, ii) space industry network, iii) space market knowledge, iv) sourcing & CRM skills, v) deal structuring skills. Out of this, i), iv) and v) are things that I could get if I go the VC route, while ii) and iii) are things I would get if I go the consulting route, which makes the decision difficult.
Also, while I'm really passionate about space, I have a feeling that the actual work at the consulting firm would not be as exciting/ interesting as it first seems from the outside. My gut feeling is that most of the projects are basically market research, due dilligence, and other research. I honestly can't imagine how a strategy project would look like in this industry.
pardon formatting, on phone
i) startup ecosystem network
youll get a fintech ecosystem network if in fintech VC. I doubt fintech founders and space tech founders run in the same circles
ii) space industry network
You get that more in CO
, iii) space market knowledge
CO, iv) sourcing & CRM skills
VC
, v) deal structuring skills
there’s no deal structuring in A/B they’re basically all the same type of terms/deal, just read Brad Feld and you’ll be 90% of the way there
if you want to go all in on space, it’s simple, start now and always be all in on space. People recognize that.
Im not sure about the structuring part. Ive done an internship at a shop focusing on series A/B and their financing included convertibles and warrants.By startup ecosystem I also mean M&A shops (important sourcing channel) and VCs in general.
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