(VC Post) Thoughts on Greycroft?
I saw their associate posting for LA / NYC and was curious if it was a good place for VC? I saw it mentioned briefly in the comments of other VC posts but was curious if others had thoughts. Is it a good place to start a career in VC? How does it compare to older firms such as Sequoia, Kleiner, Founders, etc.?
I don't think you'll get much feedback given it's unusual to bounce around much in VC vs PE. They have a very solid reputation though and positions in VC are hard to land...
Greycroft is definitely a respectable name in technology investing. Starting a career in VC is pretty difficult and honestly there are a lot worse places to start at. There are several VC funds out there and many of them do not have close to the track record of Greycroft. If you had to compare them to Sequoia and Founders then they wouldn't compete but that's not really the point. Sequoia and Founders are much more scaled and raise a lot more money per fund than Greycroft. Even though Greycroft raises less money that doesn't mean they are by any means "bad". They just invest in different stages and with different check sizes than Sequoia and Founders. If you aren't good at VC investing, you will struggle to raise funds - Greycroft doesn't really have this issue.
If you care about location / don't want to live in the Valley, I think Greycroft is a very competitive opportunity for tech investing. They are one of the few funds I know off the top of my head that does not have an SF office and has good representation in their NY and LA offices. Other funds typically have a main office in SF / Silicon Valley and then a satellite in NY which isn't as big.
Thank you both - very helpful and good to hear they are good. Less good to hear how hard it will likely be haha but that's any enviable job.
I hear from those in VC that returns are super concentrated at the top and that VC is not worth really going in to unless you're at a top firm. Would Greycroft sit above or below that line in terms of 'worth it' as a junior employee (obviously being a partner there is worth it). More specifically, it seems like it's a 2-year and out program so would be curious if it's a good starting point to stay 'above the line' / build a career
definitely on the worth it side, no question
Thank you!
Very strong name.
One thing a lot of young people pursuing venture overlook is that it's a cottage industry and works accordingly.
It's only within the past decade that seed has really existed. Prior to a handful of people like Josh at First Round inventing it, there was a core group of insiders in the Valley and Boston who chose who got funded. You typically joined out of business school or based on a recommendation of someone you went to business school with. Greycroft is one of those places. It's really well-respected because Alan Patricof is really well-respected.
Today it looks like any other job you apply to: there's a post on Medium, LinkedIn, or Twitter that redirects you to Greenhouse or whatever ATS, and it feels like any private equity or banking or similar application.
In reality, it's an incredibly narrow handful of opportunities each year at credible firms that will raise a successive fund with no problem during your tenure there, and the decisions are made by a similarly small handful of people.
There are very few junior opportunities in venture. Greycroft may not take an associate in either office for two or three years again. The only reason they would is because they promote the people who get hired right now to Principal (or someone goes to b-school or switches firms).
It's less about 'how is this place relative to Sequoia' and more about 'will I learn how to evaluate markets, businesses, and the teams that run them from an experienced and respected person'. Greycroft has a bunch of people that make that true. When I was younger I heard that investing is an apprenticeship. I realize now how true that is. I could have avoided so many mistakes (with process, psychology, or people) if someone invested in my success spoke with me about that specific thing as an object lesson.
The moral of the story is that you'd be lucky to work at Greycroft. There's a scarcity of jobs in venture. Your first role is about building a reputation for yourself as someone who is smart and helpful. You do that by taking as many meetings as you can and following up with something of value with everyone you meet. After a couple years you will either move upward at the firm or to another firm that either focuses on the stage or industry you like or has people you think really similarly to.
I have interacted with only three people on their team. I'm trying to paint a picture broader than just that firm.
^^^ could not endorse this more.
What about Greycroft’s growth team? They recently started a fund for that.
