Moving up inside a venture capital firm used to be a straightforward process. Once you landed a job as a venture capital associate, you plowed through a lot of due diligence work for the firm and paid close attention in partner meetings.
But things have changed, according to an article in Mass High Tech. The venture capital industry has been shrinking, and that’s made the hiring process for venture capital jobs that much more competitive. A fresh associate now needs to have a resume packed with entrepreneurial experience. And once inside the firm, new associates are expected to uncover new deals that are worth the partners’ attention.
In fact, many venture capital firms are now recruiting successful serial entrepreneurs into their partnerships, or poaching partners from other firms, rather than promote from within. So how does a newly-minted MBA compete with that? Mass High Tech interviewed a handful of recent grads who were successful in landing VC jobs in the Boston area, for their advice, and how they measure success.
Dustin Dolginow, 28, is an associate with Atlas Venture. Before that he was an analyst at Lehman Brothers, which he left to launch Graffito, a social payments startup. He says it takes about seven years to see if you’re any good at venture capital. He tracks his partners’ view of his work via feedback sessions, as well as his ability to connect with people and earn their trust. Biggest lesson so far: learning the art of questioning and listening. It’s essential to teach yourself how to ask the right question at the right time. And to know when to keep quiet and listen.
Nikhil Kalghatgi, 27, joined a firm called Localytics as a founding employee, after starting his own micro-hedge fund, Partner6, while an undergraduate at Tufts University. During that time he became enamored with the venture community, and received an offer from SoftBank, where he currently works. On measuring success? Kalghatgi’s metrics include how many deals you are bringing to the table that actually make it to a partner meeting. And how many of them are getting funded by any venture firm, or by your firm in particular? Best lesson: no matter who you meet, give them your full attention, even if you’re not going to be investing in their venture. You never know what potential customers or investors they may introduce you to.
You can read the full interviews for four young venture capital associates at the Mass High Tech site.
How about you? How do you measure success at the venture capital associate level? Add your comments below.
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