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This is a fairly generic question, therefore a generic answer:
- Yes, the people I know in VC do make a living being in this space
- VC is, just like many other industry segments, cyclical - the difference is that the cycles vary in time, geography, tech, industry sector, ..
If you are asking whether career progression and comp is as "structured and steady" as in other areas; it wasn't for me. But that might just be my personal case and not a common thing?
Thanks so much. What is comp like as an associate & senior associate? And do you think there is mobility of you want to move from Seed - Series B/C investing to true growth investing?
Based on the insights from Wall Street Oasis, it seems that making a stable career in Venture Capital (VC) can be quite challenging. The level of competition is high and the degree of difficulty has increased significantly. While there are some stellar-performing VCs, it's hard to determine how much of their success is due to skill and how much is due to luck.
Moreover, the average VC doesn't even return capital, much less deliver superior risk-adjusted returns. It can take nearly 10 years to mark their incompetence to market, during which they can charge their 2% annual management fee.
Even at firms that are backed by $5mm+ of VC funding, it's not uncommon for C-level executives to barely pull in 6-figures in a year. VC money often comes with many strings attached, and they aren't going to let their money be paying you a handsome salary until at least a Series C funding event.
So, while it's not impossible to make a stable career in VC, it does seem to be quite challenging and potentially less lucrative than some other paths in the finance industry.
Sources: Why You Should Reject that Start-Up Job, This is the perfect time to go into VC, PE long-term attractivity: Is the trodden path "broken"? Quo vadis gen Y?
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