my experience as an ANALYST INTERN at nina capital

marta g. zanchi
nina capital
Published in
7 min readJun 20, 2021

how to get the job, and what to expect

JUNE 2021

by Lesley Farrah-Dorwling-Carter

For the past four months, I had the opportunity to intern at Nina Capital, an early stage, specialized venture capital firm investing exclusively at the intersection of healthcare and technology.

To offer you some context, I am currently studying at the University of Cambridge, pursuing the MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise, a multidisciplinary biotechnology and business degree intended for individuals with an enthusiasm for entrepreneurship in the healthcare sector. The course is designed for students to gain practical experience through professional placements, thus my Master thesis had to be undertaken with a host company. With my previous work experience as a business developer in a digital health start-up, I had gained an understanding of the operational side of an early stage venture. I was now curious to go a step further and explore the other part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem: fundraising and VC, hence Nina Capital. I was lucky enough to get a warm introduction to Nina Capital’s managing partner, Marta, who, after an interview, offered me an internship position.

This post documents my experience and learnings at Nina Capital, and concludes with some advice for prospective interns.

Getting an internship at Nina Capital

Being introduced to the manager by a trusted person in her network surely helped, but I know for a fact that most interns arrive at Nina Capital after applying for an internship position via a direct, cold email to Marta. Instead, I believe what gave me an edge over other applicants during the application process is that I prepared for it having studied the firm’s investment thesis and portfolio, and with already some concrete ideas for a subject of my thesis that could align well with the approach and the needs of the firm. During the interview, Marta and I already started to talk about how my research could be useful for the team and could build on the identity of Nina Capital. After that interview, I followed up with a more refined project plan and new questions to start developing it. So in a way, from our first conversation, we had already started on the project. It worked! I got the internship shortly after that first interview.

My internship was remote (obviously) but if you can, don’t miss a chance to spend three months in Barcelona.

Being an intern at Nina Capital

My time was divided between conducting primary and secondary research for my thesis, and doing some operational work similarly to a VC analyst. Despite having to do everything remotely instead of in sunny Barcelona, Nina Capital’s team was always available for a Zoom call or by email for advice and support, making me feel an integral part of them.

Thesis

Once the topic was decided, I was lucky enough for Marta to give me a lot of freedom on my chosen subject. My dissertation aimed to identify success strategies for healthtech ventures from the perspectives of entrepreneurs and venture capital investors in specific geographies of interests to Nina Capital: the European and the United States markets. We were especially interested in critically comparing the two sets of strategies.

To achieve this objective, in addition to my own independent literature research, I was able to conduct 23 interviews with healthtech entrepreneurs and investors, thanks to Nina Capital’s strong team of investment advisors and venture partners who were always willing to help me out in my research. I was also able to acquire quantitative data from 57 participants by creating a survey which Aline, the social network manager, helped me to circulate on Nina Capital’s LinkedIn and Twitter. Aline, Marta, and the whole Nina Capital network did not hesitate to repost my call for participants multiple times on their personal social media pages to enroll the targeted number of respondents. Without their support, many of the primary contacts may not have been available.

Throughout the duration of the internship, Marta was always available to discuss my project’s progress every week, which genuinely motivated me to stay on track. The whole team, Ferran, Sebastian, Marc, Jordi, Aline, and Yahel, were also constantly available to provide valuable guidance on my thesis, whether to narrow the scope, conduct interviews, or even analyze results. I truly enjoyed all these one on one sessions which helped me connect with the team better.

Dealflow and due diligence

The second half of my work was focused on supporting the team in their investment process, from the screening phase to the deal making.

Identifying investment opportunities

Every week, Ferran, the associate, mentored me on deal sourcing and took time to teach me specific dealflow tools such as Pipedrive. I spent a few hours a week on Dealroom, Crunchbase, LinkedIn, and other platforms to identify and contact promising startups which could represent potential investment opportunities for Nina Capital. This process helped me a lot to understand what makes a successful startup looking at the market need, the technology, the team’s ambitions and the momentum around it.

Meeting entrepreneurs

I also got the chance to organise first meetings with entrepreneurs either with Ferran, Marta, or by myself, to assess whether these deals would qualify for further due diligence. I usually spent between 30 and 45 minutes discussing with the entrepreneurs, to learn more about their product, ambitions, and funding needs. Meetings with founders are the best way to discover more about a specific market, trend, or technology, and also helped me improve my communication and interpersonal skills.

Ferran always encouraged and trusted me to take the lead on calls, ask questions and express my own opinions on whether to continue spending time on selected deals. I definitely learned a lot from his experience and mentorship and am now more able to critically assess a novel investment opportunity.

Deep-diving into specific sectors

Having expressed my interest in femtech and being curious to learn more about trends in this industry, Marta allowed me as well to take part in the due diligence process of a selected investment deal around women’s health. The competitive landscape analysis carried out went directly into the fact sheet sent to Nina Capital’s investment committee. Taking on such responsibility was a great opportunity to acquire further knowledge about the femtech ecosystem.

Some advices for future interns

  1. Be independent: While always available to provide help and support, the team values autonomy and independence, especially for a remote internship!
  2. Take initiative: Being proactive will allow you to work on exciting and impactful projects that are closest to your interests. At Nina Capital, the team grants importance to interns’ opinions and is always keen to hear their personal suggestions/recommendations. This two-sided trust is highly motivating, so don’t be afraid to express yourself!
  3. Learn as much as you can: Getting an internship in a VC fund is not an easy task as more and more people are willing to be part of this growing ecosystem. Once you have it, it is your unique opportunity to learn and ask questions on many different topics. At Nina Capital, there will always be an ear close by to answer your doubts and queries.

If you want to learn the novel and fast growing world of healthtech investment, don’t hesitate and join Nina Capital’s team. Lucky for you, Nina Capital is one of the rare venture capital firms with an “internships” tab on their website and is regularly looking for interns.

VC resources

Finally, here are some of my favorite VC resources. The more you read and listen about the VC industry and the startup ecosystem, the stronger your opinions will get! The idea here is not to know everything about any subject but to find what captivates you and keep learning about it. It’s now your turn to thrive!

Newsletters/media

Career resources

  • Newton Venture Program. Organized by London Business School and Local Globe, this program trains the tech investors of the future. Although it is a paid program, scholarships are made available.
  • Future VC. Internship and developmental program organized by Diversity VC to help diversify the VC industry.
  • John Gannon Blog. Run by ex-VC John Gannon with a lot of advice catered to aspiring VCs.

Keep in touch and happy investing,

Lesley

Acknowledgements

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Marta for welcoming me so warmly at Nina Capital and offering such an enriching internship. It has been an honor being part of the team, and I thank you wholeheartedly for your constant support, trust, and availability. You have been a true mentor and inspiration throughout and beyond this research project, and I genuinely thank you for sharing some valuable life advice which helped me grow both personally and professionally.

I would also like to thank the entire Nina Capital team, venture partners, investment advisors and network, for being constantly available and kindly providing valuable guidance throughout the duration of the internship. My experience has been truly enlightening thanks to a great team of bright, humble and kind souls #wearenina.

A sincere thank you as well to all those who gave their time and shared their expertise, views and insights on my thesis.

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nina capital
nina capital

Published in nina capital

nina capital is a new venture capital firm investing at the intersection of healthcare and deep technology.

marta g. zanchi
marta g. zanchi

Written by marta g. zanchi

health∩tech. recognizing the need = primary condition for innovation. founder, managing partner @ninacapital

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