大半夜的睡不着,无意间在Twitter上看到这样一些总结:
- Junior VC is only sometimes a pipeline to a career in VC. Some firms promote, most don’t.
- Junior VC is usually deal-sourcing and sometimes diligence, while GP is picking, board directing, and fundraising.
- LPs hate the first-time GPs, so you’ll probably want to join a fund if you want to get investing experience.
- Angel investors with multiple 100M+ exits get hired by funds as GPs.
- Highly successful entrepreneurs (1000M+ exit) get hired by funds as GPs.
- Very well-connected senior executives at growth startups get hired by funds as GPs (sometimes).
- The only thing harder than joining a firm is leaving one, so GPs are very selective about adding to their partnerships.
- If you want to be an angel investor, invest the amount of money you’d be comfortable lighting on fire.
- No set path to VC. The GOAT investors have been a journalist, career VC, entrepreneur, athlete, banker, a lawyer before.
- Prepare for long feedback loops.
- Most of your time will be spent helping companies that aren’t working die gracefully or saying no to ideas you don’t really like.
- Least meritocratic industry ever. A firm’s success is driven by its prior success. Intense network and bandwagon effects.
- Some of it is about taste, some of it is about intellect, but a surprising amount is about who you know.
- A GP, however, is only as good as their last great deal. The vast majority of GPs haven’t seen a carry check.
- You’ll be taxed on gains before you earn them, so make sure you’ve got some money leftover. GPs invest (a lot!!) in their funds, too.
- Take a long time to build a great reputation. Takes a short time to spoil it. Protect it.
- It takes about 6-7 years to know if you’re any good at it (that is if you have created the right conditions for luck).
- Every relationship becomes transactional. Everyone you know either wants investment or knows someone who does.
- When you’re first raising, nobody wants to invest. When you have momentum, everybody does.
- Lots of internal inconsistencies. You have to be very high conviction about companies you know are going out of business.
- Success tends to accrue to those investors with strong points of view. Just have to be more right than wrong.
- Feel the power law in your bones to understand the odd entropic nature of VC.
- If you have demonstrated an element of resource magnetism, that can make you a good candidate for VC.
简单说:
- 大部分投资机构并没有给新入行的人上升通道,在加入一家机构时对这一点要有预期;
- 绝大多数GP都没有见过Carry的支票,所以,对于新入行的投资经理,就更别对此做太多预期;
- 这是一个超长周期的行业,通常需要6-7年的时间你才会知道自己是否真的适合,运气也是其中一个重要影响因素。对于反馈周期,你要有实际的预期。也是基于这一点,我并不推荐二十几岁的年轻人入行,虽然我自己是这样的情况😜;
- 成为VC并没有标准道路,但如果你有很强的网罗资源的能力,你就是很好的候选人。言下之意也很清楚,强大的人脉/资源网络是核心竞争力;
- 但你要想清楚,人脉是什么?以及凭什么你能有“强大”的人脉?想想,这种核心竞争力究竟是如何建立的?或许你就能明白为何会有这样一句话:投资应该是一个人职业生涯的最后一站;
- 推理下去,保护好你的声誉,因为这需要长时间建立,却可以顷刻间毁掉。再想想,什么才能建立你的声誉?
- 不要否认投资贪婪的一面,控制它;不要滥情天使友善的一面,控制它。