VC Bros Get Cranked?
Recently had a conversation with a VC guy in a tier III city that said he was working 70+ pretty regularly.
I’m coming from a banking background so I am rather unaware of their WLB and Comp. I was wondering if this is normal and what kinda comp / upward progression follows VC base roles?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, work-life balance (WLB) in Venture Capital (VC) is generally considered much better than in Investment Banking (IB). At many VC firms, analysts and associates typically work around 50 hours per week, and it's rare for anyone to hit 80-hour weeks. However, there can be exceptions, especially in smaller or less structured firms, where workloads might spike to 70+ hours occasionally, as mentioned in your example.
Compensation and Upward Progression in VC:
Junior-Level Compensation:
Upward Progression:
While VC offers a better lifestyle compared to IB or PE, the trade-off is typically lower pay and a slower progression to senior roles. If you're passionate about startups, emerging technologies, or entrepreneurship, VC can be a rewarding career path despite these challenges.
Sources: VC comp at top funds, Private Equity vs Venture Capital - Differences and Similarities, Breakdown of Post-IB Exit Opportunities, Venture Capital Salary versus BB and Private Equity
WLB - Better than banking, but mostly focused on networking and sourcing. It's a lifestyle job where you're constantly trying to find out who's raising and whether or not you can get a shot to invest.
Comp - Worse than banking until you get to be a GP or you have carry in a well performing fund. Most of the $ flow to the top funds and at those funds the GPs see the most $$$.
Depends heavily on the fund size, stage.
In smaller / emerging funds 60–70 hour weeks are pretty common, especially if the team is lean. You’re doing sourcing, diligence, memos, portfolio support, and often admin work yourself. In larger multi-stage funds the hours can still be high, but usually more structured and less “everything falls on you.”
Agree with above saying it depends on fund size and stage. Just add industry vertical as another factor. Some fields are just more complex than others. Fund positioning also plays a role.
Let me elaborate a bit more on early stage. Work is very much focused on relationship building as opposed to later stage funds which are more like allocators.
Personally, I spend 30-40 hours a week on communication and another 30-40 hours on hard work. It's basically a lifestyle: WLB really depends on whether you can manage your time well and focus on things you enjoy. Hours breakdown is pretty consistent across industry.
As for compensation - obviously for early stage funds AUM per head is lower than later stage funds. So base pay reflects. It's also an open secret lot of solo funds don’t pay themselves a salary at all… For larger more “scaled-up funds”, I presume lifestyle changes mostly include more paperwork and "rules to follow".
Pay obviously gets better as you become a better investor... I mean the industry is hinged on hitting home runs or consistent points. But I presume this also depends on how your fund positions itself.
As for career paths, people in early stage funds likely already have a good amount of industry experience under their belt and/or have exceptional abilities to imagine the future. They'll just raise more funds, go somewhere else, or become an entrepreneur themselves. It’s not exactly for people who have a traditional career path.
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