Rebel Venture Fund Reflections — Part 3: Recruitment
As with any startup, recruiting the right people to Rebel Venture Fund proved to be a difficult challenge. We needed smart, motivated people to join the team — that’s nothing new.
However, unlike most startups and VC funds, we were challenged by two unique factors:
- We could not compensate employees with cash nor equity.
- This was not a full time position.
Lack of Compensation
The cash in our fund could only be used for investing (there were no management fees), and our operational budget was limited to hosting events and attending a conference or two. So how did we convince people to join our cause?
We simply showed them the value it provided to previous members. We received FREE training from incredibly successful investors and we gained meaningful experience doing the investing ourselves, not simply being low-level analysts who do not recieve a clear view of the big picture.
This initial pitch was typically successful, but students also wanted to know how this experience could benefit them after graduation. For this, I was a common example used by the fund.
Around the time I became CEO of RVF, I had one year left at the University and I already had a job waiting for me in Las Vegas. Naturally, many of my clients would be in hospitality or gaming.
However, the RVF was a game changer. I gained VC experience at a young age, and my firm, EY, informed me that our office in San Francisco had a business unit where I could strictly work with asset management clients. Though it was a tough decision, it made too much sense for me not to take it. The RVF changed the course of my career and likely how I’ll evaluate future career decisions as well. I hope future recruits realize the benefit I received.
One year later, TJ Wenzel set a new standard of how RVF could compliment your career. Upon graduation, he only spent a few months at the Office of Management and Budget at the White House and moved to New York City to become an investment banking analyst at JP Morgan — no big deal. Needless to say, I’m extremely proud of TJ.
As long as RVF continues to graduate successful people, recruitment becomes that much easier for future directors.
Part-time Position
This issue is largely intervened with the lack of compensation and the fact the employees are also full-time students.
Think of the priority list for the average student:
- Family
- School
- Paying job — you know, the one that allows them to keep the lights on feed themselves
- Rebel Venture Fund… maybe?
Regardless of the order of these priorities, RVF likely can’t be first or second on that list. The typical work load for the average person was approximately 10 hours per week, while leaders averaged closer to 20 or so.
Taking such a large commitment while having so many important things going on is a difficult decision. Also, taking into account that most “top” students are already busy beyond their wildest dreams, recruitment becomes even tougher.
When RVF was first formed, only graduate students were at the fund. We realized this was a problem due to high turnover and availability. As a result, we committed to recruiting freshmen and sophomores. Their workload was typically lighter, and they had at least a few years left at UNLV.
When I first took over as CEO, we had 6 people. Within 6 months, we grew to 15 people, which was a great size as we continued to build a foundation. Today the Fund has over 20 employees, as the leaders continue to face the challenges ahead of them.
In addition to the aforementioned topics, we faced many more challenges with recruitment. However, most importantly, we continually found solutions to these problems. I hope that current leadership continues to solve their problems with new, innovative ways. There’s nothing more I’d love to see than Rebel Venture Fund become a multi-million dollar fund with top talent from across the US.
“Rebel Venture Fund Reflections” Series:
Part 3 — Recruitment
