IB > Strategic Finance at Decacorn > VC?
Hi all - annoying post sorry but looking for a bit of a "chance me" and my backround for general VC for NYC.
Did IB 2 years at a weaker NYC BB (lower tier, not GS, JPM, etc). Then I did 3 years as a strategic finance associate for the finance division of a decacorn. My direct team for this was one VP, the CFO, and then the CEO. Really tightknight and lots of exposure.
Want to get into VC now. What are thoughts? Really appreciate it.
Been in VC for 3-4 years. People get into VC with just IB experience or just operations experience, so I think you have a pretty valuable combo there. The potential missing piece could be the "investor mindset" which is something that you can prep and practice and build on your own if you don't already have it. Being able to come into a coffee chat and talk about a space or a company and have some ability to formulate an opinion on if it's a good investment, why, and what the risks are etc. Additionally, I think it's kind of important to be plugged into the VC ecosystem– knowing upcoming companies, where the dollars are flowing, what the new generation of startups are aiming at etc. All things you can learn and do on your own if you are serious about getting into VC. If you can prove these soft skills in interviews, then I think people will really value your IB and operations experience.
You are almost certainly looking at an associate role with your current experience, but I am open to hearing others' opinions
I really appreciate the insight. Thank you so much.
While I believe my backround is decent for VC, my decacorn startup is non-tech / non-software. I feel like for VC theres an obvious preference that people come from that backround, and mine is pretty far removed, which makes me nervous.
I am not anticipating any issues with crafting a "story" on why the switch to VC, tech investing, or an investor lens (I follow the space, know companies, verticals, niches) etc etc, I can handle that. I am just a bit nervous of my prior experience not being super relevant, even though it 100% sure is considered decacorn. Do you have any thoughts on that specifically? Really appreciate it again.
Depends on where you interview. My group would like your experience because you would be interviewing for an entry associate role against candidates with only ~2 YOE, so you would already have the IB stamp of approval plus more maturity from working extra years elsewhere. Referencing Determined's comment below... other groups might view you as a sailed ship already.
I think you are over indexing how much they are going to criticize your previous role. You already check the box from an associate perspective. It shouldn't be hard to craft some explanation for how your work was relevant. The soft skills and the network that I mentioned before matter much more at this point for you. It's not just being able to tell your story like in an IB interview, it's knowing that this guy "gets it", Like months of coffee chatting with other VCs and understanding the ecosystem
All makes sense. Thanks again so much - really appreciate you taking the time to write this for me and help out. Cheers.
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