Published in · 6 min read · Jul 22, 2020
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Here’s our (non-exhaustive) guide to VC Recruiting! Let us know if we missed anything.
- Apprenticeship model: You typically work closely with an experienced VC. This role also involves a lot of due diligence and cold-emailing/calling to be the first step of sourcing deals. A lot of sifting through startups (can be upwards of 2000) to see what are viable options and logical investments. Also involves speaking with CEOs of early-stage ventures and learning and making judgment calls about their team as well as their product and position in the industry. Depending on the firm, startups that meet the criteria get passed along to the associate for further review or the analyst can continue to carry them along and work on the deal.
- You generally work under the mentorship of a partner, vice president, or senior associate whom you support by essentially being a “utility player”, helping not only on due diligence but also on supporting existing portfolio companies across a multitude of different projects, challenges, and roles
- Requires detail-oriented research and analysis (financial, quantitative and otherwise), confidence and outgoingness to speak with CEOs, awareness of VC firm’s investment thesis and priorities, ability to learn quickly about a range of topics and ask the right questions. Being both a collaborator but also a self-starter.
- It’s a lone wolf sport and at the end of the day, the VC game is zero sum.
- Pro: One of the key benefits of an analyst program is that it’s usually a structured program with opportunities for interns to learn the key skills as a venture capitalist (ex: sourcing, taking meetings with founders, market and company research). Because it’s more structured, there is less ambiguity in terms of what you should be doing, how you should be evaluated, and also potential to see dealflow compared to being the only intern at a firm who hasn’t had one before. Through such a program, you will inevitably be exposed to many different subfields, emerging ideas, and essentially have a front-row seat to the “next big thing”.
- Con: On the other hand, it can be hard to stand out at an analyst program, since there will be other interns who are trying to make their mark as well. At times, you might have less facetime with principals and partners, which would be a potentially great learning opportunity. Partners at top firms tend to be guarded with their time being, as they say, “on the phone or on the plane”, and, as a result, it might prove difficult to schedule regular time and receive feedback on your work. Moreover, certain firms might be far more unstructured and therefore the learning will be far more through osmosis as opposed to a structured experience. It may be more sourcing heavy than a less structured program. Ultimately, it might be difficult in certain analyst programs to really quantify and understand what kind of value you are delivering to the investment team.
- Summit Partners
- Bessemer Venture Partners
- Menlo Ventures
- Bain Capital Ventures
- Insight Venture Partners
- Rho Ventures
- Millennium Technology Ventures
- NEA
- Battery
- Sequoia
- Anthos
- Accel
- Stripe
- Insight
Many others, but these opportunities are generally not listed regularly because most VCs hire on an ad-hoc basis. A lot of VCs also prefer to hire directly within their own network instead of using a standard job application process.
Check out The TechCrunch List, “a directory of the most active and engaged investors in the VC industry today as recommended by founders.”
Check out this article from VC Toolkit for more advice on finding VC firms
Alumni Network
Plug into your school’s Alumni network! Have your name in circulation by speaking with recent alumni in the VC space or cold-emailing alumni from your school. Always feel free to ask VC firms questions along the lines of “I realize you’re not hiring full time, but are there any projects or ways I can be involved in the short term? Are there any events upcoming you’re hosting?”
Cold Email
CareerShift is a phenomenal tool for cold-emailing. Most career service offices at universities cover the website which enables you to find the contact information for almost anyone in corporate America.
Referral
Try to receive a referral from within their network (i.e. through the management of portfolio companies, co-investors, professors with connections). A recommendation letter from a mutual connection will go miles and help tee up an interview.
Responses
- Even if the VC writes back “we aren’t hiring”, do not be discouraged. Ask them to speak on the phone to learn more about their career. Getting them on the phone or over Zoom is incredibly critical. During that conversation, you can then demonstrate your passion, thoughtfulness, and expertise during pointed questions, allusions to their portfolio, and examples from your own work. At the end of the call, thank them for their time and pitch why you would be a great fit. Then, suggest that you would be more than willing to travel onsite for an interview.
- Although you might get a response like “Thanks for the email and your interest. If you’re ever in [city], I would be happy to chat”, take him or her up on that offer. Once that meeting is secured, ask if there are others at the firm you can meet with (suggest some names) and try to push for the experience to become more of a formal interview.
Navigating timelines
For undergraduates looking for analyst positions, apply in the summer and recruit in the fall for full-time positions. However, there’s an ever-increasing number of internships for junior summer opening up. While analyst level positions are typically not as clearly standardized as other financial industries, the timeline generally seems to follow traditional finance/tech (late summer/early fall).
Choosing between timelines
Can never hurt to be early! Try out the scene, see what you like. But it’s also not necessarily a mistake to wait until you’ve graduated and then devote yourself fully to the search. It’s not that all the options open and close up at the same time.
Seasonality (on, off-cycle) and timeline
Still, a good number of options in the off-season! Using one’s network ensures that one can be aware of any openings ASAP. Usually it’s a few stages of interviewing anyway and depends on the number of job applicants. Can take something like 8 weeks between application submission and final stage interviews.
- It’s not about the base salary. The real $$ comes from being able to co-invest your personal money alongside the firm. You would rarely get access to investing your own money in top startups.
- The compensation model typically incentivizes analysts to source quality deals. Bonuses are based on the companies you source, which companies do the firm actually invest in.
- Is generally between $85k and $110k at the analyst level, according to the 2019 Venture Capital Salary Survey — Venture Capital Jobs Blog
Thinking about career trajectory and personal growth is important!
Although the trend is changing, analysts and associates generally do not become partners at the same firm they initially join. The venture community tends to source partners and higher-ups who are operators and have done the heavy lifting at portfolio companies. However, this model is starting to evolve with venture capital becoming a bona fide career track.
Other resources:
How to find a VC internship. As recent graduates working in venture…
How to Get Into Venture Capital: Full Guide to Recruiting and Interviews
Venture Capital Jobs Blog: Venture Capital Jobs and Career Resources (2020 edition)
What VC firms hire undergrads?
What are VC interviews for associate positions like and what is the best way to prepare?
What are the career prospects for the average Associate at a Venture Capital firm?
