From TBV to interning in startups & VC
Chatting to Sherrie Zheng about her experiences in startups and VC
Sherrie Zheng recently graduated from a Commerce and Law degree at UNSW and was a former Events Coordinator at Textbook Ventures back in 2018. During her time at Textbook Ventures and with a curiosity about the startup space, Sherrie had the opportunity to bring three events to life. Sherrie has worked across startups and VC — with the likes of BrickX, NAB Ventures and Square Peg. She is currently co-hosting a podcast with Annie Zhou — which will be released later this year.
- What sparked your interest in the startup and tech space?
My first taste of the startup and tech space was very serendipitous. I met David Lu (TBV Founder) who mentored my team in a consulting case competition. He was putting a team together for a social enterprise, which I became a part of. We had the opportunity to enter the 2017 Hult Prize and pitch in San Fran, be incubated with the Social Impact Hub for six months, and work with some incredible mentors and founders.
Fast forward a few months, I started interning at Shield GEO which is a global mobility firm. Some of their clients were startups and VC funds, which piqued my curiosity towards the space. Once I joined Textbook Ventures, I learnt so much more and further developed my interest. With Textbook Ventures, I coordinated panel events end-to-end on three different startup verticals — fintech, edtech, and social enterprise.
2. Could you talk about your past role as a startup and VC investment intern?
During and after Textbook Ventures, I had the opportunity to intern with BrickX, NAB Ventures, and Square Peg. Textbook Ventures helped me build some solid groundwork for those experiences as I immersed myself in the Australian startup community and had lots of great conversations.
I would say the main responsibility of an Investment Team intern is supporting the team with origination and taking the first look at companies, to meeting with founders, conducting due diligence, and executing the investment process. Some things I loved most about those roles:
- Working and learning alongside a team of curious, intelligent, and kind people
- Learning about many verticals and companies and having the opportunity to go down many rabbit holes
- Being able to contribute to a significant milestone in a company’s growth trajectory
At a VC fund, you also get opportunities to learn about how a fund operates more generally. I got exposure to investor relations, portfolio company support, and a bit of business development too.
My role at a startup was Content Specialist at BrickX, a FinTech offering fractionalized property investment. I worked with the marketing team to produce content with the goal of educating potential and existing customers about personal finance and property investing. I got to participate in the end-to-end process of coming up with an idea for a piece, drafting it, and working with the team to get it out there.
Something I learnt was that content creation isn’t just about writing up a draft, getting a manager to look over it, and publishing it online. There’s a huge compliance aspect to content creation for a FinTech because you can’t publish anything that constitutes financial advice. As a startup is so lean, you get exposure through osmosis as to how the entire startup operates and how the different parts of the business interact with one another.
3. What are some key learnings from your experience so far?
Have the courage to form and express a point of view.
Going into my Investment Intern role, I had the mindset of — I’m just an intern. It’s not my place to suggest whether we should or shouldn’t invest in a company, because what do I know?
The teams at Square Peg and NAB Ventures really encouraged me to put forward a perspective. I think this is an important muscle to build because putting forward a view can facilitate deeper discussions and help you identify what additional data you need to make a decision. You also benefit from getting feedback from supportive and intelligent people who genuinely care about your learning and development.
4. What have been some of the highlights of working at a startup and in VC?
It sounds clichéd, but the biggest highlight is the people I’ve met. You often cross paths with people who have taken a risk or walked a path less-travelled. It normalises taking a bold leap to make a difference, and approaching day-to-day problems unconventionally. As a uni student, it’s both refreshing and inspiring to hear these perspectives that don’t exactly follow the narrative of getting good grades and ‘ticking all the boxes’ as the be-all and end-all.
5. Any tips for students looking to break into startups or VC?
1) Don’t be afraid to ask
If you see a startup or VC fund that interests you, don’t be afraid to reach out. Send them an email with a few lines on why that company resonates with you and what you can bring to the table. Be concise and don’t overthink it. It sounds a bit hypocritical because I didn’t do this much myself, but I’ve heard plenty of success stories from my more courageous friends!
2) Have your WHY ready
Startups are very mission-driven and they want to hire people that resonate with what they’re bringing to the world. For example, when I was applying for BrickX, I spoke about how property investments helped my family achieve financial security and build a life in Australia. In the interview process, I spoke about how I resonated with the mission of empowering others to do the same.
3) Embrace luck and build relationships
Build relationships and your network. Both my roles at Square Peg and BrickX came about from referrals. People are also a wealth of knowledge. If someone’s journey interests you, reach out for a chat because everyone has a unique path and something valuable to share that you can learn from. And join Textbook Ventures!
4) Look after yourself. Take a breather, upskill and be more selective where necessary
Then finally, look after yourself because job hunting can be time-consuming and energy-draining, especially when rejection is such an integral part of the process. You often hear that it’s a numbers game when applying to jobs, but it can help to be more selective according to your interests and strengths. Sometimes taking a step back to recharge, investing some time to upskill, or being more selective about what you apply for can lead to better outcomes.
6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
Job titles aside, I hope to be:
- Making a positive impact, through sharing learnings that benefit others
Looking back at my time at uni, the friends and mentors I’ve met along the way have had a huge impact on the way my career has gone so far. I’d love to be the kind of person who can have that positive impact on others, and continue to share my learnings in a way that benefits those around me.
- Learning something new every day
One of the things I’m most excited about when it comes to starting my graduate role next year, is the learning curve. In five years, there will still be so much to learn and I don’t ever want to slow that down.
- Maintaining my health and wellbeing and prioritising relationships
I want to make sure I keep prioritising my physical and mental wellbeing. It’s important for me to maintain a healthy diet, fitness regime, and my relationships. The last thing I want to do is give up on a job that I love because I’ve foregone the prior.
7. How has a failure (or apparent failure at the time) set you up for success in the future?
Whilst I didn’t see this as a failure at the time, one of my failures in the past was not making my role more expansive, especially at a startup. I went in with the mindset of — this is my job and these are my responsibilities, and I’m not supposed to get involved in anything else. In hindsight, I regretted not taking the opportunity to learn about the entire business. By changing this approach in future roles, I found that work became more fun and purposeful, and I learnt so much more.
8. Why do you think students should get involved in the startup space? And for those interested, do you have any tips, tools or resources?
I think, why not! Getting involved as a student gives you the opportunity to start your career before you graduate and secure your seat on a rocketship early on. Even if you don’t end up in the startup space, working for a startup gives you experiences and learnings that you can take into the rest of your career.
Startups operate with leaner teams. This provides opportunities for you to take greater ownership over various initiatives as I found at BrickX. It doesn’t mean you’re on your own doing something end-to-end, but it’s much easier at a startup to have an idea, put your hand up, and then be able to be a key person in making it happen. Having that experience as a student is quite rare and special.
A leaner team also means exposure to the entire business. This is a great way to power up your commercial knowledge and get involved across business functions. A tip I have for students getting involved in the startup space is to learn anything and everything about the company you’re working for from the mission, product, and people, to its business model and how it operates.
9. Is there a side-project you are working on?
I’m currently working on a podcast with my friend Annie Zhou. We started this project to help people navigate their careers and find their way and purpose. We’ve got an incredible line-up of guests including founders, business leaders, politicians, writers and creators, so stay tuned!
Want to know how you can take the first step to find your VC/start-up experience like Sherrie? Be sure to follow Textbook Ventures’ social links here, and subscribe to our newsletter to hear more stories from young people making an impact.
If you’re interested in working for a startup, be sure to apply to our 2022 Sydney Startup Careers Fair with over 20 companies in attendance.
