-Early stage focused b2b investor -Have worked in venture capital for 4 years -Founder of BLCK VC; group focused on increasing black representation in venture capital/tech -Stanford grad
How do you get promoted at a VC? Does it depend on the success of your portfolio?
This one really depends on the firm. On one hand, this is an easy answer--make money or invest in a great company and you get promoted. What makes this tough is that it takes many years for a company to mature. So what do you do in the interim? In my experience it's all about proving value to your team and getting their confidence that you can run a process on your own and that you can win deals for the firm. This is what determines promotion in the early years.
This one you nailed on. Not trying to pick on you, but in general, you have to prove to the firm that you can at least double, if not quadruple, their investment. I applaud you for the work you've done
Do you feel happy at your job? There seems to be a lot of burnout and lots of ex-VCs. How do you sustain yourself in the long run?
Burn out is so real!!! Honestly, I have highs and lows. One of the hardest parts of this job for me at first was saying no to companies. For every 1 deal I invest in, I say no to 99. That's tough over time. I sustain myself by trying not to forget my health both physically and mentally. I make time for both. I think it is also key to learn how to integrate all of the social activities in venture into your personal life.
Nature of the beast, the question is how much regret do you have?
Nice, had to be a fellow Amazonian 🤑🤑
How do you evaluate startups? What in your opinion are key indicators of success/failure?
I think about the following things: team, market size, product, business model, and vision. I think one of the biggest indicators for success are founders that are building a product to solve a pain they've felt at previous companies. This is something that comes through a story and pitch very clearly and can really help when building product and managing founder led sales.
Sadly you focused on one of the things you mentioned. Vision. But one of the things you will learn and or figure out is that vision sucks. Which is where the other things you look for are fairly important, team size is rarely an issue, market size is huge, product .. not even gonna consider that as a thing to think about. Business model and vision are the most important ones. I'm not trying to be conflicting, but I am saying that you have to be more careful about what and what isn't, you're mentioning these things as a way to attract people, but 9/10 times the original team never sticks around, and if they do it's on promises. What are you willing to do about that?
What’s the average compensation 1 year in working at a VC vs. 4 years? What’s the most you’ve ever heard of someone making?
This is actually really dependant on the size of the fund a person works at. Most funds pay 70-100k first year with a bonus that could be as much as 20k. Then the progression from there really varies in the industry. The most I've heard is someone 3 years in making 400 total comp, but this was at a very large fund.
Are you serious? I'm surprised. Are you given predetermined bonuses for investing in the major winners?
What is the interview process like at your firm? What kind of candidates are you looking for?
Venture funds look for the following things in prospective hires: intellectual curiousity, EQ, and the ability to work independently while being a great self starter. My firm isn't any different.
Do you look for folks specifically with MBA or a particular line of work?
Do VCs read cold emails?
The younger the vc, the more likely they do. I read most cold emails as long as it looks personalized and not like a mass email. Bonus points if they are able to show they did some research about the firm or me going into the email. You'd be surprised how many consumer deals I get cold outreached about even though my firm only does b2b.
What does your day-to-day look like? I think the preconception is that you work 70 plus hours, is this true?
Meeting, meeting, meeting, happy hour! That's basically what my days look like. I meet with companies much of my day, and when I'm not meeting companies I'm doing diligence on a deal by talking to experts, customers, references, and doing market research. While you're right that the hours can be long, the reality is that much of my evenings are more socially oriented with events and happy hours.
What are your career goals? How do you predict the rest of your career will play out?
Personally, my goal is to leverage my career to find ways to drive more wealth into underrepresented communities. I think tech and venture are great vehicles to achieve this. I see this as the arc of my career and it's why I've helped build things like BLCK VC. When it comes to investing, my goal is always to back incredible and authentic founders going after large markets. I think if you can index heavily on this, then success should follow--with a little luck mixed in ;)
How does one become a venture capitalist? Do you need a finance background?
Not at all! I worked in the non-profit world before. That being said, most VCs have investment banking, consulting, or operating experience at a startup prior to joining a firm.
How did you land this job from a non-profit?