How to get into Venture Capital Industry?
Venture Capital is one of the most fascinating career options as you will get an opportunity to surround yourself with some of the smartest and most motivated people on the earth. People from outside see the VC industry from a money-making machine point of view but if you ask people who are inside, you will understand it is the mission, not the money which excites people.
However, the biggest challenge is to make entry into this tribe. There is a very very possible way to enter into the industry:
- Start a career as an analyst with an investment bank or VC firm
- A successful entrepreneur with a big exit
- Successful corporate careers
However, the VC industry is also going through some fundamental changes. Now, there are many platforms and resources available which can help you to break the glass ceiling. I am on the same journey as it is a process not a single step. During my journey, I have come across various platforms (still there are many that I don’t know) and one needs to pick the one which meets individual criteria.
Fellowship
Included VC is one of the best programs if you are looking to enter into the venture capital space and could not able to do so owing to biases. The program offers free coaching and training to people from underrepresented segments. The batch size is 100 every year but the process is very competitive as they received around 2,000 applications from all across the globe. There are four rounds to clear before you can join the program. The admission for the next batch is launched in February 2023.
Future VC is part of Diversity VC. It is one of the unique programs as it offers an internship and development program which supports access to the Venture Capital industry. The program offers 8 weeks of paid internship to people from a diversified group. Further, the program organizes masterclasses and mentoring sessions for the participants. The program starts accepting applications at the end of the year.
RippleX Fellowship program is offered by Ripple Ventures. It is a 12-week remote program for students and founders. The program selects 25 students every year consisting of founders, VCs, and employees at startups. There is also a free online fellowship program if you don’t get selected for this one. The application focus on the individual's interest in startups and the technology space. Do check out Ripple Portfolio to learn more about their investment thesis.
Free courses
If you feel that you are still not ready and want to learn more venture capital industry more. Some of the following courses can be useful for you.
Kaufmann — Techstar Venture Deals is a free online course, designed to demystify venture capital deals and early-stage startup financing to give both first-time and experienced entrepreneurs guidance to secure funding. This is not a detailed course but provides a very good overview of the ecosystem. The program is self-paced and requires completing some assignments. Admission for the Fall session is currently open and the last date is 22 September 2022.
Paid courses
Venture University is part of VU Venture Partners, organized The Investor Accelerator, offering VC/PE investment experience over 3–12 Months. The executives make ~3–20 new portfolio company investments and some follow-on investments. The trainee can either work from the VU Venture Partners office in San Francisco and Hong Kong or Virtually. Generally, the deals are focused on Consumer, Enterprise, FinTech, Frontier, Healthcare, & PropTech. The program will cost you around $20,000 per person.
If you are interested in mobility startups and looking to connect with Venture Capital firms investing in mobility and technology startups. Check out www.mobility-innovators.com
About The Author
Jaspal Singh is the Co-founder of Mobility Innovation Lab (MIL) and Host of the Mobility Innovators Podcast. He loves to talk about startups, mobility, and technology.
