Has anyone info on pay-scales in VC? Are there any cases where VC starts to approach the levels of comp available in PE / IBD?
In terms of career progression it seems most funds push out associates after their tenure, and then only hire at the principle / VP / dir levels from people who have started and exited companies. Anyone have experience with this dynamic?
Any tips for breaking in to VC?
Varies a lot depending on the VC. Some are more operator focused than finance.
Bigger funds tend to have more finance guys on the team whereas smaller seed funds are largely operators because you can't really do much with finance skills for a seed stage co.
Been offered various roles at VCs but I'm an operator so it doesn't really apply here. Easiest way to break in depends on your existing skill set.
VC comp is uniformly lower, at each level, than banking or PE - makes sense though, funds are smaller usually (i.e. $500m) so management fees would of course be lower. Discount is maybe 20-30%+ typical MM PE comp.
Usual backgrounds are either ex-entrepreneur types, operators (executives, product managers etc), specialists (engineers, doctors, scientists etc), or the usual banking/consulting/finance more broadly.
PE will generally be higher, but the diligence involved and overall decision making will be a bit different. If you're an early stage VC, unlike in PE, there really won't be financial metrics you can analyze. It usually comes down to a framework involving some slew of Team, Product, Market.
From friends in the industry and known blogs, here is what I've discerned regarding pay scale at reputable/top east coast funds (all in) Analyst: 1-3 Years out of college - 100-150 Associate: 3-5 years out of college/Fresh MBA - 125-175 Senior Associate: 5-7 years out of college/experienced MBA - 150-200 Principal: 5-10 years out of college- 200+ Partner: 250-300+ GP: The world
Basically, it's different everywhere and the above numbers are what I've heard from people at top funds like USV/Greycroft/etc. Places like Insight Venture Partners who hire analysts from only from HSW and sometimes Michigan make like $200-250 out of undergrad.
If you want to get it into a premier fund, the best way to do it will be TMT IB @ top tech banks. View the Team pages of a few funds and you'll see that the truly top places are hiring people with this background coupled with startup experience e.g. oscar health, opendoor, etc.
If you're not a TMT banker with startup experience, make sure to hustle your balls off. Cold email analysts and start networking. The only true times to break into VC is 1-3 years out of undergrad, post MBA, or as a GP (given you sold a billion dollar business).
Good Luck!
I'm a little skeptical of these numbers - this would imply that a first year associate at an upper middle market PE firm is making the same as a partner at a "reputable / top east coast fund".
Do these figures include any consideration for carry?
So that's where it gets tricky. The term 'partner' in VC is thrown around very loosely and could mean operating partner or much more like talent, content, investing, etc.
Carry is different at each firm and at the early stage, most people don't stick around long enough to see carry on their investments. An investment that sees ample carry could take over 5-7 years.
Between principal, Partner and GP, I'd say those numbers are accurate for base salary, not including carry. For Analyst - Senior, those are pretty realistic.
Once again, it all depends on your fund size. If you take 2.5% mgmt fee @ $100MM with 3 GPs and an associate/analyst, there's not much to go around. Good shops make the bulk of their money in carry, but to truly have a lucrative career in VC you have to be in it for the long haul.
Insight is a growth shop, no?
Yeah, but they get in on A rounds. I'd say traditional to late stage
These numbers seem a little light at the principal and partner levels. Based on past experience, the lower tiers are about right to slightly high.
Edit: After reading other comments, I was thinking all-in comp vs salary. Also, carry is a big factor in comp the higher you go.
Did you look @ VC in Asia? If you're networked there it might be easier?
The quality of VCs and deals in Asia ex-China is quite poor. And the Chinese VC environment requires a local.
Singapore's VC scene is starting up, as is Indo, but really very weak overall.
There's little point being a VC outside of San Fran, NYC, London, Beijing, Shanghai, and to a lesser extent LA, Berlin.
Yeah a girl I dated was a VC in China primarily investing in robotics companies. I noticed a huge gap for sure.
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