Asset Manager Lawyer into VC: Realistic pathways?
Hi Everyone!
I'm a 27 year old lawyer with 3 years of experience at the legal team of a sovereign wealth fund in Asia/Middle East. Graduated from non-target law school.
I love entrepreneurship and business and have for a long time wanted to join a front office role in finance, so I think VC would be an interesting fit.
I have a few questions about realistic paths for someone like me to break into a front office role in VC Firm:
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What are good ways to ask for opportunities over linkedin?
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Any way to get meaningful analyst experience that could make me more attractive to a firm (something I can do outside of my job)? Should I do a modelling course or something in my spare time? Any way to get virtual internship experience or something?
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What roles should I be targeting? I'm guessing associate?
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I have some business experience: Working on two startups. 6 years of programming experience which is how I coded an app MVP that won a pitching competition. How attractive is this (if at all), and what can I do to maximize the relevancy of this.
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My highest education level is LLM, and I've gotten my CFA Level 1 exam out of the way. Is it better to finish off the CFA (and get the charted after a whole year) or pursue an MBA? Should I chase after a different qualification?
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Ways to get recruited? Ways to approach people on linkedin?
Thanks everyone! Also feel free to tell me if this is a hopeless endeavor and I shouldn't bother. Won't change my mind haha but feel free to say it. Thanks!
surprised I was faster than that t30 ex lawyer whatever the fuck his name is, don't you have a web crawler macro alert for any post that mentions lawyer on WSO?
He sets a timer every hour on the hour so his phone rings and he gets a pop up message that says "Remind everyone on WSO you were a t30 lawyer"
Dawg lowkey Asset Management is feminine as fuck. As a man, how you take a job that is only two letters away from "Ass Managing" other men??? Gtfo
Does anyone know another forum/site I can ask these questions in?
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I can only speak to US and W. Europe here, but honestly going to be very tough in your position. Not impossible, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. To address a your specific questions: 1) Don't reach out randomly on LinkedIn - getting into vc is a networking and warm intro game 2) You could brush up on modeling (more relevant to later stage), but won't really help with main problem getting foot in the door 3) Don't think about title/role at this point, beggars can't be choosers 4) Startup/programming experience is good (esp. for early stage), depending on level involvement - can you leverage this experience for networking? Otherwise it will be a good talking point if you get interviews 5) A CFA is pretty irrelevant for VC. No one will care. I'll address MBA in a sec. 6) Again, it's about networking and warm intros. Occasionally you see open posts for positions, but there is fierce competition and plenty of people will have more relevant resumes. Don't cold approach people on LinkedIn.
It seems the best (and most likely only) path for you would be to get into a top business school. If you're able to get into a top MBA program, join relevant clubs, network with alums, and get either VC or startup internships. Leverage your existing SWF network, if possible, as well. Even then, it's still not close to a sure thing. Unfortunately your age, non-US/Europe professional background, and lack of any operating/investing exp. will all be working against you here.
Hey thanks a lot for your reply! Just a couple of follow up questions:
1) About age/background, is 27 years old considered old or young to be breaking into VC? If it's too old then I think i'll be rethinking my career plan, otherwise i'm happy to spend more time networking and building a better profile (business school etc.)
2) Could you explain a bit more about networking? My network is basically some startup founders around southeast asia (gotten to know them through some of my outside-of-work projects), as well as some pe/hf fund managers they I interact with through work. How should i leverage this network? Ask them if they know VC funds that are hiring?
3) Realistic alternatives to pursuing VC: In general the reason i'm interested in VC is that I want to spend a few years getting some operational experience and learning how to build successful startups, before I my time focusing on entrepreneurship. I also want to keep a pulse on the industry and see what the newest technologies are. Do you think there are other realistic ways to get this kind of experience? Maybe looking at PE (though I know that'll be exceedingly competitive too)
Thanks again for your advice. I would love to connect and have a quick chat if possible!
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