Transitioning from Consulting to VC: Things we wished we’d have known

Co-written by Marcau/ Lightbird’s Thuy-Linh, Keen Ventures’ Djoni, No Such Ventures’ Sophie, Headline’s Anna and Paua Ventures’ Charlotte

In autumn 2021, after working 3 years in strategy consulting, I (Thuy-Linh) was starting a new chapter of my professional journey as a VC investor at Marcau Partners /Lightbird, full of energy and expectations for an industry that was relatively new to me. And, boy, how new indeed! I was expecting changes from my previous work and work environment but quickly realized I had underestimated some fundamental differences.

Reaching out to peers that are going or went through similar career transitions, and sharing how much we enjoy our new roles, I also quickly found out that our reflections and challenges were very much the same. So, together with friends Djoni (Keen Ventures), Sophie (No Such Ventures), Anna (Headline) and Charlotte (Paua Ventures), we decided to share our own experiences as well as our tips & tricks to successfully embrace and best settle in your role as an ex-consultant/now-tech investor.

Consulting vs. Venture Capital: 2 working cultures

“Ah, so you are now in VC? Shouldn’t be too much of a change for you then?”

Duh, we got this question over and over again… So let’s go through some important differences in working culture between a consultant and an investor role that you should expect and that make both worlds very distinct.

1. Dobby is free!…but what now? — While in consulting you mostly had someone telling you what needed to be done by when (👋 to our ex managers, partners, clients), in VC you are often given the liberty to decide what you want to do, who you want to talk to, what opportunities to pursue and when you want to do all of this. Amazing, no? Truth is, it does take time to embrace this new freedom (and responsibility!). The challenge is also that you often don’t get a lot of guidance on where to start, how to reach out to people, how you should decide which opportunity to pursue. Down the line, it also requires you to be much more proactive, agile and flexible in your job.
2. Mirror, mirror, tell me I am a good investor — Being project-based, consulting is a perfect environment to get regular feedback on your performance. VC does not offer this institutionalized setup where your performance can be easily reviewed against well-defined criteria and clear deliverables. Some days as an investor, even if you made X outreaches, spoke to Y founders and read Z articles, you look back and wonder “what have I really been doing and delivering today?”. In VC, there generally will be little guidance on whether you are actually any “good at this job” (only time, and a good portion of luck too, will tell: even unicorn investments take years to unfold), how you can possibly get better at it and how to progress your career.
3. The Solo Fighter — While VC remains a team-based work, it can sometimes feel lonely, as, ultimately, it is really about you as an investor and how you create your place in the ecosystem that matters. No more hiding behind a big brand, a client, partner, manager (👋 again) to go out there and make decisions: you will be asked to decide for yourself what investor you want to be, decide which opportunity to purse, own this decision and process end-to-end, hustle to build your own personal brand, show conviction and form an opinion on (almost) everything. And so, it requires some adaptation for someone like us who was previously trained to always give three potential options with all pro’s and cons, but with zero skin in the game.
4. It’s a marathon, not a sprint — In consulting, work usually comes in short but intense waves, after which you are allowed some time to take a breath. In VC, if you are a procrastinator who needs set targets to get going, beware, as deadlines are much more fluid and work, in a way, never really stops: you could go on forever researching a space, looking for interesting opportunities, talking to people. Even when you just closed a deal, you are already arranging meetings with the next founders, attending the next networking events, … Bottom line, the VC game is really about endurance.

Feeling a bit lost in your new role? Here a few of our tips & tricks

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑Build your tribe: Go out there and network. VC is a world full of motivated, friendly and approachable folks. Find people with whom you connect and like to spend time with, sharing the latest deals, gossip, best places to eat in Berlin/Paris/London/Bali (yes, looking at you lucky ones!) and most importantly helping each other to grow in your respective roles. So sign up to these meetups, don’t be afraid of reaching out cold via LinkedIn, and get your social game going! Hint: Don’t know where to start? It might help to connect with people with the same career background as you 😉
• 🎯Set yourself goals and celebrate small accomplishments: Use your analytical and methodological consulting skills to put more structure in your work. For instance, find things you would like to do or try out, design some “strategies” to get there and commit to them. This does not have to be in the form of OKRs, but rather small personal goals you would like to achieve for this year, month or even week: a glorified to-do list if you will, but it helps giving yourself some direction and also a sense of having “delivered” something (#impact).
• 🔭Allow yourself an exploratory phase: When transitioning from consulting to VC, you usually already have a couple of years of professional experience in your bag. And thus, you feel like you should hit the ground running when starting your new role (e.g., already know which industry you like, make your first deals in the first months). Don’t worry if this isn’t the case. On the contrary, take the time for a “walk” to understand how key processes work, to explore different topics and industries, to discover what it means for you to be an investor. You will sooner or later realize that there is not one single way of being successful at this job. Plus, no one is expecting you to find the next unicorn in your first months in the team, so be kind to yourself, and take your time.
• 💬Ask for feedback and look for mentors: We all know, feedback loops in VC are long. But do you really need to wait 5–7 years to know how you are doing as an investor? If your team doesn’t yet have a very structured feedback culture, take it on yourself to introduce one: it can take the form of formal performance review sessions with your team, of casual coffee catch ups with your partners, of mentorship and shadowing opportunities, etc. Feedback is so important to grow in your role, so be proactive about it. It is truly an opportunity for you to shape your role in a way that no one else has before. And, like many things in VC, if you don’t do anything about it, nothing is going to happen.

Congrats again on your new role in VC! We hope that you recognize yourself in the points in this article and found some useful tips to help you start on this exciting journey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us, we always love a chat!