These days, I get asked the question “how to get into venture capital” quite often. Venture capital is a “hot” industry right now, and everyone seems to believe that there’s one clear path to getting into venture capital.
The venture capital industry is very different from other industries. Venture capital funds don’t have a license you can acquire to break into VC.
You can’t go to your city or state and apply to become a venture capital associate. It just doesn’t work like that.
Most venture capital firms are built by a founder, also known as a partner, and most venture capital funds raise money from limited partners, also known as LPs.
Venture capital funds are designed very differently than private equity funds.
So, the good news is that there’s no one single path, and it’s not all that straightforward. And the bad news is that there’s no single path to getting into venture capital.
But, in this article, I’ll go deep into all the different ways you can get into venture capital if you are determined to make it a career.
Learning all about venture capitalists’ focus on knowledge is a good place to start.