Is VC possible right out of undergrad?

I'm pretty sure nobody actually cares about financial modeling experience in venture capital. Some DCFs are nice but they're never ever going to need somebody who knows M&A or LBO modeling. It's literally no use to them.

VCs are successful if and only if their deals are successful. That means they need good deal flow. Which means they need credibility. In a world where there is tons of excess capital and not enough good entrepreneurs, the best deals end up becoming a contest between just a few investors - Sequoia, Accel, Greylock, KPCB, and the like. The reason these firms are successful is not only because their founding partners are typically illustrious billionaires, but also because the people sourcing their deal flow are very accomplished in themselves.

Take, for instance, the Sequoia scout program: http://pandodaily.com/2012/05/04/sequoia-confirms-existence-of-stealth-…

This program focuses on the use of angel investors to source deal flow. The reason is that the number one source of deals for any accomplished VC firm is through other entrepreneurs, whether they're acquaintances or current portfolio executives. Using angels adds credibility and allows entrepreneurs to place trust into a person who they know can add value to their company as they scale.

Now imagine you're an entrepreneur, and instead of an angel or a current entrepreneur, some kid who just graduated from college approaches you attempting to get in on the next investment round. Would you take him seriously? No.

Here's a good tweet to reflect on: https://twitter.com/jordancooper/status/352498731100291073

Few people can argue with that. VC firms hired experienced people because they need to find people who can represent their brand. KKR doesn't necessarily need to care that much about who their associates are because they'll add more value through modeling than actually sourcing deal flow (especially at the scale with which they operate). But with entrepreneurs it's not only hard to source deal flow, but new associates are heavily relied upon to source and research incoming deals, screening for potentially lucrative investments. This means they need to be respected by their target entrepreneurs, which is more likely if they're ex-bankers, consultants, or engineers as opposed to some frat bro that just graduated college.

I'm sorry if this answer is long winded. I'm kinda drunk right now and it's 4AM.

Tl;dr - VCs want people that entrepreneurs will trust. Entrepreneurs will not trust fresh college grads. They will be more likely to trust the experienced banker, entrepreneur, or product manager/engineer.

Totally agree with the post above. Experience is crucial for the top firms. Reputable VCs and corporate venture arms (ie. Google Ventures) are more about your vast knowledge and experience. In addition, they want people with actual experience in building and potentially selling their own tech start ups. Two to three years at a top BB won't always do the trick. Also, remember that VC is a lot about forming relationships in the tech community and helping the company you invest in grow through operational and strategic support. Unless you sold a start up to Marissa Mayer at age 20, a kid coming out of college with no tech or finance experience will not be very valuable to a VC.

That being said, some firms (very small minority) offer junior positions to TOP graduates out of college. Insight Venture Partners, Summit Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and a few others come to mind. Most of these graduates have at least some rock star tech/finance experience and come from Ivy League school. Moreover, these analyst positions typically fall under the sourcing model (a lot of cold calling) job description. These jobs are still top-notch / great experiences though. If you can get one, grab it!

You actually won't do much modeling in VC and all due diligence/company&industry research/business analysis require you to have vast knowledge and experience in that industry, which are not commonly seen from undergrads. It's normally a small team, so if somehow you need to see a client, why that tech start-up will believe that you, a young recent graduate without any credentials, can give advice and make right judgement?

But certainly there are some top kids who break into vc out of undergrad, but i wouldn't really recommend to do so.

Another route is going from BCG or McKinsey into VC

any thoughts???

What do you expect people to say? Bessemer is one of the best VC shops out there- if you want to do VC as a career, take the job. If you don't, don't.

You should be more specific...

It depends on a lot of variables. For example... Do you have a better offer elsewhere? What type of responsibilities will you have as an analyst (sourcing or actual transactional/operational)? Is the firm located in a city where you can easily network to other firms later on? There are many other things to consider.

Fund size is merely an indicator of prestige (IMO). If its not very well known, I would concentrate on the responsibilities and experience that you might get out of the analyst gig.

2% of $20 MM and they won't get more income until they raise more (likely a bit away) or exit a company (likely very far away). If I do the math I wouldn't say it's looking promising.

Check out the book "Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation" by Andrew Metrick. He teaches a class of the same name at Wharton.

At my school (not Wharton) a couple of VC funds, even a mega, recruited UG analysts. From my understanding you need to be more creative and have unique qualifications/experiences to catch their eye than say your normal IB recruiting resume.

Dude, it's way too early to think about that...you're gonna take core and gen ed classes for the first two years anyway

agree w. noonies- but after an internship and exposure to a couple of firms there's not "set path," except for the big boys, and even then it's def not "set." I.E there are other ways in besides Goldman TMT

Plenty of VC firms in Philly full of Wharton alumni. Do a search and start sending out emails. Eureka Growth Partners comes to mind.

anthony check PM's

Pretty tough to convert a summer internship at a VC firm into full-time, even with your great CV. Usually you need to provide some serious value-add (very in-depth knowledge of an industry and the investment process)

Again, possible but extremely tough

1- The title you've given yourself at your company/project is a little on the toolish side and I'd probably change it to "Founder and President" but that's just me.

2- I'd seriously consider getting rid of EDM from your interests section, assuming that's electronic dance music.

hahaha EDM

[quote=Darkmouth]Would like to get a VC internship next summer and hopefully convert that into a full-time offer.

http://www.razume.com/documents/26846[/quote] Hey Darkmouth, I'm assuming your target school is.....Columbia?

OP - very nice resume ... Can you confirm what font, font size, and margins you are using?

Would be very hard. Possible if you are at a top target(especially harvard). Had interviewed with a small VC firm at silicon valley. The interviewer told me that a lot of their applicants are actual entrepreneurs who really have started and managed their companies. So if you have similar experience, it'd be easier.

Going to a top VC out of undergrad is not feasible. I have watched kids with realistic shots at the Rhodes and offers from Goldman SSG fail. They need people with experience.

Contrary to the above two, a good buddy of mine went to VC out of undergrad. (he went to virginia tech). Got hired by a retail bank's VC arm after interning there for two years, worked for a couple years, then got hired by Draper.

i know a cuny kid that just got into the vc arm of a huge insurance company...it can be done.

rare

Internships are rare but full time analyst roles are even more rare. Good luck though

If I wanted to go into VC is management consulting out of undergrad a bad route to start on?