venture capital

Hi WSO - I've worked in big tech (think FAMGA) since graduation ('17). Went to a top 10 US UG, currently working in product, was previously in corporate strategy (got to work on an acquisition in 2019). I would like to transition to the investment side for my next role; ideally in early stage VC, open to Growth Equity. Not super interested in Seed (not a good fit), or in Buyout (not a good fit; not a banker). If anyone has experience making this transition, or has peers who have, I'd love to hear any and all advice. I am just now starting the process. Some avenues I'm considering searching

05 Mar 2021

"Hypothetical" scenario: A debut micro-VC fund with $10 million in assets has an opening for a junior investment team position. At 2% per year, the fund only has $200k a year to cover all fund expenses and overhead. The fund has two general partners. Neither of the general partners are taking any salary. The general partners have above-average intelligence and strong operating experience with successful exits under their belt (i.e. you believe you would be able to learn a significant amount from them), but this is their first time doing VC. The general partners have put into writing that the

27 Mar 2021

Hi all. Saw quite a bit of interest in VC / how to get into VC on the forum, and thought it would be good to do a Q&A for anyone interested in breaking into the industry. I'm just about to begin my 2nd year as an analyst at a top-tier, sector-agnostic Asian VC fund ($1b+ AUM). Happy to answer any questions on the job / lifestyle / recruiting / trends / etc. Ask away!

21 Sep 2020

I'm currently at a tech company and we are going to an early round of funding. Was wondering if people could provide some resources or guidance regarding pre-revenue startup valuation with negative EBITDA. I have a public comps and precedent transaction analysis but, there are not many comps out there that are in or like our business. Also, the valuations are not even ballpark. I also tried the Venture Capital Method of valuation but am having some pitfalls (ie dont know what hurdle rates to use ect.). Could anyone suggest other valuation methods? Maybe some resources to use when putting these

23 Sep 2020

I am starting at a new shop in a week. Will be working on real estate acquisitions, real estate development and small venture capital opportunities. My new employer is offering me a low-interest line of credit to co-invest in deals, to be used at my discretion. The line tops out at $25k/year, which for reference is about a third of the base comp. The interest and principal on the line get paid out as the deals perform. I am not very familiar with the various co-investment structures out there so I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this type of structure and what some of the

24 Aug 2020

I started a company my senior year of college in the CPG food space. Long story short is we spent a lot of time and money in R&D and by the time we launched Covid-19 hit and everything went downhill from there. My startup was largely unsuccessful from a sales standpoint, however we did accomplish quite a bit and it is a very sellable story. I'm very interested in getting into VC, specifically a firm with an Ag-Tech focus because I know the space. I have a finance degree from a non-target and a not-so impressive GPA. Is it possible to freshen up on my modeling skills and recruit for VC analyst

20 Aug 2020

hey guys! first time posting so idk if I'm doing this right, but I recently got an offer with a small tech-focused vc arm that's def full of super smart people but obv not "prestigious" or with a big name for vc (am I prestige whoring yikes). I don't even know if I want to do vc in the future, and still want to be able to potentially position myself for IB recruiting for junior year. I go to a target school but sophomore recruiting sucks and the vc work does seem itself interesting. If I take the vc position and decide I want to go for IB junior year, would this position put me at a

22 Sep 2020

Hi, I just started my first year at a high-tier MM IB in a well-regarded industry group. I am really enjoying the work so far, how the culture is, and I am happy with where I am at. All the other first year analysts have began discussing the PE recruitment timeline, but I am interested in Corporate Development (CD) and Venture Capital (VC) in my industry vertical (potentially another one as well but I know sticking to my industry is far easier and I am enjoying it thus far). I have four topics/questions I would like to know more about: 1) Any insight around the timeline for CD and/or VC

