Where to Start?
9 Resources To Help Start Your VC Career
This week I’ve spoken to three professionals — coming from distinct industries such as wealth management, life sciences, and IT consulting — that are interested in pursuing a career in Venture Capital. Since I’ve been working in or around the startup ecosystem since June 2012, I feel like I have learned some do’s and definitely don’ts in a pursuit for an investment role. Many friends, mentors, and complete strangers have taken time out of their busy schedules to speak with me about their journey into their VC roles. So the least I could do is pay it forward and provide others who are at the starting point of the hazing road to a career in VC with my advice on the most useful resources to strategizing their customized route to the Venture Capital promise land.
Below is an excerpt from the email I sent person this week with my advice on what key resources they should tap into to get up to speed on the history, current news, and events happening within their desired startup ecosystem. After utilizing these resources, you should have a pretty good handle on what the role entails, what investment activities are happening within your industry of interest (i.e. fintech, edtech, etc.) and what networking events you can go to in your local startup ecosystem.
Here are a few resources you should check out that will really give you insight into the VC role and industry.
Resources for the Learning Curve
Books/Websites that Will Teach You About The VC role:
A book I enjoyed was The New Venturers
Resources to Stay Informed On News and Job Opportunities
Newsletters You Must Sign-Up To Stay Informed
Clutch Blog Posts/ListServs focused on VC Job Search
My posts Breaking Into The Big Leagues and Scouting Reports that shares insights and articles on how to get into VC
Resources to Become Active In Your Desired Startup Industry or Local Ecosystem
Find events in your ecosystem through Meetups, Eventbrite, Startup Digest and city specific event curating websites
Other to-dos
Microblog on Twitter by sharing your favorite articles and providing a short takeaway in the tweet (and also follow @EarnestSweat)
Join Medium and build your Thought Resume by writing about startups and tech topics that interest you (and check out “The Importance of Reading Earnest” as well as other awesome posts)
Make sure you have these digital life hack tools (I’m also warming up to Airtable) that can help you leverage technology as your stay organized and balanced during your journey to a VC role
What other resources would you suggest for individuals who are early in their venture capital job search?
Thanks to Connie Loizos, danprimack, John Gannon, Christina Cacioppo, and others for their resources that have helped me a ton to get up to speed on VC.
Earnest Sweat is a Startup Adviser that specializes in mentoring startups within the fin tech, ed tech, and real estate tech sectors. If you have any questions, comments or requests please connect with Earnest through LinkedIn, Twitter, or AngelList.
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