Wanted to start a discussion on Venture Scout programs so I thought I’d give my view on them; Please comment on why you think I’m wrong or right:
95% sourcing This is what you’re doing, when you source an opportunity, it gets handed off to a full-time investor and you aren’t part of the analysis/decision making
You only get paid if you source an investment
Very limited file access You may/may not get access to the fund’s CRM (so you know who already has a dialogue with a company/founder) but you won’t get access to all the private information the fund has (portco financials / KPIs, IC decks, research, etc.)
You’re basically just a business development rep Doing cold emails with no real power on those calls, using the VC’s brand name to help them cover more companies and have more insight into who’s raising
Extremely hard to move from scout to full-time investor without any real investment background/experience You’re just doing business development, making it hard to convince the investors you can handle all aspects of VC (sourcing, analysis, investing/deal closing, portco support)
Hot Take: Being a venture scout is a terrific wedge into VC if you already have experience in private investing, but is a waste of time if you don’t; low comp, no training/mentorship, nearly impossible to prove yourself to the fund
What am I missing? What’s right? What’s wrong?
I mean, you're not wrong, but I think there are better wedges if you're willing to bet on yourself. It's a good way to get a sticker on your resume, but if you're confident in your ability to develop a thesis and execute against it, I don't see why you wouldn't get dealflow and tee up those deals for any fund that wants them. It's less advantageous for the funds because the dealflow becomes commoditized, but you get a foot in the door with many funds and are seen as an independent dealflow generator rather than someone attached to a name. Being attached to a name makes the sourcing easier, so that's why I say it's a better wedge to go solo if you're willing to bet on yourself.
And here I was thinking the title of your post was in reference to the Boy Scouts of America affiliated organization... what a tragic misunderstanding
So which sectors are you looking at?
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