Worth it to pursue a non-investment role in VC?
I am currently interviewing for a market research analyst role at a VC, and I was hoping to get some opinions on whether or not this is a smart move if my ambition is to eventually become an investment associate. I come from a somewhat untraditional background, so I think that if I were to break into VC I may have to do it through creative means such as this. However, I want to make sure that I wouldn't be headed towards a dead end.
Is it common to move from non-investing roles to investing roles? I figure that since I would be in the space, I would build a useful network that would assist me in progressing in VC. However, I likely would not be building many of the hard skills necessary for investing. I would greatly appreciate any guidance/insight.
What does a market research analyst do exactly? Are you working alongside the deal teams and feeding them insight during specific stages of the process or is it more of a marketing role where you're publishing insights?
Like many financial firms, it's difficult, though not impossible, to transition from a non-investment role to an investment role. That said, if you have the network, establish unique insights into under-covered verticals, and are able to get exposure to the investment process there's a way for you to angle your way in.
The above would only work for early stage firms and even then it'd be more beneficial for you to have operating experience instead. For a later stage fund I'd give you a 1% chance of making the transition given 1) technical modeling and diligence components of the role and 2) the greater barriers for building a network of later stage founders/VCs.
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