What I’ve Learned: Week 1
From the moment I started pursuing venture capital, I was told it was going to be an uphill battle to “break in.” Even for an internship…
Like most decent MBA programs, IESE Business School (the world’s #7 MBA program in 2015 according to the Financial Times) required me to secure a summer internship between the first and second years of the program. I’d fallen in love with venture capital, won the VCIC European Championship, read literally hundreds of blog posts and a few books, and immersed myself in as many other resources as I could find on the profession, but I’d also been told over and over that VC’s had very little motivation or reason to hire interns.
Frankly, putting myself in their shoes, that makes some sense. Unless you’re a local with deep connections in the firm’s startup scene or have previous experience as a VC, you probably won’t make a dent in generating any real deal flow to the firm. And since you’ll only be working with the team for 10 to 12 weeks, the relationships that you do start to build probably won’t have time to blossom. You could help them with screening investment opportunities, but then there’s that whole issue of trust and experience again.
So on my first day in the office I asked Samuel Gil, one of the partners at JME Venture Capital, why they hired me. His answer was to paraphrase a quote from Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man:
You have to deliver to the world what you would expect if you were on the other side of the trade.
Samuel explained that everybody needs somebody to make an introduction, open a door, or give them a hand up at some point. I was super motivated and had proven a proclivity for the work, and when he thought about how he’d want to be treated if he was on the other side of the trade, well…*
This then was the first lesson of my time at JME:
Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.
Be honest with founders seeking funding. Be fair in the deals you construct. Be thoughtful, open, and generous with other VC’s you might someday co-invest with. Be clear on expectations. Be hungry. Be curious. Be courteous. Be authentic.
This is not just a job. This isn’t working in the venture capital “industry.” This is working in the venture capital “profession.” This is a lifestyle. So, act the way you’d want to be treated. Usually, what goes around comes around.
*This is not, of course, the only reason they brought me on for the summer. There were 100 other things, and I’ll tell more very soon, but they aren’t for Lesson #1.
