I often get outreach from people who want to work in venture capital or startup investing.

They usually ask a very thoughtful and kind version of:

• How did you break into VC?

• How did you transition from startups to VC?

• How the hell did you get into tech startups and venture investing after being a Spanish major at a liberal arts college and not being able to turn on your computer at your first job? (LONG LIVE THE AMHERST MAMMOTHS!)

To which I say:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Your guess is as good as mine!

And then:

Sorry, I don’t really have much advice since I wasn’t trying to become an investor.

But that’s really obnoxious and not helpful so then I elaborate on the story:

I worked in startups for over a decade as a customer success leader and COO. When I was thinking about my next role, I reached out to David Cummings, who was the co-founder and/or investor of two of the companies I worked for. I wanted another COO role. He asked if I wanted to be an investor.

I didn’t know what that meant, but I said yes anyway, joined the small but mighty Atlanta Ventures team, and have been having a blast ever since. The end. 🙌

So, I don’t have a guaranteed, prescriptive playbook on “How To Get a VC Job.”

But I have talked to a lot of folks in the industry, heard their origin stories, and spotted patterns. Including several that show up in my own story.

So, for all those liberal arts majors wondering if there’s a tech investor role in their future, here’s my best advice!

P.S. Literally, as I was writing this, we opened up a role for a Marketing Manager at Atlanta Ventures!!! How did the O’Daily know before I did?? Ignore this whole post and come work with us! 😉

1. Talk to your people.

Contrary to popular belief based on heli-skiing investor photos, most investment firms are pretty small and scrappy.

They are rarely proactively trying to bring on more people. But they will hire if someone amazing comes along.

If you are mid-career and want to transition into VC, it usually happens because someone knows you and your high quality work!

I see it all the time. That new VC partner is:

• a former founder that the firm invested in

• the CFO at a high performing portfolio company

• someone they worked with at their previous startup

It’s rare that a senior level role at a firm is posted online. It is almost always an opportunistic hire through the network. Teams are small, hiring mistakes are costly, and trust is key.

So, in keeping with rule #1 of any job search or career transition, use your network!

Reach out to people that you know, like, trust, and would want to work with. That’s almost always how “breaking in” to something new starts.

2. Work your way up.

Unlike the more senior roles, entry level venture roles are usually posted online.

Usually called an “analyst,” you are prospecting startups, attending events, analyzing deals, and doing due diligence.

Most firms, especially mid-to-large sized ones, have an intentional path to partner.

Come in at an entry level role and work your way up.

VC firms, like any good company, want to retain and promote top talent!

Sometimes the career growth comes across firms which is another good strategy. You don’t want to jump around but moving to a new firm may provide a promotion.

Either way, once you get in, there’s lots of upward potential if you want it.

3. Do great work. Be memorable (in a good way).

Maybe this is obvious, but you gotta separate yourself from the pack.

Investors meet many people and have many portfolio companies which also have many people.

So if you looking to be someone who gets the “call from the bullpen” to join a VC firm, focus on doing exceptional work in your current role!

Be the person that everyone wants to hire away or bring with them to their new company. Usually this is a combination of work quality and attitude!

4. Lateral move into a new industry.

This is my go-to advice for someone who wants to break into tech. It applies to VC too!

Do your same role but for a VC firm.

THEN, you’ll have VC expertise and can transition that into a more VC-specific role.

Here’s how it works in tech:

• You work in hospitality but want to transition to tech.

• Find a tech firm that serves hospitality customers.

• Bring your “industry expertise” to the <your functional area like customer success, sales, marketing, finance> role at the tech firm.

• Ta-da! Now you work in tech. Your next role can be at any tech company, regardless of the industry.

Let’s apply it to VC:

• What do you do now? Finance, marketing, investor relations?

• Find that role at a VC firm and actively learn the overall VC business.

Now you’re well-positioned whatever VC thing you want to do next!

5. Do the job you want.

Are you feeling totally discouraged because you’re too old to be an analyst, none of your startup besties are investors, and you’ve worked for big companies or lackluster startups?

One of the classic pieces of career advice I give is:

Do the job you want before you have it.

Andrew Chen’s overview of his journey to becoming a partner at Andressen Horowitz is an awesome example of how he was already a thought leader providing value to startups before he got the investor job.

(Oh, and also built a relationship with a16z over a decade, including being a founder they invested in!)

So how do you do the investor job before you have it?

• Introduce VCs and great startups

• Help startups in a meaningful way - customer intros, tech expertise, marketing strategy!

• Start angel investing

• Grow your personal brand as a thought leader and/or community builder

BONUS: Start your own firm.

Most people reaching out to me are looking for a job.

But I can’t be a blog for founders without mentioning: YOU CAN START THE COMPANY YOU WANT TO JOIN!

Don’t get me wrong. It’s very hard to start an investment firm. You raise lots of money. Then find exceptional startups. Takes years to know if it’s working. Having startup or investing experience is almost always but not officially a prerequisite.

But founders do “impossible” things every day so don’t let “it’s really hard” stop you! 😉

If you’re an investor, how did you find your first role? What advice do you have for someone wanting to “break in” to the world of venture capital? Share your stories and pass this along to someone on the hunt for a VC role!