My fund often co-invests with Greycroft, so happy to share what I know:
They closed their third growth fund as part of their latest fundraise. They write larger checks from Series B through IPO and about half of their investments are sourced directly from their early-stage venture funds as follow-on rounds for existing portfolio companies. Small team with 5-6 people dedicated to the growth fund, but their stage agnostic approach allows some early-stage folks to work on the growth investments as well. A seat rarely comes up, but they tend to hire an ex-banker or someone with previous growth experience. Although the firm is generalist for tech, there’s an increasing focus on b2b software and consumer internet (thematic driven). They’re making quite a few international investments across Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America, so you get exposure to more than the US. LA Pension's report shows that Greycroft's second growth fund (raised in 2017) posted a 36.9% IRR, but the final figures will be higher when other portfolio companies enjoy a profitable exit.
As for the firm more broadly, they also recently closed their sixth early-stage venture fund, bringing them to over $2 billion AUM. Their tenth investment vehicle is the Albertsons Fund, which is backed by the grocery retailer and has a strategic focus on the future of retail and grocery technology. One of their venture partners, Jon Goldman, runs the GC VR Gaming Tracker Fund, which invests in games, esports, AR, and VR. Greycroft is an LP, close business partner, and co-invests with the Tracker Fund. They also just launched a consumer SPAC with Katherine Power (fashion entrepreneur) to target beauty, wellness, and consumer-related businesses, so you definitely get exposure to the full spectrum.
Overall, Greycroft has a very strong portfolio with over 60 companies at $100 million+ valuations, 9 being unicorns such as Bird, Bumble, and Scopely. It’s an exciting time for the firm and Crunchbase mentioned it was the 5th most active US VC firm in the first half of 2020; this level of investing activity has only continued. The firm has a strong track record of successful exits and Bumble’s upcoming IPO and Amazon’s potential acquisition of Wondery should be additional home runs.
In LA specifically, it is one of the earlier VC firms and one of the few with an ability to write checks for later rounds, which has allowed the firm to boom in the last 14 years. LA is a city on the rise for VC and Greycroft is only getting even bigger. Highly recommend you target the firm when a seat comes up (they post the opportunities on their Twitter page once the applications go live). The firm will continue generating large gains for LPs, but the only point to consider is that they value an MBA. Around 80% of the investing professionals have an MBA and Greycroft often taps into business school talent. They do promote (even up to the partner level), but the MBA is valued.
Couldn’t agree more.
I'm just honored to have APAE respond. Per usual, an incredibly helpful response that "ends" a thread because it answers everything. Thank you.
Ends up the process is wrapping anyways so I may be late to the game. Unsure if they gave out offers yet but it seems like they've had candidates come to final rounds already
Where did you hear it was wrapping / close to wrapped?
Have met their entire team including the three founders. Very strong firm and one of the top 10 in venture no question. Not sure why fund size was brought up above as Greycroft sits right in the middle and bigger is not necessarily better when you’re only writing $5-15 million checks out of an early stage fund.
Ignore my intern title.
Def not top ten but a good fund to begin your career at
What's the top 10?
Not to hijack the thread but has anyone heard back from Greycroft on offers?
Former banker > now Palo Alto fintech operator - Greycroft has a great rep amongst VCs to choose from. Very well Networked and can open many doors for intros so we can scale our products faster and more efficiently. It's a name that anybody in the startup field knows well and is an established fund with big weight to flex if needed in moving the needle for their portfolio companies.
Bump — any ideas on comp?
Similique nam nulla enim tenetur. Ut iusto et commodi repellat accusantium et sed eligendi.
Quae vero maiores nesciunt ex et beatae laboriosam. Laborum consequatur ratione ex adipisci dolorem tempora. Architecto incidunt nesciunt expedita sequi dolor est. Quos repudiandae similique beatae error nemo.
Accusantium vitae voluptate laborum voluptatibus ipsam molestiae. Non suscipit blanditiis quia qui itaque. Laborum numquam optio voluptatem voluptatem.
In quia et saepe. Et minima debitis eos eos. Iste eaque aut enim minima officia blanditiis animi.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Quod aperiam quia non dolores laboriosam sunt possimus. Eveniet in maiores deserunt hic et consequatur eum.
In corrupti adipisci velit. Nemo et veritatis sit dolor adipisci.