A Day In The Life Of An Associate At A Venture Capital Firm

As a conclusion to the book, this chapter details the sort of things that typically occur in a venture capital associate’s regular work day. An associate might:You did it! You got the job! Now, you want to know what you’ll expect from your first day—and every day thereafter while you work at the firm. While you might be given some guidance on what you’ll be doing, most firms aren’t big on hand-holding. You already know your primary duties—Field Sourcing, Due Diligence Execution, and Partner Support, but what about the day to day? Here’s what to expect from your first day, based on the experience of our experts Ankit Garg and Linus Chung.

Note that this is intended as a rough guide only. Depending on the firm, your duties can vary wildly from what you see here. The duties of an associate at a firm with a clear-cut associate program will likely have only passing similarities with those who hire associates on and off on an as-needed basis. The latter more resembles the role of a freelance consultant than it does that of an analyst.

It’s simply something you should keep in mind. You should already have at least a passing idea of what to expect—after all, we’re assuming you’ve done your research if you’ve come this far. In the mornings, you’ll typically talk to various CEOs of small companies that are candidates for your firm to invest in. Typically, they’re companies that have reached out to the firm looking for investment. You’ll follow up with them to get a better understanding of where their business was at, what their plans were for the future, how they felt they stacked up against the competition, what they needed money for, and so on. These discussions will likely take up the first half of your day. Around lunch time, you’ll get the opportunity to focus more on your own independent work. You’ll do market studies, read research papers, do industry research to analyze companies you’ve spoken to, and then follow up with those companies. You’ll look for how they fit and what their competitive advantages are. Once you’ve gathered all the necessary information, you’ll determine if they’re attractive candidates for the firm to follow up with in more detail. You might also do something known as “sourcing.” Basically, you’ll be cold-calling companies in an industry you’re interested in to find out if they might be interested in investment. Following up on cold leads can tend to be one of the less enjoyable aspects of an associates’ job, since there’s often a good chance cold leads will end up going nowhere. Turning people down is one aspect of the job you’ll probably enjoy the least while you’re starting out. Eventually, you’ll get used to it—not every company is viable for investment, after all—but the first few times, rejecting an entrepreneurial hopeful or start-up business is going to sting. If all this doesn’t sound at least moderately interesting to you, you probably shouldn’t be considering a career in venture capital. As an associate, don’t forget to talk to the CEOs of the companies your firm wants to invest in—and not just about the investment. Get their perspective on what’s going on in the industry. They’re the best people to talk to about this sort of thing, since it’s their field—who better to have detailed knowledge about mobile phones than someone who founded a mobile phone start-up? Venture capital is anything but routine. You’ll find yourself talking to people hailing from many different industries on a daily basis. You’ll do new research every day. And in all likelihood, you’ll find yourself travelling at least once. For Ankit Garg, one of the best parts of the job was primary research. Getting out there and visiting with CEOs and company executives. Seeing new technology in action. Meeting and speaking with extremely knowledgeable people. For those of you wondering what sort of salary you could expect in venture capital, you’ll typically make anywhere from 60,000 to 190,000, including bonuses and profit sharing. For all the work it takes to get into a venture capital firm, the pay’s certainly good. Of course, the pay honestly comes secondary—working in venture capital doesn’t simply mean a big fat pay check.

More on Venture Capital Salary: www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Associate_-_Venture_Capital_Firm/Salary More than anything else, it means learning about the industry. Working in venture capital means getting to meet a great many new people with vast knowledge in different fields. It means learning more every day about business and technology. It means witnessing—and coming to know—what it takes for a company to get funding. If this sounds like the job for you, then hop to it—you’ve got everything you need right here.