VC/Startup Jobs London?

Hey guys I am currently a masters student at LSE (Non-finance/Business related) and interning as an Investment Analyst at a large VC fund in my home country before enrolling full-time as a student. 

My chances of breaking into banking look weak owing to my non-finance degree and was wondering about the VC/Tech scene in London. I thoroughly enjoy what I am learning/doing now which is mainly researching startups in the D2C space and hope to become an entrepreneur one day.

I would like to know if it would be possible to network my way into a top startup/vc after graduating or (like everywhere else) only candidates with IB/Consulting backgrounds are preferred? 

I am an international student and will not be needing sponsorship for two years thanks to the graduate visa and don't really plan on staying beyond that time period in London anyway. 

 

What sort of stage start up? And what industry/sector?

As long as you can demonstrate commitment to the founder’s vision, it’s pretty easy to get offers from Series A/B type start-ups if you have educational/professional credentials (LSE is enough). Helps if there are alums who are co-founders, but just find a relevant job board and start applying. Pay isn’t great - for the sector I was looking for I’d say anything above £35-40k is rare and offers under £30k aren’t uncommon. Biotech/health related start-ups probably pay the most out there, but still unlikely to push beyond £45-50k.

VC is harder and very unstructured in London for the most part. There are a few grad schemes such as Kleiner Perkins, but most are more ad-hoc roles where they typically want some consulting or banking experience (or direct start-up experience) first. STEM background also strongly preferred in most cases, or direct technical sector experience in a previous role. Weirdly one of those industries where Oxbridge still holds a significant advantage over LSE/Imperial/UCL too, fwiw. 

 

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