23 Sep 2020

Recently saw a post that Lightspeed Venture Partners has hired three new partners across a few of their platforms. One of the hires is a (seemingly) 25/26 year old 'Growth Partner' with only 3 prior years experience in public markets investing at Point72. This is bizarre to me. Granted, there is some overlap in late growth with public markets investing, but the fact is they brought on a junior person with no prior experience in the space as a partner. For context, she still has her role as a portfolio manager in UVa's student fund on her LinkedIn. I feel like this could be due to one or more

22 Jul 2020

I am leading a startup accelerator/VC (part of a Chinese innovation company) in China, Shanghai, since 2019. Our focus areas are MedTech, EdTech, Smart Manufacturing, CleanTech - Seed/pre-series A mainly. Any startups interested in expanding to China - feel free to get in touch ;) Prior to that I worked in strategy consulting across Europe for 3 years (based in Frankufrt, then Berlin). Studied in Mannheim, founded a students startup intiative. On the side, I am rather active on social media, especially on YouTube (search for "Kevin Jon") and talking about management consulting, venture capital

28 Feb 2020

I've been sitting on this post for a while. I was waiting for it to turn into a success story; started-from-the-bottom-now-we're-here kind of story. But it's been so long I'm going to post it anyway. ###My Background: Finance degree from non-target, super involved on campus, extracurriculars, case comps etc. Worked my ass off to somehow maintain a 3.9 GPA. Managed to land a couple solid internships. I'm also well on my way through the CFA program. ###My Story: I've been on the job hunt for quite a while now. My school has no alumni in finance. My approach has been to apply to jobs

19 Jan 2020

Hi all, I recently interviewed for a VC firm who told me to prepare salary prospective for next interview. They said "we offer a competitive VC salary". It's a full-time off-cycle internship for 6 months. I would appreciate to hear what people at VC firms (interns) make (especially if you're in Scandinavia / Europe).

27 Nov 2020

Anyone ever hear of them? A small VC shop based in Brooklyn, they just posted an opening for summer intern and was wondering if anyone knew anything about them? Can someone share some insights

12 Apr 2021

Short background I am finishing my MSc this summer at a well-known European university and have ~1.5 years of internship experience at boutique IBs (1 year as a working student, 0.5 year as a full time student). I have an offer from a corporate venture capital and a tech-focused boutique IB in the DACH region, but I am having a hard time choosing between them. Pay is comparable. Corporate venture capital Analyst level position Venture Capital Arm of a leading insurance group Fintech, Insurance, Digital Health focus They have around 150-200M EUR in AUM, they will be launching their next fund

11 Apr 2021

Hi, I am a high school senior who was admitted to several universities. My top choices are the University of Chicago, UC Berkeley (College of Letters), Carnegie Mellon University (Information Systems program), and Georgia Tech (College of Computing). I will probably pursue Computer Science at university or Computer Science with a combination of Economics/Business. My goal is not to really work in FAANG but ideally launch a startup (going into Entrepreneurship). Otherwise, I would be interested in going into PE/VC or working in Investment Management firms with a specific technology focus. I

11 Apr 2021

EEL Ventures is a Venture Builder located in Sao Paulo, specialized in technology assets and digital transformation

08 Apr 2021

Hi everyone! Does anyone have any thoughts about the likelihood / how possible it is to move from Corporate Strategy to PE (maybe VC) when I have an IB background? Has anyone made a similar move? For some context, I recently started a role in Corporate Strategy at a high-growth, pretty well-known (at least to millennials/Gen Z) tech company and have been on the job for ~3 months. Before that, I was a first year associate in IB at a top three BB (GS, MS, JPM), having been promoted after my 2 years as an analyst. I also graduated from a top-tier undergrad target school. I didn't do the

04 Apr 2021

ASIF Ventures is a Venture Capital fund supporting startups of students and recent graduates with funding, a community of young entrepreneurs and our network of VCs, industry experts and investors.

