Approaching Touchpoints
I'm a junior VC associate and have been now encouraged to network myself with other VCs in our industry. I have set up a few calls with other VCs after some networking with those who cover my space. That being said, a few of them have indicated they would love to speak with me "and my team" - probably understanding that I am a junior.
My partners don't have the time to chat, and the other VCs may be trying to use me as a way to get to the partners. I don't care, it's business, but I want to hold these touchpoints and get some valuable insights / share what we are seeing in the market and establish a mutually beneficial relationship.
Is it okay I just show up to these alone? They are virtual meetings and the invites only have two people on them so I feel like it is okay, but wanted to see what I can do to make sure the other side of the table is not wasting their time with me.
It's ok but I wouldn't advertise to them that your partner will be there. If anything I would feign ignorance about the whole situation and be confident with yourself as a representative of your fund. The flip side of this coin is that you should know your own portfolio inside and out and prepare for these meetings as if you were a Partner that had an Associate with the bandwidth to do proper business development research.
A great forcing function is to make a one page slide about the fund you're meeting with and then another side with quick bios of the people you are meeting with and brief stats / overview of their key investments that were successful as well as the most recent ~2 years worth of investments they've made. This should take about an hour but you are a junior guy so you have the time to do this rather than go to another bullshit networking happy hour with garbage deal flow prospects anyway. That way, you can talk confidently about the intersection of the Venn diagram not just between your fund and their fund, but specific partners on your team / investments on your side and the specific deals / sectors covered by the people at the other fund. People will notice this and it will be ok that you are the representative of your fund because they will realize you are not just some garden variety Associate that they are wasting their time with.
I would also - tactfully - take the time to understand why they are taking the meeting. Are they looking to do club deals, are they looking for a reliable investment partner they can kick their portfolio companies to for later stage rounds, etc. You have to ask yourself (and them, tactfully, to a lesser extent) why they are taking the meeting with you. Figure out what they want out of it so you can inform your behavior with that knowledge.
All of this said differently, the "junior / senior" distinction is not really one of age so much as maturity. You should have this level of preparation to distinguish that you are a legitimate investor and you are not simply a dog on leash for the partners for which you work that has no autonomy. Ask yourself if you would be impressed by your own presence on each call after the call, and solve for that. Be humble, but be firm. Know what you want. Know what they want. Play the game like a big boy. Don't waste anyone's time.
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