A newbie in Venture Capital
We are K Fund, a €50 million early stage Venture Capital firm based in Madrid that’s looking to back the best and brightest Spanish entrepreneurs, wherever they might be. We truly believe in the Spanish tech ecosystem and we’re here to make it bigger as a whole.
If you have an interesting project or startup that fits our investment criteria, please let us know using our contact form or emailing us at info@kfund.vc.
One year ago, I barely had any idea about Venture Capital nor I’d never thought about it as a potential career path. But life is a constant change.
Just after graduating in May, I found a summer internship in a small VC in Barcelona. I learned there some basic concepts and the industry dynamics, though summer is not VC activity peak.
During the internship, I heard about a new fund that emerged in Madrid, which had the ambition of reshaping the Spanish startup ecosystem. Obviously, I did not hesitate to contact them, one thing led to another, and in mid-September I was moving to Madrid to work for K Fund. So, what does it feel for a catalan Barça supporter (where I even did a 6-month internship) to live in the capital? First, as our galician fellow Jaime would say, “morriña”, or homesickness. But at the same time really excited to start a new chapter, although it may sound topical. At the end, life is quite similar in big cities.
My first days at K Fund were better than expected, being more in touch with startups than I previously thought. Compared to traditional industries, is a meeting-meeting-meeting workload, even for newbies. At K, I’ve met an awesome and multidisciplinary team, ranging from former journalists to former corporate leaders, including entrepreneurs and experienced venture capitalists. I could write an entire post about how I see my K colleagues, but by request, I will briefly do it in this post:
- Jaime: The galician journalist. Be aware of him, he may write an outstanding article or he may trickshot you in Counter Strike, you never know.
- Pablo: The drone-addict agronomist (luckily it’s his only addiction, as far as we know). He also kicks some kids at lunch time, usually when he has taekwondo class.
- Ian: The traditional venture capitalist. Almost all of his professional life in VC makes him the most experienced in the team. When he is not making interplanetary trips in the middle of a meeting, he always adds value. (The Yin Partner)
- Iñaki: The marathoner and former entrepreneur. He constantly gets what he wants, but always giving first. (The Yang Partner)
- Carina: The Boss, but in an informal way. She gives another point of view to the whole team, always with “Culture” in mind.
- Ramón: The Linkedin-man. He has a more extensive database of candidates than the FBI.
- Professor Larrú: Needs an entire post to be described. I will only write a couple of his famous quotes here. “Venture Capital is like Spanish cinema; people do it for fun” and “Pizza doesn’t scale really good”.
Aside of our team, it’s amazing to see many great entrepreneurs and their projects each day, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity of helping them with their ambitions. One great takeaway of this experience was going by myself to a Demo-Day event in order to represent K Fund, which gave me valuable insights about the startup/investor ecosystem in Spain.
Recently, someone asked me for tips to join a VC, and what I’ve learned is that you have to be proactive. My humble advice is to write an informal “cover letter” to every VC you’re interested in. You may get only a couple emails back, but if you’re lucky they will be looking for an intern or an analyst. Just like in poker, a pinch of luck is always present in life.
Now that my journey in K Fund reaches to an end, I’d like to jump to the other side of the table and immerse myself in an awesome startup. I’d leave my personal e-mail if anyone wants to contact me. Time will tell if this is a wise move, but what I know for sure is that it will be fun.
