#BreakIntoVC: How to Break Into Venture Capital And Think Like an Investor Whether You're a Student, Entrepreneur or Working Professional (Venture Capital Guidebook Book 1)

I would just say that, in my experience, if you really want to go into venture capital…don’t let people tell you that you can’t do it. Make your own path and just go. Like, just do things. Just start down the path. Maybe you don’t know where you’re going to end up or if you’ll get there necessarily, but just start doing things that you think will h

The core information you want to relay to your firm after a conversation is what the business does, who they sell the product to, any metrics, revenue, growth, projections and your overall thoughts on the business as an investor.

First, the stage is really important. If we’re looking early stage, finance is not necessarily a relevant background. Having more technical experience at an early stage is definitely more advantageous although less necessary because what you’re likely doing is staying up to date on what’s new and relevant in a given space.

Also, don’t be afraid to contact the firms. Many people believe there’s a very rigid recruiting process and they can’t call recruiters and can’t talk to analysts, but just by reaching out you’ll see that people are so generous with their time when it comes to talking with others who show an interest in the industry.

Well I think that what they really want to see is a thirst and passion for technology, that’s perhaps the most important. Second, is someone who is really excited about different verticals and able to discuss companies within a given industry.

From there I asked if we could help out with any extra work that their portfolio companies may need and that’s pretty much the direction we’re headed in now. We’re still ironing out a few kinks but we’re going to continue with the strategy of working with the portfolio companies of venture firms as well as helping out with investment through resear

Aside from the resume, another way to be impactful is to show or prove that you can do the work of a VC. Try and help out with suggestions for their portfolio companies. If you know about a company and think it may be worth a VC’s time, always feel free to reach out. I think some of these things are more important than a resume in some aspects.

I also knew I wanted to get exposure to a lot of different industries so instead of doing a startup and diving into one specific vertical, I wanted a more generalist feel. That’s ultimately what led me to VC: the fact that I’d really be able to touch a bunch of different industries and really see innovation throughout all the different ecosystems.

I think it’s still great to take financial modeling or other courses that will be relevant, but a lot of people think that they need 2-4 years in finance or a 4.0 GPA, but VC is ultimately driven by that passion to find out the companies that are disruptive and find out who the early adopters are.