Information on comp at early stage venture firms?

Having trouble finding info on early stage VC funds that play mainly in seed and A but some B. I realize comp info is out there but can’t find any for that type of fund in particular (or anything relatively recent for that matter). Let’s say we have a hypothetical firm with Fund I ~$50m and Fund II ~$75-$100m, what would an associate there generally make? I am asking as I am progressing in two interviews and can’t seem to figure out how the pay compares to consulting from the period of now until I get an MBA

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Having worked at two VC firms (one $4B+ AUM and one $300M+ AUM), the numbers vary widely. In general, compensation in the Bay Area will be much better than in any other geographic location. Assuming we are talking about Bay Area: I would expect $120k base + 50% bonus. You are usually not getting carried interest as an Associate (particularly for a small fund).

Beyond compensation alone, I would spend a LOT of time dissecting the partners of each fund. Specifically: - Have they promoted associates in the past? - Do they have a verifiable track record (i.e. positive IRR)? - Do they have tier-one LPs? - Do they seem like sociopaths? (This is a serious question...many VCs are known for their terrible personalities)

As an associate at a small VC shop, your job experience ranges from "lowly paid slave" to "partner track associate". You need to make a tough judgement call accordingly.

 

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