28 Mar 2021

Hi everyone, I am a high school senior who was recently accepted into BC CSOM. I have already been accepted as a direct admit into IU-Kelley and the Hutton Honors College. My plan is to enter venture capital/private equity or IB after college. I am out-of-state for Indiana so I would be paying 40k a year though I am receiving the Dean's Scholarship of 11k a year. BC is 70k a year. I am not receiving any financial need but if anyone could let me know if you think the opportunities are worth the extra cost I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

28 Mar 2021

It is a Seed Accelerator firm focused on the verticals of Mobility, Autonomy, Robotics, and Logistics.

24 Mar 2021

Hi All, I'm currently in my first year at a generalist MM PE firm, right out of undergrad (state school target like UMich, UVA). The firm is decently well known, especially on its coast (most analysts are from top targets). I receive strong modeling, diligence, and portfolio ops work experience at the firm. I'm considering moving to tech growth equity down the line, an wanted any advice on how to best position myself to move into tech growth equity within 2-3 years (not looking for an immediate move). Experience wise, I had a BB Tech IB internship in college, majored in Econ and CS, and have

18 Sep 2020

Guys I need your help : last week I left my job in ER to start a career at Big Tech Sales but before signing my contract I was told that due to the pandemic they could no longer hire anyone, fortunately I immediately found a job at a Special Situation fund (investing mainly in distressed real estate and bankruptcy proceedings). Two weeks ago out of nowhere I've been invited on Linkedind to attend a Zoom conference about MedTech by a chairman of a VC fund. I've always wanted to work in VC (moving to tech was part of the plan) but there are almost 0 open positions in Western Europe right now for

11 Mar 2021

Saw someone else post about this and recently crossed my mind due to the hot IPO market. It does seem like theres a ton of shitcos being unloaded onto the market via spacs and IPOs. VCs are playing hot potato with unprofitable companies only to make them grow fast and then sell them to the next guy. Is it possible this is a bubble or can lead into that territory combined with current insane valuations. How would this end up?

05 Mar 2021

I'm looking to update my resume for VC / growth equity roles (around Principal level). I've got 10+ years of experience and have worked in 4-5 roles (including banking) before VC. I managed to get it down to one page with size 10 font, but it required a lot of cutting and playing around with margins. One recruiter (who handles PE/buyside roles in Canada) mentioned she believes two pages is fine given years of exp, and she personally prefers it in this case cause it's easier to read. But I'm also looking at VC/GE roles in US, and wonder if there's a preference here. Is there a rule around 1 vs

04 Mar 2021

Hi All - I currently sit in a vanilla ECM team at a BB, 1 year away from Associate. I like the seat and enjoy the equity markets, but don't love the vanilla "IPO" process and think I want to have a slightly more bespoke role, as I feel like that is where a lot of value can be added in a commoditized business. I am currently in discussions with both Barclays and JPM (luckily had a connection at Barclays from my family) regarding their Private Capital Markets/Private Placements teams, and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on these teams. From what I have gathered, it seems like they do

28 Feb 2021

Hi all, I was recently made aware that early employees sell their shares at a discount when they liquidate in follow-on rounds. Is this because liq pref is smaller in earlier rounds than follow-on rounds? Just trying to conceptualize this. Thanks for the help!

23 Feb 2021

How much do the analysts, associates, principals at top VC funds (Andreessen, Oak HC/FT, Lux, etc.) make in salary (base, bonus, carry, etc.)

17 Feb 2021

Recent vc discussion shows theres some interest (as well as misunderstanding) in the vc industry. Further, even though vc isn't "pure finance" its pretty clear it's becoming more relevant to other finance industries given so many companies both getting huge funding and going public (via spac or ipo). Ms me if you want I get it but seriously, I think it'd be an interesting board and I'm not sure a good vc forum exists elsewhere on the internet.

17 Feb 2021

Pretty long standing early stage tech & HC fund spun out of GE Ventures. Haven't seen them mentioned on here yet but wondering if anyone has any info on the culture of the firm. I know they focus on diversity within their employees as well as their portfolio. Any insight would be great.

