Im surprised nobody wants to get into VC

I see so many who are desperate for exit ops in PE but not a single one for VC?

Any reason for this? Just not entrepreneurial types or is it most are East Coast and not looking at Silicon Valley? Just surprising, seems many smart business people here but nobody wants to be in business for themselves or work in VC,

 

Doesnt VC seem WAY more exciting than PE though? PE is all about returns, like investing in stocks and flipping almost, although VC wants returns too its much more about seeing innovation and new companies grow and succeed. Just sayin'

Seems odd nobody mentions it here but I guess this is more corporate finance people who are kind of grilled into a VERY regimented path to success through ivy schools and MBA's, versus the entrepreneur turned VC who took risk, bails out of school with 500 bucks and starts a company in a 1 bed apt and maxed out cards.

I guess the difference is the pre requisite to VC is basically being a former entrepreneur who sold, right? Vs a corp ladder climber...?

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HappyThanksgiving:
Top tier VC is probably much more out of reach than top tier PE -- I'd wager it's way harder to get into Sequoia than KKR, so people dont try

You think? I guess its prob right, you cant just "climb the ladder" to VC...kind of have to be a whiz kid who started a company and sold out for 500M first in order to be a respectable partner, I dont think they use analyst level types at all?

Funny you mention Sequoia, last week I got an interview at BlackRock via a referral from a girl there.

We've got half a million shares in the bag!
 
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Fin123:
What about DFJ?

Very respectable and hard to get in as well. Heard a guy was able to actually intern for them over the summer after his senior year, but he already had an offer from Google.

Wall Street leaders now understand that they made a mistake, one born of their innocent and trusting nature. They trusted ordinary Americans to behave more responsibly than they themselves ever would, and these ordinary Americans betrayed their trust.
 
ivoteforthatguy:
You can also go in as a glorified telemarketer for a smile and dial growth equity VC.

That could apply at many small/start up VC's - they are all looking for deal flow, and if you can bring that you could in effect become a rain maker at some stage, no?

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very little comparison between PE and VC roles. VC is really not very analytical or finance related seeing as how many of these startups are pre-revenue and are addressing a market that either doesn't yet exist or is very new. much more qualitative. of course, you model out expectations of capitalization and expected ownership split at sale, etc but not in the same vein as PE.

also, most VC's are looking for MDs or PhDs in a relevant field or some sort of tech degree. Finance doesn't typically cut it these days.

 

You have to be a different type of beast to work in the VC world, and most Type A clowns who go into IB out of school are the PE type. It's not a knock in any way, it's just the way it is. VC is for the more entrepreneurial in spirit, and few people with entrepreneurial minds will actually go into banking to be a slave for two years.

 
jimbrowngoU:
You have to be a different type of beast to work in the VC world, and most Type A clowns who go into IB out of school are the PE type. It's not a knock in any way, it's just the way it is. VC is for the more entrepreneurial in spirit, and few people with entrepreneurial minds will actually go into banking to be a slave for two years.

That's very true...VCs definitely have a strong preference for the entrepreneurial personality and temperament. Helped me break into a small VC shop here, and so far, it's the best experience I've ever had.

 
Best Response
jimbrowngoU:
You have to be a different type of beast to work in the VC world, and most Type A clowns who go into IB out of school are the PE type. It's not a knock in any way, it's just the way it is. VC is for the more entrepreneurial in spirit, and few people with entrepreneurial minds will actually go into banking to be a slave for two years.

At least you and one other person on this topic know what the fuck they are talking about, other than that, this is the worst VC discussion I have ever seen. Sequoia is essentially a PE shop now, and in terms of “prestige” is of course comparable to KKR / BX and yes, getting into them is extremely competitive. However, as pointed out, these VCs are not the only firms making money, and if anything they are limited in what they can invest it (AUM is so big, investment criteria is PE in nature, etc) Of course VCs have analysts and associates, who the fuck do you think does the work? They may or may not be on the firm’s website, but that certainly doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Prime example - my firm lists all associates on our site, but analysts are not mentioned (and we have 2).

