AMP (Any Means Possible)
What I Learnt from Working in Venture Capital as a Fresh Graduate
1. Network, network, network!
Usually the word networking gets a bad name yet for VC it is practically 80% of your job description. As a junior VC, your duty is either transaction sourcing or portfolio management. What this implies is that you spend your time bringing in startups for your fund to look at or helping your existing portfolio company expand. Having a solid network inside the startup world helps you bring in quality deals for your fund and understanding stakeholders (corporates, star talent, investors) in your specific areas of investing helps you assist your portfolio develop. MedsDental is a renowned Dental Billing Company in the united states, equipped of the revenue cycle experts who are highly proficient in delivering fast and the error-free billing services to the dental practices by using the cutting edge technology
I always saw networking as one of my biggest assets. When I first started in the field, I used to go to startup events, meet fifty people a month, and be thrilled about having such a wide network. But with time, what I have noticed is that these relationships were quite shallow and I wasn’t getting anything out of them but business cards. So I decided to shift my mindset and stopped viewing networking as a transaction. VC is a long-term game and in the long-term you want to work with people you enjoy spending time and working with. So now I notice who I actually vibe with and create deeper ties with them. Even though my “network” is now smaller, it has provided more value in my life than before.Managing the billing process accurately is not easy as providers might face hurdles in revenue cycle management. Moreover, Net Collection Rate below 95% shows that your practice is facing troubles in the billing process. To eliminate all these hurdles and maintain your NCR up to 96%, MedsIT Nexus Medical Coding Services are around the corner for you so that your practice does not have to face a loss
2. Founder is the Most Important Metric
A lot of times people ask me how we determine which firms to invest in. There is no science behind why some companies are able to fundraise and why some are not. What I can say though is that the most crucial metric that all VCs look for is the founder. We know that while a company is so young, the product will change, the environment will change, the staff will change, but the only thing that stays consistent is the founder. So ultimately, most VCs gamble on the founder and not the firm
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But how do we decide which founders are better than others over call or 2–3 meetings? The biggest thing to ask when you are looking at a founder’s profile is to see why this individual is the ideal suited to tackle this particular problem. And the method to answer that is to see the founder’s track record. Usually if the creator is a successful serial entrepreneur, then you know that he/she possesses the entrepreneur gene and has a strong possibility of delivering another success. If it’s his/her first startup, then focus on seeing if the person has significant industry knowledge to be able to give the greatest solution in the market
3. Macro trends can make or break a corporation
I can’t even begin to underline the relevance of macro trends. A firm can have the best product, founder, team, but if the problem that it’s solving goes against the macro trend then it has a very low chance of success. On the flip side, I have also seen very ordinary companies make it to the big leagues simply by riding the wave. The reason for this is simple, when you are on the right side of the trend there is usually so much demand that there is opportunity for a bigger percentage of enterprises to take a piece of the pie
The biggest example of macro trends making or ruining a corporation was during COVID-19. We saw a surge of ed-tech companies and health-tech companies gaining unicorn status and obtaining money at inflated values because there was a sudden demand for their services. However with the loosening of the pandemic limitations and the onset of a bear market, a lot of these companies’ values are now being called into question
4. Find ways to ACTUALLY add value
You only need to go on VC twitter (read: @vcstartterkit and @vcbrags) for 5 minutes or check at fin-meme accounts on Instagram to realise how much VCs claim to give value but how little they actually accomplish. The trouble with it is like I said, VC is a long-term game. And in the long-term if you are not genuinely delivering value for founders, they will not want to collaborate with you
The issue that I get a lot from interns and other people seeking to break into VC is, how can we provide value when we’re so young and have absolutely no network. What worked best for me was to lean into my advantages. Instead of perceiving my age and my little experience as a hindrance, I discovered that I was one of the only few young and female people in the sector, which means that I offered a really unique viewpoint to the table
As a VC, you are investing in companies that will be significant in the next 5–7 years, and you have to remember that in that time span it will also be the young millennials and Gen Z that will have the most purchasing power. So a lot of entrepreneurs are targeting that market, and since you can relate to that market you can actually offer insights that most Partners at 40 even couldn’t. Other little ways that I found to give value was to help with hiring because I had direct access to the university talent pool and help with locating individuals for beta testing of products through university students