How to Start a Career in VC
From the Earlybird Venture Capital Interns’ Experience
“How can I break into VC?” This is a frequently asked question from those wishing to build a career in the Venture Capital industry. Whereas banking and consultancy seem to provide a fairly clear-cut entry point, access to VC may appear like a magically concealed door that only opens for the few, similar to reaching Hogwarts via the platform 9 ¾!
In our continuous effort to demystify VC, we’ll guide you through how to catch the express train to VC by joining one as an intern. If you’re a student or a recent grad, this article is for you.
In preparation, we asked a range of Earlybird Digital West Fund interns in our Berlin and Munich offices about how they joined, their academic and professional backgrounds, as well as responsibilities and learnings at Earlybird. To deliver a complete package here, we also asked our HR team for exclusive tips for applications. So make sure you read until the end!
Special thanks to Josefine, Minh & Nicolas (Investment Team), Nils (Fundraising & Investor Relations Team), Ludvig & Johan (Engineering Team) for offering hands-on insights, and to Jay (VP People) for providing her thorough guidance.
4 Proven Ways to Break into VC as an Intern
At Earlybird Digital West, we outlined four ways to join as an intern. It is hard to say which one is best because an applicant will be assessed equally by merit in the end. In all cases, one must be proactive to seize the opportunity.
1)Open Position
Earlybird is often hiring full-time interns in Berlin and Munich. This is the standard way through which the majority of our interns join us. Josefine and Nicolas joined this way, too.
* You can apply directly through our platform or via our website.
2) Initiative Application
In case of no open position, an initiative application is a great way to demonstrate your enthusiasm.
* You can apply directly through our platform or send your CV to hr@earlybird.com.
3) Employee Referral
This is when your network is an advantage. From those who already work in the VC ecosystem, you might hear about the position opening faster than anybody else. For us, an employee referral is a trustworthy source of hiring.
4) Reach Out & Network
Don’t know anybody yet in the VC/tech startup ecosystem? Don’t worry, you can always reach out to connect with one. You’ll be surprised at how many are proactively approaching VC employees and how welcoming the response can be. And sometimes, that opens up a new position.
Example: Ludvig and Johan first learned about Earlybird while reading the PhD dissertation of our Principal Dr. Andre Retterath as part of current research on machine learning in VC. Later, they contacted Andre describing their vision of the data-driven VC, and got introduced to our Engineering team. Then they decided to collaborate together.
Translate Your Competitive Edge
When applying to a VC, it’s crucial to know the value you will add. Highlight that competitive edge during the interview. Here are some benchmarks from Earlybird interns to help you find your edge.
You’ll note a variety of studies and paths can lead to a role in VC.
Importantly, do not be discouraged by missing one or more traits in comparison. Diversity of experience helps organizations thrive, by combining different experiences and perspectives.
Investment Team
Josefine holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of St.Gallen. Through internships at Daimler, Goldman Sachs and Tomorrow, she acquired professional experience in technology evaluation, investment banking, and business development, covering various sectors such as Autonomous Driving, Derivatives & Equities, FinTech & Sustainability. With the end of her internship, she started a new internship at a stealth startup.
Minh graduated with a bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration/Management from WHU — Otto Beisheim School of Management, with a focus on supply chain. Before joining Earlybird, he gained rich hands-on experience as an intern at VC-backed startups Enpal and Aroundhome as well as big tech companies, Google and Meta. After working at Earlybird, he started a new journey at Roland Berger as a consulting intern.
Nicolas graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, with specialization in Finance. For 2 years, he worked as a consulting working student at Bain & Company. In addition, he acquired a comprehensive skill set in M&A, business analytics, business development, and deal execution, working as an intern at various companies such as Hive, Razor Group, AUTO1 Group, and ACXIT Capital Partners.
Investor Relations & Fundraising Team
Nils is a recent graduate of Nova School of Business and Economics with a master’s degree in Finance, specialized in Entrepreneurial Finance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Before joining Earlybird, he had also worked in various functions such as private equity, M&A, valuation advisory services, and VC, both as a working student at Deloitte and CBRE and as an intern at Coparion, Hidden Peak Capital and more After Earlybird, he proceeded with another internship at Paua Ventures.
Engineering Team
Johan’s background is in the cross-section of tech and business. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and Management from KTH Royal Institute of Technology. He gained extensive professional experiences working full-time at IBM for 4 years, as a developer and as a project manager within the area of intelligent connected operations.