15 Feb 2021

First post - please excuse my confusion in how this works. I am a freshman at a Liberal Arts College. I am wondering what each industry (Investment Banking, Real Estate, Private Equity, Venture Capital, etc) looks like. I don't really know what these industries really look like from day to day. What exactly does one do in each of these industries? What is useful for a first year to do during the summer to set myself up for the future? My school doesn't offer a finance major, so I am majoring in economics... Is this sufficient? What does your day to day look like? Thank you!

01 Feb 2021

Why is there very little on this forum about IB analysts exiting to VC? Is it uncommon because it is difficult to do? Or because others generally choose PE, which they perceive to be more lucrative.

31 Jan 2021

Hi All, Graduating from a Top 20 MBA program this spring but started my post-MBA role (MBA LDP) early since I have been going to school part-time. Undergrad in Business with a finance/accounting background (Internal Audit, Controller, FP&A) with 6 years of experience. I have entered a rotational program where I may be able to get rotations in the following if I network properly (have been researching potential people to network with): Corporate Development Venture Capital Investor Relations Treasury Investment Management Supply Chain Finance (different from my past FP&A experience and would

29 Jan 2021

Hey guys, I'm trying to learn more about the space and have always found podcasts an efficient way to learn. Thoughts on the best internet focused VC podcasts?

05 Jul 2020

Hello, everyone! I would love to hear some recommendations regarding some opportunities for Summer Internships in VC, PE, Valuation, or Advisory. I am interested in paid internship programs. Pros: currently on an MSF program in the States ending in December, hard-working, 3.94 GPA in undergrad, 3.97 GPA in MSF, analyst at my School's VC fund Cons: no internship, graduate school is not a target, international student Thank you!

19 Jan 2021

Sorry for the specific / single firm post here but I'd really appreciate any insight folks have on L'Oreal's BOLD Ventures. https://www.lorealboldventures.com/ Appreciate any insights on deal team structure/culture/recent deals/recruitment process, etc. Thanks in advance!

19 Jan 2021

Anyone know of some good healthcare consulting firms? Or even some healthcare venture capital or private equity firms that hire undergrads for full time? And do you know their recruiting timeline? This would be coming out of from two summer internships in private equity. Also any input on consulting / finance would be appreciated. Thanks.

19 Jan 2021

Feel like there hasn't been a good discussion on the job differences between Venture Capital, Growth Equity, and Private Equity. Looking for insight specifically on comp differences, work/on the job differences, and competitiveness on breaking into each respective industry.

28 Oct 2019

Hello everyone, i'm a junior at a decent tech school (~ucsd, purdue, uiuc) studying cs/ce, and i am going to be an apm intern at google/facebook. I was wondering whether the top vc's recruit from the google apm program. looking at linkedin and the bios on firm websites, it doesnt appear that many apms are hired at top firms, but i've heard (anecdotally) that exits are decent. Also, there is a chance that i may have to take an engineering, and not apm role at google (abysmal intern to ft conversion rate for apm interns). would i still be able to get good vc roles if i do 2 years as an engineer

18 Jan 2021

Hi guys, I'm interviewing for a VC analyst role and have been told there will be a take home case study. Any idea, on how to prepare for it,any blogs to refer to, any sample case study solutions, and differentiate among candidates? So far it has been fit rounds.

17 Jan 2021

Hello, 2nd yr analyst in infrastructure PE in London here, trying to pivot to VC/early stage PE. Don't think I've seen any thread on this. Not asking on advice on how to break in but trying to build a list that could be helpful to everyone on this site. Anyone has input on: Firm / Stage of investing (seed --> GE) / size of fund ? Cheers!

