Got into a corporate VC as an analyst, so far its a let down. What next?

I just joined a corporate VC in the DACH region a few days ago but so far its a let down and Im unsure where to go from here. The reasons of the let down are:

  • Surprisingly pretty inflexible compared to my previous jobs
  • They dont lead rounds (they did in the past but those were all failures)
  • Pay is shit, I get 35k euros (albeit its a fairly low-cost city)
  • I dont see where we add value. We source potential opportunities, do a very high level DD, but theres not really much to model or anything.

I know that I should wait a bit longer as its hard to get a feel for what the job is like based on such a short time period, but my first impression is not too good (not sure if its this CVC that I dont like specifically or the VC in general).

I potentially have an offer at a green energy commercial RE private equity from november, so Im thinking of jumping ship. Thoughts?

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"a few days ago"? Give it some time. That said if it really doesn't work out, hopefully this is a lesson learned to ask more questions and do more due diligence during your interview process. All of the issues you listed certainly can be learned of during the early stages of the interview process (and would have been along the lines of the first few things I'd have figured out when interviewing for this type of role). That said, for a lot of people, CVC typically is the exit, or they do it because typically it is more of a "lifestyle" gig with a nice balance of WLB, comp, and semi-interesting work (at least that's the case here in the US, not sure how different it is in the EU).

 

Yes, certainly learned that lesson. Im going to stay for a while at least but the biggest put off is the fact that they dont lead deals. I was aiming to jump ship in a few years to a regular VC anyway, but without deal leading experience, Im not sure how realistic that is.

Thats why Im considering moving to the commercial real estate PE I mentioned in my original post (I have a potential offer from november onwards), but Im concerned that Id be really stuck into a niche area without a lot of exit opportunities.

 

I worked in CVC units and VC/PE firms, there is a huge difference in culture. Some CVCs resemble an accelerator or a startup incubator with strategic partnerships rather than investments. 
Unless you work for a known player in the D/A/CH region, the local firms aren't like a Sequoia, if that is what you are looking for. I know a few people at Rocket Internet and they are super happy.

Not saying the D/A/CH region sucks for VC, but you'd have to look for the culture you like/want.

 

I tried really hard to get into one of the better VCs but wasnt able to, so this is what I was left with.

Since you seem like you have some experience in the industry, do you have any thoughts on how my exit opps to VC/PE would be if I did commercial real estate PE (green energy focus)? Also, how are my chances to jump to a regular VC from my current CVC given that I probably wont be working on deals that we lead?

 

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