Imagine this.
It's 9 o'clock at night, you're at a drinks event and in walks a bright young kid named Mark Zuckerberg.
And he is building the hottest startup in town called Facebook.
It is growing like a weed and is definitely going to be the next billion-dollar company.
And it's in this moment that you realize you have one shot to shoot with Mark here to convince him that you're the right venture capital investor for him and Facebook.
And if you do so, you stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars and submit yourself in the investing hall of fame.
Now that is the job of a venture capitalist.
Now, of course, the daily realities of being a VC are nowhere near that cinematic all the time, but it is a pretty damn good job.
So I'm going to tell you about all the best parts about what it was like to work at a top VC firm.
So there are a couple of good reasons as to why being a VC is one of the best jobs out there.
And the number one reason is that you can make a lot of money.
So just as a really ridiculous example of just how much money you can make as an early stage venture investor, let's look at Uber.
So Uber raised the seed round at a valuation of around $3 million.
So that means all the earliest stage investors who invested in Uber at the seed round, who put in a 50000 check, made over 250 million when Uber went public.
That is a 5,000 times return on your money.
Like think about putting in $50,000 and getting $250 million back.
So the average VC fund takes about 20% of the profits that they make for their investors.
And if you're at a top fund, that profit share can go all the way up to 30 to 40% of the profits.
So some of my bosses would have a 100 million plus payday whenever they sold a company for over a billion dollars.
But it's not just money that's really exciting about the job.
The second reason being a VC is really fun is that you get to be on the ground level of some of the world changing and society redefining companies from the very start and help them grow and just learn a ton through that process.
Like.
Imagine being on the ground floor of companies like Uber Airbnb Facebook Instagram, WhatsApp All of these massive companies that you and all of your friends use all the time and getting to see those companies go through hyper growth and actually, wildly enough, getting to help them do that.
And so I, 24 years old, as just an entry level junior associate at a top firm, got to sit in on the board meetings of companies like that and actually help them analyze different situations and make really big strategic decisions.
And so, as a VC, not only do you get to partake in funding and the economic upside of actually getting to participate in these world changing startups, but you also get to help build them and see their journey.
And that process is just honestly really fun.
Now, the last reason was actually my favorite part, which is being a VC basically means you get paid to learn.
So as a VC, in order to even know what to invest in, you have to study the markets.
You have to understand how the world works and also, more importantly, how the world doesn't work, because that's where the investment opportunity actually is.
And so a lot of my days were just spent learning how the world works within some specific market segment.
And on top of that, the best part is you get to constantly meet with the brightest entrepreneurs in the world out there who are pushing to innovate in those markets and they're constantly teaching you about their market and how they're going to disrupt it.
And so you're basically paid to learn all the time to make the best decisions possible.
So, with all that being said, as I pick up my DoorDash, which is another billion-dollar venture-backed startup, how do you actually get a job in VC?
So let's start with the bad news.
Well, because being a VC is so prestigious and pays so well.
There are only a few spots every year that thousands of people are competing for.
That's the bad news.
Now the good news is that your boy actually recruited for VC back in the day, got hired and then, once I got promoted, started interviewing a ton of associates.
So I'm gonna share with you the three very secrets or steps that I wish I had known when I was recruiting for VC back in the day.
That's gonna help you land your dream role.
And those three steps are to build your street cred, network, and then close the deal.
So what do I mean by build your street cred?
Well, unfortunately, VCs are pretty superficial people.
Now, the reality of their job is that they get thousands of emails every single day for people who want their money or want to work for them.
So you have to figure out what are you going to do to actually get on their radar?
Because one of the main ways that VCs actually make early decisions to even decide whether or not to get on a call with you is unfortunately through heuristics, which is pattern matching around different societal stamps of approval that you have that actually recommends that you're worth their time.
So specific examples of that, by the way, look how dank these dumplings look.
Specific examples of that include what university you went to.
So did you go to Stanford or Harvard, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Or what companies have you worked at?
Have you worked at a great startup like an Uber or Airbnb?
Or have you worked at a great consulting or finance firm like Goldman or McKinsey?
But what if you weren't a square and didn't end up at one of these universities or work at one of these top companies?
Are you basically just screwed and not able to get a job in VC?
The good news is no, you actually have a really great shot still to hustle your way into a job in VC and crush it and land at a top firm.
So this is what I would do if I were starting from scratch.
So first I'd find some industry that you're super passionate about like, for example, AI or crypto.
And from there I would consume basically every piece of content under the sun about this specific industry.
To become an expert on the space.
So that means all blog posts podcasts, YouTube videos, Twitter threads, basically anything you can to catch up on speed on this industry.
I would consume that because you're going to learn a ton from that.
And then what you're going to do is you're going to start reaching out for informational interviews with people in that specific industry.
So I'd look up the top companies in the space and I'd start reaching out especially if you're a student via LinkedIn or cold emails, asking for time with these people for informational interviews, to learn more about their industry as well as what they think people should be solving in this specific space.