"Jesus, he's like a gremlin; comes with instructions and shit"
 

Juwanna Mann, that's not so true. Of course they do. You think partners are wasting their time running diligence sessions and all that bullshit that goes into the whole deal execution piece? Hell no. They're involved, of course, but they have junior level guys taking deals through execution, monitoring portfolio company performance, handling disgruntled executives, etc. I'm not suggesting junior level folk are getting down and dirty with the portcos execs discussing operational best practices, improvements, etc., but partners sure as shit aren't worrying about a CFO complaining because he has no idea how to forecast his model in Excel.

From my experience speaking with VCs, senior-level guys build and maintain relationships... Through these relationships, opportunities are identified (and I'm sure they have junior guys sourcing) and they sit down and decide if it's innovative enough (and management is a good fit) to invest in.

 
jimbrowngoU:
Juwanna Mann, that's not so true. Of course they do. You think partners are wasting their time running diligence sessions and all that bullshit that goes into the whole deal execution piece? Hell no. They're involved, of course, but they have junior level guys taking deals through execution, monitoring portfolio company performance, handling disgruntled executives, etc. I'm not suggesting junior level folk are getting down and dirty with the portcos execs discussing operational best practices, improvements, etc., but partners sure as shit aren't worrying about a CFO complaining because he has no idea how to forecast his model in Excel.

From my experience speaking with VCs, senior-level guys build and maintain relationships... Through these relationships, opportunities are identified (and I'm sure they have junior guys sourcing) and they sit down and decide if it's innovative enough (and management is a good fit) to invest in.

This is more or less spot on – of course it depends on the type of shop you are at. Some VCs will let juniors get more involved with strategic planning, others will have you just crunch due diligence and forecast models – it really depends. Senior level guys maintain relationships / enhance management - especially passing resumes of C-level and the like for portfolio companies

"Jesus, he's like a gremlin; comes with instructions and shit"
 

Mike Malone covers the current problems with VC in The Future Arrived Yesterday. Basically, VC's have become PE firms which focus on a specific stage in the growth cycle. He also mentions that because of the financial background of professionals in VC today, they don't have the entrepreneurial know how to add value to portfolio companies (besides financial backing: in other words, VC's today don't add the operational or relationship value that they once did).

looking for that pick-me-up to power through an all-nighter?
 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/finance-dictionary/what-is-london-interbank-offer-rate-libor>LIBOR</a></span>:
Mike Malone covers the current problems with VC in The Future Arrived Yesterday. Basically, VC's have become PE firms which focus on a specific stage in the growth cycle. He also mentions that because of the financial background of professionals in VC today, they don't have the entrepreneurial know how to add value to portfolio companies (besides financial backing: in other words, VC's today don't add the operational or relationship value that they once did).

I completely disagree. Sure there are some that operate like a PE firm but especially in silicon valley, SF, LA, thats not the case.

Anyone interested in learning about VC in a very interesting/fun format, follow Mark Suster. He does a podcast, is on "This week in Venture Capital" and www.bothsidesofthetable.com

Im not even in VC but he puts out very useful info that you may find interesting, all tech/web based however.

We've got half a million shares in the bag!
 

PeakLapel, I agree there. Lots of VC shops bring in junior folks with the intent that they'll spend 75% of their time on the phone, building relationships and sourcing deals. While this sucks to some degree, I think the exposure to building relationships so early in a career, in an industry where one's rolodex is his biggest asset at the senior levels, is hugely important to one's development and can pay huge dividends later on down-the-line. Not to mention the contacts you'll build in the entrepreneurial world...

 

VC has evolved into a lifecycle... Taking a company from an idea to a revenue generating business is completely different than taking a business from a high-growth business to a profitable business that is still growing, and there are a bunch of stages in between. Of course there will be firms that specialize in different stages, because that's what the entrepreneur demands -- he wants the best at each stage to guide his business to the idea he has originally. Not all VCs are capable of being experts across all VC stages.

 
jimbrowngoU:
VC has evolved into a lifecycle... Taking a company from an idea to a revenue generating business is completely different than taking a business from a high-growth business to a profitable business that is still growing, and there are a bunch of stages in between. Of course there will be firms that specialize in different stages, because that's what the entrepreneur demands -- he wants the best at each stage to guide his business to the idea he has originally. Not all VCs are capable of being experts across all VC stages.

Thats spot on. So basically the level of involvement varies based largely on the stage, most companies have various funding stages and multiple investor groups. Some, like super angels want nothing to do with ops or anything, but early stage VC will likely want board seats ect.

We've got half a million shares in the bag!
 

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