any ideas on interview questions from venture capital

I have a phone interview with venture capital next week. HR told me it would be around 40 mins with their senior analyst. I am an engineering phd candidate, and applied for their senior analyst position. So my question is besides the personal experience questions, what other they would ask. Will there be a case interview also, or market sizing questions? How and what should I prepare? Many thanks in advance!

 

VC interviews are less structured than that with IB or consulting. Topics are often spontaneous. You will mainly talk about your past experience and motivation, given your engineering background. Case interviews are pretty common, e.g. evaluating an investment opportunity, business models, success/failure factors, industry trend, valuation approaches (early stage vs. late stage, internet startup vs. manufacturing startup) etc. VC analysts are usually used as deal sourcing monkeys. So get yourself prepared for this as well.

Vault Career Guide to Venture Capital has some good stuffs, take a look http://www.vault.com/product.aspx?isbn=9781581316100 http://www.vault.com/blog/interviewing/venture-capital-interview-questi…

Most people in VC are very nice and casual, so be relaxed and good luck!

 
Best Response

One of the first things you want to find out is whether the VC firm is sourcing heavy, due diligence heavy, or portfolio company heavy. I knew the place I was interviewing for focused a great deal of time on due diligence, so I made sure that my examples would showcase ways I would add value to the due diligence process of the firm. We also work very closely with the entrepreneurs in our portfolios, so demonstrating that I could effectively build and deepen relationship with an entrepreneur was key.

I would imagine that a large portion of your interview will center on industry knowledge (prob tech). Showcase your understanding of the industries the company works in, have strong, sound, and articulate opinions about some companies in your radar, and come off as genuinely interested and passionate about the field. Since you don't have much VC experience at this point, also make sure you have a very compelling case as to why you want to be a venture capitalist. Having a crisp and genuine story will be the critical hook for your interview.

As far as technicals go, it really depends on the VC firm. My interview was not very technical, although I did get a question as to how I would value a company that didn't have positive cash flows. By no means it won't be as grueling as typical PE or ib interviews, but familiarity with accounting and valuation methods is a good idea. Be familiar with how to run a DCF, apply (tech-related) multiples, and valuation methods that venture capitalists typically employ. I doubt it will get this technical, but you never know, and it's better to err on the side of caution.

If you have the interview, it will ultimately come down to fit and whether the partners and/or interviewers like you.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Capitalist
 

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