And then I would take all of this knowledge that you're consuming and start creating content.
So what do I mean by content?
I mean any form of content that you enjoy creating yourself.
So whether that's videos on YouTube or TikTok or Instagram, all the way to Twitter threads or LinkedIn posts or blog posts,
Basically, I want you to take all this knowledge you're learning.
I want you to summarize it and then start making insights and bets that actually inform your content and differentiate you in the market.
So one good example of some content you can start making is a market map, which is basically just a list of all the most interesting companies within your space.
And as you're starting to create this content, I also want you to start simultaneously building a network within your industry.
So what does that actually mean?
Well, let's say, for example me, where I'm really interested in the creator economy and I really want to start building a brand or some street cred on Twitter.
On top of creating this content, I will also simultaneously be following all of the top experts in the creative economy that are on Twitter.
I'll be responding and interacting with all their tweets.
And I'll also be finding the top VCs in the space that invest in the creative economy and start following them as well.
Because once you start interacting with folks and you're also posting quality content, you'll actually start to build a brand and some street cred for yourself.
And I promise you, if you commit to this process over even just a few months time, you'll start to one, build an audience, but two, start to have really hot takes in a good way, in terms of creating interesting content on your specific industry.
So if you're consistent about this content creation process and really dive into your industry, you will slowly but surely build credibility and street cred in your industry that VCs will start to interact with.
And this is when you hit step two of the master plan, which is networking, aka getting your foot in the door.
So I want you to put yourself in the head of a 45 year old VC.
Now, what is this VC?
Let's call him Jim.
What does Jim care about?
Jim cares about two things.
Number one is making a lot of money.
And number two is being seen by his peers as one of the best VCs out there.
Unfortunately, right now, the reality is that Jim does not care at all about you, especially if you're sending him generic informational interview requests, because he is not going to respond to that, because he constantly struggles with getting way too many emails.
So the question becomes how are you going to stick out for the crowd and break through the noise and get Jim to give you a great job?
Well, let's anchor it back to the problems that Jim has.
Now, Jim wants to make more money and seem cooler amongst his peers.
And so you are going to show up in his life as someone who can help him solve both problems.
Because I guarantee you if you were to say, for example say, I found the next Facebook Jim, I'll get you in on the deal.
100.
Whatever that company is he'd love to talk to and he's gonna take a look at you.
But wow, thank you so much for this opportunity.
So your job is to start proving to jim that you can actually source him the best deals and also give him street cred for hiring.
Well, good thing you're already starting to build street cred because you're posting content and becoming an expert in your space.
And so now is the perfect time to slide into Jim's DMs.
And I want you to write an email something like this.
Start with a subject line that shows that you've done your research on this specific VC and have a genuine interest in what they do.
So in this example, you could write something like thoughts on your creator economy blog post.
And then you can start your email out with something like Hey Jim, I loved your recent blog post on the CreatorCon.
And in fact, it's been awesome to watch you start to build your portfolio in the space with leading companies like Patreon and Stan.
And now that you've piqued his interest and immediately played to his ego, you can start inserting your own value and showcase why you are worth Jim's time.
So, in this context, because you've been consistently creating content on, let's say, the creator economy, you can start to showcase all you've done in the industry.
And this tees you up for the last part of this email, which is also the last step of this process, which is to close the deal.
This is where you start adding an immense amount of value to Jim's life.
And there are actually a ton of ways you can help them out.
You could offer to help them scout new deals.
Now, what that means is because you started building your network and also you're starting to research a specific industry.
You're learning a lot more about what the best companies are and also starting to learn about all the startups that are popping up in the space that then you can source as potential deals for these VCs.
And on top of that, because you've been following this market so intensely, you could offer to provide free research or diligence to help this VC develop a more nuanced perspective on this specific industry.
And offering this kind of value is something that VCs are really going to look for, especially when you are an expert or have street cred in a specific space.
And now that you've opened the door where the VC is interested in you working with them, you now, over the next few months, get to prove yourself in your hustle, while you get to work with actual VCs and build up your resume.
Now, whether it's with this specific VC or a bunch of other firms that you're also building a relationship with, you get to start proving to them that you can hustle to get into the best deals and you also have the knowledge to invest in the very best companies as well, because you don't want to lose their money.
And once you really start proving yourself, you're going to start to have these relationships with some of the top VCs And from there you can say hey, you know, I see you have an opportunity here.
I'd love to get to work with you full time.
And bam, just like that is how you catalyze a full time role as a VC.
All right.
That was a lot of info.
And I definitely struggled to eat my food while trying to tell you all of that.
But I guarantee you that's all you need to make it into VC without any prior connections.
So I'm going to finish my food so I could finish my work and go home for the day.
But make sure to like and subscribe so that YouTube can show you more of my videos, where I will be releasing videos on how to actually make it in business and how to raise money for your startup so that you can crush it in your own career.
So I'll see you later.
