- Venture capital is built on relationships.
- Focus on networking with younger people in the industry—they are your peers, and are more likely to be open to helping you out.
- Don’t be self—serving in your networking: think about what you can do for others. Don’t go to events to get a job; be there to meet people and offer to help them.
- Look at the building of relationships as a long term process—they might not pay off now, but they could pay off years down the line.
- Reach out to people—sending cold emails is perfectly alright, but try to find common elements—having a mutual friend introduce you is always preferable. Be concise, clear, and respectful.
- Go to events, but don’t just go looking for what other people can do for you.
Building Relationships In The Industry
Venture capital is built on relationships (www.trinityventures.com/venture-capital-firm-funding). A fund’s investment in a company or entrepreneur is a relationship—driven affair. If you’re interested in getting a job in venture capital, it’s important to get out there and network, not just with venture capitalists, but with everyone in the start-up ecosystem. It’s a surprisingly small tight knit community. You’re never more than one or two degrees away from anyone. Understand, however, that senior partners at firms are very busy—forming a relationship with them can be difficult—but not impossible. As with any professional, a warm introduction is better than a cold email, and will make the partner more likely to respond
As a general rule, though, network with the younger people in the industry. They’re closer to your age, and understand what you’re going through. After all, they were in your seat not too long ago. They know how hard it is to get into the industry, and it can be helpful to get their perspective. When you do develop a network, don’t always think of it in terms of what they can do for you. Think of what you can do for them. What do you bring to the table? Do you have a friend that’s starting an exciting company? Offer to make an introduction. Do you have knowledge that might not be commonplace in the field? Share it! Relationship building isn’t an instant process. Don’t be impatient—instant gratification simply does not exist. Think of it as planting a seed, and cultivating it over time. The best relationships are built over years, not magically created from one meeting or via a single email. It’s a long term process—maybe it won’t lead to a job in two months, but instead leads to one in four years. These things take time.
Reaching Out To Venture Capital Firms
Reach out to people at venture firms. Sending cold emails (thomaskorte.com/archive/how-to-cold-email) is okay—but be short, brief, and to the point. Explain who you are, and why you’re reaching out to them. Ask them if they have fifteen or thirty minutes to talk on the phone about what they do. You won’t necessarily be talking about working at their firm. You might request some of their time to discuss a recent investment their firm made. You might tell them about some of your own investment ideas, or share opportunities with them.
No matter what you say to them, you need to stand out. Put yourself in their shoes. Venture capitalists receive a huge volume of emails every day. If your message doesn’t stand out, there’s a good chance it’ll simply be deleted. Plant the seed, get it out there early, and try to network at the senior level, but also with the younger partners at the firm.
The Warm Intro & Venture Capital
Warm intros from trusted friends are always preferable to cold emails in the venture capital industry, both when you’re looking for an investor and when you’re looking for a job. Find a common thread. Anything you have in common can be used as an icebreaker and conversation starter. Do you share common interests? Did you go to the same school? Grow up in the same city? Mine your network, and find common threads. Don’t be a stalker. Look for information that’s readily available in the public domain. And there will be information—after all, VCs want great entrepreneurs to locate and network with them. Speaking of networks... Look for people that you know. If you aren’t on LinkedIn already, join it and start building a network. Do this, and you can then search for different firms and people, and get a sense of whether or not you know anyone in common. Maybe you have a mutual friend, or a college roommate works at a company their firm funded. Finding someone in common and getting them to make a warm introduction for you is the best way to go. We’re all more likely to respond to someone reaching out when people we know are involved. If you reach out to me, and I don’t know you, why should I respond? If John, a person I know and trust, says he knows you...that changes things. Finding someone you might know in common is very important. You’re more likely to do that if you’re making a concerted effort to network with younger individuals in the industry.
Other Places You Can Look
Another key to networking is to attend meet ups an events related to your area of interest. An increasing professional presence at such events means they’re a great place to meet people in the industry. Go to Meetup.com and figure out where nearby developers, entrepreneurs, or investors are meeting. Go to their meet-ups.
More info here: online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904292504576484703235925610.html A word of caution, though—Don’t go to these events with the sole purpose of getting a job. That turns people off. Two seconds into a conversation is not a good time to ask someone if they’re hiring. Instead, be there to meet people and work to stay in touch. Get to know the attendees. Ask them about their jobs, what they have invested in, and what they are excited about. Build your relationships, and don’t bother with the resumes. They get so many that yours will very likely be lost in a pile somewhere. Getting a job is like dating, it’s a two—way street. You can’t just talk about yourself the whole time. Ask questions and show interest in the other person and what they’re doing. Making the effort to build relationships at events like these, and putting in the time to cultivate those relationships is the best way to go in this industry.
