Venture Capital final round interview travel question
I have been speaking with a respectable early-stage VC fund for the past few weeks and have met with junior team members, platform folks, and have completed a written assignment. They've now asked me to meet with he rest of the team (e.g., Principals - Partners). After this next round of interviews I will have met with everyone at the fund.
The fund is not in my home city (NYC), but I would be willing to move to the city (SF/BOS/CHI) if I were given the opportunity. The person I've been coordinating with stated we could video chat, or if I were to be in town I could come into the office.
I have friends in their HQ city, should I just fly out on my own dime? I told them I planned to visit at the end of the month and would be happy to meet in person then. Is it silly for me to fly out there on my own dime to meet the team for a pseudo-superday? We currently have the video chat invites set up spanning two days.
Let me know your thoughhhhhhhhhhhhts por favor.
Fly in. Make a trip out of it. You can connect a lot better in person than you can over a phone interview.
How respectable are they if they won't fly out an interviewee for a last round interview with the partners?
Fair point. I misspoke. I am meeting with the team of ~5 over video chat and will be flown out to their city if things go well. I couldn't make the trip sadly.
What was the written assignment about?
Interested
What was [insert company x]'s booked ARR at EOY 2018? What about [insert company y]'s? Walk us through how you got to your answers or estimates.
Should [fund name] deploy follow-on reserves post-Series A? Why or why not?
Find a company you admire that fits our investment criteria. Share the email you'd write to the founder(s) to set up an introductory meeting.
What is an investment thesis you have that few others agree with you on? Why are you in the minority?
Which company in the []fund name] portfolio would you not have invested in? Why?
Do so at your own risk. VC partners (really any buy side partners...) are on the road a lot visiting companies, board meetings, etc and since you’ve positioned it as “I just happened to be in the neighborhood,” they probably won’t go out of their way for a F2F if they have other things going on
If you can lock in a meeting face to face, I would do that. It looks better because you are willing to make the effort to meet them. It also may reduce your need to do two days of video chatting. If you commit to this those, be aware that things might change on their end and you may not be able to meet with everyone involved. Figure that the $550 expense (net of fees and other shit that you'd be charged for a flight) for a flight to SFO, which is the most expensive route for the three cities listed, is relatively minor to meet with the top level guys. Plus, a weekend in any of these cities is always a good time. Although doing it over skype has its perks, the ability to meet with these people really does provide you with the chance to put your best foot forward and impress them. I'd say go for it.
Totally understood and it stinksssssss that you're right. My parents are selling our childhood home to move down south and are having a big celebration. I told them I was happy to come the following week if the interviews go well.
I have received a few recommendations from peers we both have and I think i'm pretty early in the process. I don't know for sure, but we'll see. Interview is after the holiday, so we'll see how it all goes. Fingers crossed.
So basically you're just flying out for a mid-round interview. It's honestly tough to tell. Going in-person is almost always better, especially if you're giving a presentation and want to try and connect with the team better. If it were me and I really wanted the job, I'd just say that by chance you're going to be in the city right before the day of your video interviews and do them in person. It's probably worth the few hundred dollars, especially if you really want the role.
With that being said, don't expect it to catapult you into a lock for the job, I've been the interviewer and interviewee for case studies before and sometimes it's clear after having the person present that they're just not 100% what we're looking for (or I wasn't the person they were looking for). It can suck to go through the effort of traveling and putting together a case just to get a generic rejection email. As long as you won't feel annoyed that you spent the $$, then go for it.
I would fly. I did it before - flying to another country not city - when i interviewed with growth shop. I met 2 of the partners in my country during a conference had hotel lobby chats and they said you should meet the other two partners or at least chat.
I bought my ticket and booked a hotel room and flew over 2 weeks later with 3 of my friends. Spent two days at the firm's office and then made long weekend vacation out of it with my friends. It helped that the country is know for its cool night life.
But a week later they called to say they were happy and sent an offer.
harveyspankster and mrharveyspecter both make very valid points, and odd that you posted right after one another lol.
I know you guys are right, but I'm going with the video chat. I know it might not be best, but it's what I have to do. I told the fund the reason and they were supportive. Good advice tho.
Hopefully things go well and they either fly me out or I go on my own dime the following week
I don't think that's a bad choice. If you do a great job on the case it shouldn't matter too much either way. Good luck with it!
Thanks! I figure the interview will be drilling down into my VC knowledge, sector interests, and what I know about them. In hindsight, the case was one of the easier ones I've received. If anyone has any ideas of talking points, feel free to write them here : )
Best of luck ! let us know how it goes.
Hey Fam -
I met with the team over video chat and things went really well. I just received word that their Principal will be in NYC next week and wants to meet. I can't imagine she wants to get together to deny me in person, so I'm thinking it has to be about fit/next steps.
My new dillema is this: My friends from college are going to the VC's home city for a weekend of debauchery with friends. Do I fly myself out to their home city last minute for $300/24k points? Or do I wait and meet with the Principal next week?
I've been interviewing with local funds that I'd prefer, but am pretty set on Venture so breaking in is the most important thing at the moment. Help a brotha out
If you're going to be local to the VC firm in general, you can offer to meet them in person. No harm in doing that. $300k is nothing, especially if it's a trip you were thinking of taking with friends anyways, just go a day early or figure out what works best for you. Worst case you keep the original date.
VC firms, especially smaller ones, usually try to be a little more judicious with travel expenses. So if they like you and want to meet you, it's more cost effective for a principal to swing by and see you on a work-sponsored trip vs flying you out to meet the team. I'm sure that's what they're doing as one of the later vetting steps.
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