Venture Capital - Female Underdog from Canadian city

Background; non-target, average transcript, involved within student life, worked in retail banking as CSR for two years then finally landing an internship in Canada's largest pension fund and later landing my dream job as VC Analyst upon graduation and not to mention - female.

Never in a million years, would I have thought that I would be dealing with the country's Canada) top venture firms and investors. Never did I thought I would love my job right after graduating a non-target school that people thought would never be able to work within the competitive finance industry. Never did I think I would be able to work with country's best entrepreneurs.

I do consider myself as a successful story not because I found a career that enables me to work in a competitive and challenging environment but the fact that my impact helps the country to develop their entrepreneurial eco-system. And since I was never the honours student I hoped to be… I still turned out doing well for myself!

To get an offer right after graduating included a few years of dedication in working in retail banking to a finance firm to finally getting a part-time position as a VC intern and after long anticipation finally signing my contract to join the team!

What have I learned?

- Best hard working people come from retail banking - customer service is a stepping stone to your career. So tell those who think other wise to shove off. Cause you have some job experience and soft skills to master.

- Even if you don't have the best transcript - don't worry as long as you have a determined personality you'll be exactly when you want to be. But if you don't have that drive or that personality - sorry to tell you you won't be far from where you are right now.

- Surround yourself with good people; make sure you have a group of friends or partner that will be able to support/guide you during hard times.

Lastly, I still have so much to learn and this is only the beginning of my career! However, for the past few years of my undergrad journey I have grown much more than I can imagine!

Don't give up my little chimps! We're gonna be where we deserve to be!

Cheers!