Two Years in VC

This week marks two years since I started working as a venture capital investor. When I first got this job, I worried about a few things (spoiler: worrying is a waste of time). My main worry was that I was moving to a role that was brand new to me, which isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do. But I was convinced that investing was where I wanted to spend the next phase of my career and knew that if I didn’t take the chance I’d always wonder “what if”.

So I decided to take the plunge and then did what I always do — started reading to try and get up to speed. To mark the anniversary I thought I’d share some of the posts about VC that I’ve enjoyed over the past couple of years:

Max Niederhofer — Fear and Loathing in Venture Capital — a great read discussing the long feedback loops in VC, a VC’s multiple customers, FOMO and opportunity cost. Ever see some words gathered together on a page and think to yourself “yes, that’s exactly what I was feeling but couldn’t quite articulate”? That’s how I felt reading this post.

William McQuillan — Using Data to Shorten VC Learning Cycles — an interesting data-driven attempt to reduce the long feedback loop. Explains why some VC investors move very quickly and are less price sensitive than investors in other asset classes.

BVCA Report on Investment Committees — another data-driven piece, which gets to answering one of the main questions I had before taking this job: “how on earth do VCs decide which company to back?” One stat I found surprising is that only 22% of VC firms surveyed insist on having company management teams pitch to their IC before making an investment decision.

The past couple of years have been great fun, mainly due to the people I’ve worked with and met. So thanks to everyone at Draper Esprit and to all the entrepreneurs, investors and advisors that I’ve met with. It’s been a great couple of years — and with this week’s news I’m even more excited for the next couple.