Careers in Venture Capital (European Perspective)

Welcome to the Evisors Webinar
Visit us online at www.evisors.com
Finding the Next facebook:
Careers in Venture Capital
featuring
Max Hofer
Hosted by: Career Advisors on Demand..com/webinars

Careers in Venture Capital
About Max
What is Venture Capital?
Industry Overview and Trends
How to Research the Industry
What do you do in Venture Capital?
What are Firms Looking For?
The Recruiting Process
Q&A

About Max
Background/Education
• Austrian national
• University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and HEC Paris (CEMS MIM)
• Teacher in Costa Rica
Work Experience
• 2004-2007 McKinsey & Co. consultant
• 2007-2008 Bain Capital in London
– Large mega-buyouts
• 2008-2010 Altor Equity Partners
– Scandinavian mid-market PE
• Since 2010 Kistefos Venture Capital
– Lower mid-market and mainly VC

Venture Capital (VC) is basically a variant of private equity:
1. Capital is raised from mostly institutional investors and HNWI
2. Make investments directly into private companies (or ideas!)
3. Exit the investment after some period of time in order to return
profits to investors (if all goes well!)
….however, it is significantly different from leveraged buyouts:
• Focus on different stage in life-cycle of companies
• Limited financial engineering
• Different ownership dynamics
What is Venture Capital?

Industry Overview and Trends
• Venture Capital is hot again!
– Think Facebook, Dropbox, Angrybirds, etc.
• What are the underlying drivers for this?
– Supply chain innovation
– Reduced startup costs (webshop today vs. 10-12 yrs ago: 1/1k)
– “App-economy”: 466k app-company jobs created since ’07, USD 6bn+ in
Apple app store sales to-date
• …All this and more is creating opportunities for forward-leaning entrepreneurs
and for Venture Capitalists
• Successful funds have grown fund size, opened new offices and recruited more
staff across all levels
• High-risk but also high-reward for the very successful VCs

Industry Overview and Trends Cont’d
Categorization of Funds:
• Typically categorized by their investment focus:
– Industry-focused, i.e. biotech, internet, social media
– Stage: (Angel), seed, early-stage, growth
• In the US, there has been a (historic) geographic focus of funds:
– West Coast: Kleiner
Perkins, Accel, AndreesenHorowitz, Sequoia, Benchmark
Capital, Founder’s Fund
– East Coast: Union Square Capital, Bain Capital VC, Bessemer VC
• Some technology companies have their own funds, such as Intel
Capital, Sony, and Google

How to Research the Industry
• Company websites
• Career guides and websites
• Newsletters and blogs such as
techcrunch.com, gruenderszene.de (Germany) to follow
developments and gain insight into what VCs are investing
in
• Attend VC clubs/conferences at your university
• Develop your business idea and pitch it to a VC
• Talk to friends/acquaintances who work as VCs or have
pitched an investment opportunity
Hosted by:See the rest at evisors.com/webinars/webinar/11

• Investment sourcing
• Investment diligence
• Portfolio company monitoring
• Investment communications
What do you do in Venture Capital?

What are Firms Looking For?
• Smart people with strong social skills and guts! It’s a people
business!
• Drive and strong interest in startup businesses
• Structured individuals that can build relationships with
chaotic, technology-focused, geeky founders
• Specific knowledge/skills that set you apart, i.e. industry
expertise, programming skills, PhD in biotech, whatever!
• An entrepreneurial background is a bonus
• Strong communication skills – you will need to sell your
investment hypothesis to investment partners

The Recruiting Process
The Application
• Resume
• Cover letter
• Application
• Tailor each application
to the company
• Follow up
The Interview
• Resume walk
• Answer basic questions
on why you want this
career/role/firm
• Expect case questions
• Have questions ready
for interviewer

Q&A

Questions & Answers
Question 1:
How would you compare the work-life
balance between venture capital and private
equity firms?
Hosted by:See the answer at evisors.com/webinars/webinar/11

Questions & Answers
Question 2:
When working in venture capital, how
important is it to have a finance background?

Questions & Answers
Question 3:
Is startup experience valuable within a
venture capital firm?

Questions & Answers
Question 4:
How did your colleagues break into the
venture capital industry?

Questions & Answers
Question 5:
What are some tips and tricks on networking
with venture capital firms?

Questions & Answers
Question 6:
How many deals would you look at? What
kind of deals do you work on?

Questions & Answers
Question 7:
What are current trends amongst venture
capital firms?

Questions & Answers
Question 8:
What is your perspective on startups that
focus on sustainability/the environment?

Questions & Answers
Question 9:
What do you look for when evaluating
pitches?

Questions & Answers
Question 10:
How does the venture capital industry differ
between Europe and North America?

Questions & Answers
Question 11:
How do you evaluate the different venture
capital firms?

Questions & Answers
Question 12:
Do most people move up within a venture
capital firm or do they tend to switch
between the firms?

Questions & Answers
Question 13:
What did you like the most/the least about
venture capital? What do you find most
surprising when working in venture capital?

Thanks for Joining & Good Luck!
Book your session with Max at
http://www.evisors.com/expert/271

Careers in Venture Capital (European Perspective)

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