“Whatever needs to get done, I get it done.” One Year in VC

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In the less common post-MBA roles, graduates often find themselves in positions they never expected to be in. The following is an excerpt from After School where a venture capitalist associate gave me her honest assessment of her first year out.

 

When people ask you “What do you do?” what do you say?

Well, it depends on who asks me. But, if it’s my parents I say I’m a Venture Capitalist. They ask, “What is that?” and I say it’s like Shark Tank. I’m the investor, you know, but without all that extra drama.

If it’s the MBA crowd or my colleagues or I say I work at a Venture Capital Fund. My responsibilities include deal sourcing, taking first, second, third meetings for companies, due diligence, and providing investment recommendations to my team. Then once we decide to invest, I doing everything from the whole closing process that happens afterwards with the lawyers and the accountants to working with our portfolio companies to make sure we do everything we can to make them successful. I also fill the fridge, move around furniture, and hammer the Ethernet cord into the wall. Whatever needs to get done, I get it done.

I actually work a lot for two reasons. One, because I can. Two, because I want to.

What are your hours like?

I don’t have any hours. What I love about this job and what is stressful about this job is that we don’t have any hours. We don’t have any vacation time. I actually work a lot for two reasons. One, because I can. Two, because I want to. Typically I can get in whenever, but I usually get in around 7:30 or 8:00, and I leave around 5… 6:00?

That’s if I have no events. I typically have an event every single night, so probably around 8:00. I would say probably around 12 hours a day. If I don’t have an event, I’ll go home and have dinner, but I’ll still check my emails. I’m still logged in on Friday night if I have to be.

With that said, I try to unplug on Saturdays. I check my emails, but people know that I won’t respond unless it’s an emergency. I can’t calculate how many hours…The job is always in my head and I know that I’m always talking about it because I enjoy it.

 

Do you like it?

Love it. The good outweighs the bad by far. This is the first job that I’ve actually loved in a long time. I have so much autonomy. I get challenged every single day; every single day I learn something new. I get to deal with entrepreneurs. I get so many different personalities. I’ve had entrepreneurs fucking yelling at me and screaming at me, and then I’ve had entrepreneurs say “Thank you so much for your advice. It just changed my world.”

 

What’s the best part of the job?

I hate being told what to do and I love being challenged. I go in there and I have no idea how I’m going to do something. For example, my second day on the job, the following happened:

Partner: Go there and just tell us what you think.

Me: OK. [Slightly confused]

Partner: We need this to happen. Go figure it out.

Me: What? [Thinking] I have to read a 30-page legal doc and I don’t understand what I’m doing.

I love being thrown in any random situation where I just have to figure it out. I’m the third person in the group, so if I don’t figure it out, it’s not like anybody else is going to figure it out. You create the rules. You create the structure, and you can change them when you want.

I’ve had entrepreneurs fucking yelling at me and screaming at me, and then I’ve had entrepreneurs say “Thank you so much for your advice. It just changed my world.”

What’s the worst part of the job?

The worst part about it is that I am the only one so although I do all these great things and I go to investor dinners and close deals – I have to fill the water in the fridge. I have to work with our back office and give them receipts for what we’ve done. If the water’s leaking, I have to find somebody.

 

If you would like to participate/be interviewed for the blog, contact me at nkem.nwankwo@lifeafterschool.co.