Looking back at my 1 year in venture capital and why I took a left turn
I was introduced to the world of venture capital at 21 years old.
When I just joined HCVC (Hardware Club), one of my colleagues asked me if I just finished my MBA. “No, I’m a BBA — I’m 21. I look older.” She replied, “ah I asked because (one of the partners) only takes MBA candidates.”
Ever heard of impostor syndrome? Oh yes, I’ve been familiar with it ever since that day.
I’m not entirely sure why they decided to give me a chance. I was driven, but I was also very naive back then and had little experience to bring to the table. It could’ve been my attitude that convinced them. Whatever it was, I felt very lucky and I became the youngest person they ever had on the team.
VC is probably the best job I could think of for any ambitious young talent. In what other job would you get paid to pick the brains of bright entrepreneurs all day, learn about the latest technologies and business models, encouraged to mingle and build your personal network during demo days and other startup/investor events?
The above description was exactly what I did for HCVC in Paris. I spent my days holding back-to-back calls with founders, searching for and reaching out to interesting startups, attending demo days, writing content, and having coffee exchanges with other VCs.
The great thing about HCVC is that they are original. Beyond being an investor, HCVC has also built a community (Hardware Club) of likeminded founders building hardware, who are likely facing similar challenges. Startups invited to the community can benefit from the wisdom/experience of fellow community members.
They found a way to create value for the community, and in turn, the community creates value for them.
The highlight of this period for me was being flown to San Francisco to help organize HCVC’s annual Founders’ Summit. Aside from getting to meet with a venue full of brilliant minds and hear the most inspiring founders' stories, I also learned a thing or two about hosting a 250-person event.
I was with HCVC for 6 months, and at the turn of the calendar year, I moved to Singapore.
I was drawn to Southeast Asia’s vibrant startup ecosystem since the 3 months I spent in Singapore back in 2017. SEA is an emerging market, which means there is still a ton of inefficiencies and problems — in other words, opportunities. I was intrigued, so I decided to wrap up the last bit of my studies in Singapore.
I didn’t know how long I was going to stay in this region, so I took no time off and joined a local VC firm immediately upon arrival. I started work before my suitcase was fully unpacked.
Over the next 6 months, I was with a Singapore-based, series A/B VC firm called Qualgro. From March-June, I was also balancing a full courseload alongside VC work. Fun times :) Thank you ESSEC for letting me graduate.
One month in, I started to realize that VC in developed markets (HCVC, predominantly US + Europe) and VC in emerging markets (Qualgro, predominantly SEA + ANZ) is very very different.
For starters, they operate in completely different institutional environments, in markets with vastly different demographics, and financial industries that are decades apart in maturity. The public markets in Southeast Asia are still vastly underdeveloped, making an IPO in the region to be a rather unlikely route. Acquisition by an international player or secondary sales to private equity investors are more realistic for VCs. The relatively limited exit paths bring an additional layer of concern for early investors. Some VCs, therefore, put a heavier emphasis on a clear path to profitability than their Western counterparts when making investment decisions.
Another concern is market size. Each country on its own is limited in size and market potential, with the exception of Indonesia and to some extent Vietnam. For a startup to reach venture scale, they would likely need to be a multi-market player (again, exclu. Indonesian startups). However, Southeast Asia is highly fragmented: each country has its own legislative structure, way of business, language, and culture. The same solution that dominates one market is not guaranteed to work in another. Breaking into each new market is a challenge and risk. This is not as much of a concern in large, homogeneous markets like the US.
I’m going on a tangent now so I’ll stop right here before I lose you. I could write a full-on article about VC in Southeast Asia vs VC in the West. Tweet or PM me at @sindysyf and I’d gladly do so if there’s interest!
Coming back to what I actually did at Qualgro: the responsibilities I held and the skills I learned at Qualgro were completely different (but complementary) to what I had learned at HCVC.
The first piece of work I did was a due diligence for a potential deal. It was a potentially large investment so we needed to make sure we understand the company and the industry inside out. I was put on analyzing the product and the competitive landscape. An example of how we did this is scrutinizing the reviews on multiple review sites to surface what really is it that the customers value and complain about them and their competitors.
The second project I did was a research piece to help a portfolio company that’s been impacted by the crisis. Considering the founders are probably too busy to do this themselves, we gathered relevant data points that could be useful in their decision-making as well as insights on what their competitors are doing / how they’re positioning.
I have to take my hat off to Qualgro that they are uncommonly diligent and thorough investors. They really make sure to understand the product, the business, and space and have a methodical way of evaluating opportunities and I definitely picked up great habits and skills from them.
I thought I’d stay in VC forever, given how much I love the job. But I realized two things:
1. The type of investor I personally want to be — it’s someone who has gone through the ups and downs of running a company. Someone with first-hand operational experience that they could share and empathize with founders in a certain way.
2. It all sounds easy when you don’t have to do it.
I started thinking about joining a startup. The more I talked about it, the more apparent it became to everybody around me that this is what I wanted to do.
I wanted to get my hands dirty. I wanted to help build things. I wanted to hustle alongside entrepreneurs instead of being a cheerleader on the sidelines. I wanted to be part of the teams that made my entire VC job so interesting.
It’s these great startups and great entrepreneurs that draw me into VC in the first place. This is what I love about VC anyways. Go check out <This Will Never Work> (Netflix), <Startup Land> (Zendesk), <How the Internet Happened>, and good luck trying to put them down.
When I decided I wanted to join a startup, I was rather specific with what I was looking for.
- For starters, I wanted to work in a B2B startup with a true technological advantage or a unique differentiating factor (not particularly easy to find in Southeast Asia). This just stems from personal preference; I’m kind of a tech nerd.
- I was primarily looking at Series A to B startups — those that are still growing very fast but with a somewhat established core product and a semi-experienced management team.
- Of course, I was looking for a venture-backed, scalable company with good investors and great company culture.
- Last but not least (I refused to compromise), I wanted a role that gives me exposure to working across departments and I wanted to work closely with the management team.
At this point, people started telling me that I might have one too many criteria and it’s unlikely I’d find exactly what I was looking for, especially during a crisis. That despite having 1 year of experience in VC, I’m still too junior and inexperienced to demand such a role. My parents thought I should stay in VC — it’s a comfortable, coveted job.
I received a lot of advice, all coming from good places.
I didn’t listen to anyone.
Today is my first week at SHIELD, a cyber-fraud prevention startup HQ’d in Singapore. It’s a perfect fit to what I was looking for.
When it comes to your career, make your own call. It’s your life.
The past year was probably the year of my life where I experienced the most personal growth. I am incredibly grateful to the people who decided to take a chance on me and introduced me to the wonderful world of venture. I’m sure the next chapter will be a wild ride. But hey, I know what I signed up for and I’m ready to hustle.
Thanks for sticking around till the end! Happy to connect on LinkedIn or Twitter.
