The Best Book On Getting Into Venture Capital

Knowing someone on the inside can be a great boon.
Find a segue in which you can bring up your research on the partner who’s interviewing you. Ask intelligent questions.

What’s the competitive landscape? Who are the major players in the market? What’s the competition like? What differentiates the company from its competition? Does the company have unique technology? Do the people have unique relationships and connections that will help them take the market? Which company is the market leader or well positioned to become the market leader? Why

Since venture firms are all about finding great companies and entrepreneurs and investing in them, you should have investment ideas of your own. Have some categories that you’re interested in and some major market drivers as to why those categories are interesting.

Before you get to the second stage interview (or for bonus points in the first stage) build up some investment ideas of your own that would fit the fund’s portfolio.

What to know for the second round interview: Investment Theses.
Market and People.

You’re far more likely to find job postings on site like LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), or on social applications such as Branch Out (www.branchout.com), or Top Prospect (www.topprospect.com). These are the kinds of places that firms tend to go when posting job openings.

Another good strategy is to look at the backgrounds of the other younger members of the team. This might give you an idea of the type of person the firm tends to hire

Look at their portfolio. What do they focus on? What type of background do the other team members have? What companies have they invested in? What hobbies or interests outside of work do the team members have? You

It’s a good idea to do some research on a firm before you apply—know who they are, and determine if you want to work for them.

Taking Risks & Venture Capital
Venture capital is an industry that encourages risk, because without risk we can’t create great companies and new technology. So if you took a risk and failed…don’t consider it a failure. You took the risk, it didn’t work, you grew from the experience, and hopefully you can build on those lessons