Ludvig also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and acquired a master’s degree in Financial Mathematics from the same institution. His years of working experience cover the full data-stack of data engineering, machine learning, and data analytics. Before joining Earlybird, he worked for Karolinska Institutet and Froda.
*Pro tips*
Knowledge and skills might get you an interview, but the secret to success is actually an entrepreneurial mindset. An ideal candidate should:
- Be curious about the tech- and startup ecosystem; follow key trends via newsletters, podcasts, or articles — whatever fits you best.
- Listen carefully and be open-minded. This allows you to recognize opportunities you might otherwise reject based on any limited expertise or particular biases.
- Be proactive. If you’re interested in VC, then talk to investors.
How to Nail the VC Intern Interviews
At Earlybird, the interview process for the Investment team formally consists of one take-home case study and one ad hoc case study. Candidates will discuss their views with our Investment teammates and get feedback on case solving and presentation skills.
For applications and interviews, Josefine advises candidates these 5 things:
1) Apply to as Many VCs as Possible
This is the best way to practice for VC interviews. Try to interview first with VCs who are lowest on your priority list: learn from the feedback you get, better yourself, and eventually perform at your personal best during your most-desired VC interviews.
2) Know the Playing Field
Inform yourself about what is going on in the startup and the VC scene. That means know what industry-leading startups are focused on, which startups are within the portfolio where you are applying, and what the latest major VC deals/exits are, and so on.
3) Understand the VC ABC
Familiarize yourself with the work of a VC methodologically, that means, know how to source startups, evaluate them (what are the important criteria), KPI benchmarks, lingo etc.
4) Networking is the Key
Talk to as many people as possible in the VC world. Get first-hand insights about exciting trends, startups and deals. You can up-cycle this knowledge purposefully during your next interviews. Later on, this becomes very important for deal sourcing on the job.
5) Check the Background of Your Interviewers
Look into the background of the people interviewing you. Questions about startups, business models and technologies will most likely originate from their area of expertise.
What a VC Intern Will Do & Learn
For those who ask themselves if this is worth the effort, we present some of the tasks that you would do and learn as an intern — at least working at Earlybird Digital West. We pride ourselves on giving responsibilities to our highly competent interns from early on. You will be granted trust from the team and hands-on experience; this is why an internship is an express train into the VC world.
Investment Team
You are responsible for startup scouting, working on inbounds, and evaluating startups. You will also conduct detailed analysis on startups, markets and technologies, prepare deep dives as well as visit startup demo days.
Investor Relations & Fundraising Team
You will be actively involved in the process of winning new LPs. To be more concrete, you are responsible for reaching out to potential LPs, having first calls with them, being involved in the pitching process, and structuring the process.
Engineering Team
Your responsibilities include reading about characteristics of successful founders, teams and companies, as well as analyzing data to quantitatively determine the attributes most impactful for predicting the performance of early stage startups. This research is used to develop machine learning models for predicting startup success.
While working in these roles, you’ll learn:
- How to identify market opportunities
- How companies are evaluated in practice
- What companies need to do when scaling to be successful
- How to improve your network and qualitative skills
- What is state-of-the-art in various industries
Exclusive Tips from our HR
Our VP People Jay Harris-Theis shares how to stand out among the crowd.
1)Provide your own business insights
- Identify your favorite startup across all the tech sectors that the VC you are applying for invests in and two new sectors where they might not be present.
- Go beyond the founder personalities and beauty of the product/solution they might have.
- Have a view on the wider business context.
2) Form a connection to your interviewers
- If you spend time reviewing their LinkedIn profile, bridge your life to theirs. Don’t be afraid to ask them how they got into VC or what their favorite trends are.
- Consider connecting to them on LinkedIn after the interview to keep the connection aligned.
- Always follow up with a timely and brief email after each interview. It might seem cheesy, but it helps you stand out.
- Don’t be afraid to engage that person over LinkedIn at a later time. Maybe you hear of a hot new technology that the investment professional might be interested in, or you want to celebrate his/her achievements, or share a great article.
Ready for Your Next Steps?
We hope this article helps you get more familiar with the process of approaching a VC like Earlybird. As you can see, there are many routes to pursue.
Minh added that he hopes to see more diversity in the VC space. And we agree. Don’t get discouraged when facing rejection, remember: you just need one yes. Use our tips to improve your chances. We await your application!
Thanks for reading. Feel free to clap/share so more benefit from this content.
To discover our open roles, just head here.
Interviews contributed by Chin Park & edited by Elisheva Marcus.
