Pivoting out of VC

Thinking about what to do next and have only ever worked at large well known VC firms. Is activist investing/anything research oriented in the HF market even feasible or am I destined to work at startups forever? Realized I have no actual skills to speak to and can't seem to bag interviews

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I went through a similar situation and ended up taking the entrepreneurial route but have friends that went down other paths.

Couple questions to better understand your current experiences and motivators:

  1. Why do you still want to be an investor? -- You mentioned it's too transactional (I agree) but Information is the true currency of investing so it's unlikely you'll find yourself free from that environment if you're still keen on being an institutional investor. Even in the HF world people trade ideas and talk up their books all the time.
  2. What skills do you feel you're lacking for the opportunities you want and how are you addressing those gaps? -- You're only stuck if you give up. There are always angles and paths to new opportunities but you'll need to get creative and leverage the advantages you do have. Having a huge network means you likely have access to people that will help you avoid amateur mistakes.
  3. What have other peers that left VC done? -- I've seen people go into start ups, corp dev, finance/ops, growth equity, sales, etc. VC does teach you how to be scrappy, independent, and present well. Is there anyone in your extended network that made a transition that you'd like to follow? Reach out to them and buy them coffee/tea/13 fireball shots and pick their brain on their journey.
 

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