Venture Capital Prestige Tier List

Tier IDK - A16Z, NEA, General Catalyst, Lightspeed - cash rich giants, hard to rank accurately and depends on partner

Tier 0 - Sequoia, Benchmark

  • Best brands in venture

Tier 0.5 - Thrive, Founders Fund, USV, Greenoaks

  • Newer elite firms (Thrive, Greenoaks) with upper Tier 1 VCs (FF, USV)

Tier 1 - Index, Kleiner Perkins, Accel, Greylock, Khosla, Menlo, Bessemer

  • Historic Legacy Silicon Valley VC firms - Standard Tier 1 VCs

Tier 2 - 8VC, Coatue, IVP, CRV, Redpoint, Lux, Ribbit, First Round, Bain Capital Ventures, Spark, Norwest, Battery

  • Strong tier 1.5 - 2 VC firms, the argument could be made for a couple to be in the tier 1 list
28 Comments
 

what is the path to getting a job at one of the funds in tier 0.5 or tier 1? there doesnt seem to be much clarity online regarding this. obviously very hard but curious if there is a path

 
Most Helpful

I work in the growth team at a multistage VC and can provide some context.

All of the firms (with the exception of Accel/BVP) in Tier 0.5 & 1 run very lean. The paths in can range anywhere from consulting, to later stage private / growth investing, to startup experience, to banking, to big tech experience, etc. I know these funds pretty well and have friends across most of the places on your list. As a general catch all, I would say:

Usually prefers former investors / consultants: Thrive, Greenoaks, Sequoia, Index, Menlo, BVP

Usually prefer industry experience: Founders Fund, USV, Khosla, KP

No preference: Accel, Greylock

Obviously there are exceptions to the above, but it is generally accurate from a hiring perspective. What you have to understand is that top tier venture is an exceptionally small industry and breaking in is extremely difficult, especially at the associate / junior level.

 

I think a more accurate list in 2025 would look like:

A+: Sequoia / Sutter Hill / Founders Fund / Thrive / Kleiner Perkins / Index / Greenoaks

A: Benchmark / Greylock / Accel / a16z (certain teams) / Menlo / Redpoint / USV

A-: NEA / Khosla / Spark / SignalFire / FirstMark / Lux / General Catalyst / First Round

B+: 8VC / Bessemer / LSVP / DST / Norwest / Battery / Emergence / Scale / Ribbit / CRV etc

B: BCV / Coatue / crossovers that do opportunistic A-D investing

Obviously a lot of nuance in the list above is missing, as some are sector specialists, have specific strengths, etc, but this is broadly correct.

 

Venture and growth are pretty different. ICONIQ will dip earlier into series B or even A but that’s not their bread and butter. They’re primarily a venture growth firm and I’d consider that different than just pure venture. Dragoneer is even more different than these firms, focusing really on just publics, structured deals, growth buyout, and late stage (series D+) growth from as far as I can tell.

Honestly these firms are all pretty opaque so I’d do your research by talking to people but if we’re talking pure venture I don’t think either of these really play there. That being said these are highly respected firms with good returns it’s just not “venture capital” really so if you’re angling for that for your next role they might not be for u

 

Associate 1 in PE - LBOs

Venture and growth are pretty different. ICONIQ will dip earlier into series B or even A but that’s not their bread and butter. They’re primarily a venture growth firm and I’d consider that different than just pure venture. Dragoneer is even more different than these firms, focusing really on just publics, structured deals, growth buyout, and late stage (series D+) growth from as far as I can tell.

Honestly these firms are all pretty opaque so I’d do your research by talking to people but if we’re talking pure venture I don’t think either of these really play there. That being said these are highly respected firms with good returns it’s just not “venture capital” really so if you’re angling for that for your next role they might not be for u

? Drangoneer is not opaque at all. There are good very long podcasts with one of the cofounders?

 

Would a job at say a "legacy" T1 VC that takes associates, like a Greylock, Kleiner Perkins, Menlo, Accel type firm be a better path to high net worth than a traditional buyout PE path? Wondering about long term compensation at these places.

 

I don't think it's a path to a higher net worth if the comparison is staying at VC fund vs staying at MF PE fund. Both are hard to advance and may require lateralling around. However, the VC path is higher beta, i.e. you have the opportunity to hear about and join much faster growth companies at critical junctures (look at all the VCs that joined OpenAI in 2023 / 2024), which could result in some phenomenal outcomes at a much earlier age than PE. However, if you're looking for highest $ of comp per year and building wealth that way, I still think PE (at good funds) is the better option.  

 

Interesting breakdown! Makes sense as a general framework, but a lot depends on the sector focus and partner reputation.

Even Tier 1.5–2 firms can punch above their weight in certain areas, and A16Z or NEA’s impact varies by partner. Portfolio quality and deal flow matter just as much as tier rankings.

 

Real answer is whatever VC generates best returns for their LPs and is able to actually make impact by helping change the world.

If their's Tier 0, it's probably great angel investors no one's ever heard of.

When in doubt, use more peanut butter
 

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