15 Jan 2021

Hey Everyone, Recently read a great article on Morning Brew about Goal Setting. It sparked an idea to crowd source this forum not specifically for goal setting frameworks but for the best in class day-to-day organizational framework. I'm sure everyone who has done IB, PE, VC, HF, etc. has had days where you have a MILLION PLATES SPINNING. What frameworks have you guys used to keep them from falling (i.e. pen / paper, OneNote, Excel, Sticky Notes, etc.) Hopefully this is helpful for all the younger monkeys out there, including myself!

14 Jan 2021

Guys - which are the Top 30 VC firms in Europe? How can one get hired to one of these? Is it "mandatory" to go through the usual 2 years in IB/M&A first? Is there any way one can actually apply or show interest? Thanks!

12 Jan 2021

Hi Monkeys, I am about to finish my masters degree in Europe and i have the opportunity to join a small ($100m AuM) VC firm that is highly specialized. Past returns have been strong. I have been thinking a lot about this opportunity but i am not sure about the Long Term Career Prospects and the skills I will acquire. What do you guys think in comparison to Consulting? What are my Exit options? is a transition to another VC with a different Focus or to PE/Consulting possible at a later Stage? Usual MBA path is not an option, as I will Not Go back to school with a master degree. Cheers Roberto

05 Jan 2021

My story is like most other non-targets I learned everything too late. I did well in high school 4.0 gpa, 1970/2400 on the old sat. Instead of going to the semi-targets I was accepted to, think Wake Forest. I went to an school ranked in the bottom quarter of the top 100 because they gave me a substantial scholarship and I thought that being in the top 100 was all that mattered. I didn't even study business. I studied a humanities subject (english, philosophy, sociology.. I know). I graduated magna cum laude in 2019 and have a job I don't like, in a field I do not like. I always thought venture

14 Dec 2020

Looks like they spun out of Day View Capital (also don't know much about them). Does anyone have much info on their investing style/reputation/culture/pay?

14 Dec 2020

Hey All, Hope everyone is doing well. I was wondering - does anyone have any experience or know of the top PE/VC firms in the greater Nashville area? I'm currently working in strategy/advisory/analytics at a top tech company in the NYC area (I'm ~mid-level with 10ish years of experience). My wife and I are looking to start a family and, being that we're both from the South, would love to move back to Nashville. Being in NYC is a great luxury, and if I wanted to change jobs I have a plethora of choices, but I'm not entirely sure what's out there for me in Nashville. I would love any thoughts

08 Jan 2019

Hi guys, Got into GSB today! Background was the traditional IB / PE path. Any chimps have some info / thoughts on tacking on a 3rd year to knock out a MS CS while I'm there? Thought process would be to take advantage of the sunk cost of leaving the workforce to tack the CS degree on - honestly not sure if I'll return to PE or look for something more tech-focused but it does seem like people having skillsets on both ends could be something of a differentiator / future-proofer for the rest of my career. In exchange, happy to answer any questions on my background! Cheers, amistupid

09 Dec 2020

So I am a first year in university and I just had an interview with a VC firm for a summer internship program, and they asked me a question that I am struggling to get the answer to. What do you plan to gain from working at our firm and Why?

01 Dec 2020

Hi everyone, I was discussing comp with a boutique VC firm (started a couple years ago and is part of a much larger healthcare advisory firm) and threw out ~$150K as total comp. I will be the first hire and coming in as "entry level?" to work under the two partners. My background is ~2 years of life sciences consulting and ~1.5 years of corporate development at a high-growth startup. I was wondering if I lowballed it or if I'm around the right mark. Would love your guys' insights into what proper comp for a boutique VC firm in NYC should be.

01 Dec 2020

Hello all, I am currently a first year analysts at a decent MM IB who has always dreamed of being a VC or starting my own thing. Recently, I've been presented with the opportunity to do the latter from a buddy of mine who had already exited a semi-successful venture backed startup as its co-founder. He would like to bring me on as his co-founder for this new venture which I have high conviction in and am excited about. The thing is however, I feel like I have no safety net should things not work out. Unlike him (rich parents, very well plugged in the venture scene) I went to a non-target, grew

25 Mar 2019