Unlocking Diversity in VC – my longer answer to a great question

Last week European Women in VC invited me to speak to a group of highly impressive female fund managers and future managers. ?The event was a part of the Venture Forward, an online bootcamp for early-and mid-career female professionals in VC/PE.

Our topic: Unlocking Diversity in VC. The group asked brilliant questions and engaged in great conversation; but alas, time was too short. One question stuck with me, “What can we do if we are not appreciated and given enough responsibility at the firm”.

The question stuck with me and I spent parts of today reflecting on how I could provide a better, more succinct answer. Here are my 10 (+3) recommendations for how to amp up your VC/PE career if you are feeling under-recognized, under-appreciated and under-paid at your current firm. (for context, the industry stats on this is abysmal, and we have lots of work to do in order to bring more balance and equality to the industry. Organizations like 2X global , European Women in VC , Beyond the Billion and many more are doing great work, more is just needed).

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?MY 10 RECOMMENDATIONS

1.????? YOUR NETWORK IS YOUR NET WORTH

Understand that your most valuable currency is your talent and network. Invest significant time in a structured manner to build out your professional network. Keep notes in your CRM or contact database. Use LinkedIn actively. Lean into new contacts and follow-up.

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2.????? DEVELOP EXTENSIVE LP RELATIONSHIPS

Develop extensive limited partner relationships with future prospects. Personal target: meet 5 new LP prospects every week. Every week. Send quarterly, personalized ‘stay in touch’ e-mails.

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3.????? GET REALLY GOOD AT WRITING INVESTMENT MEMOS

Investment memos matter. Get really good at writing them, at record speeds. Include deep analysis on outcome scenarios and exit strategies. Develop AI prompts to give yourself tech superpowers and work even faster.

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4.????? DEVELOP BEST-IN-FIRM FOLLOW-ON FUNDING RELATIONSHIPS

Follow-on funding post-investment is key to fund markups. Develop best-in-firm skills in follow-on funding, through extensive relationships with follow-on investors globally. Personal target: speak with 10 follow-on investors every week. Also, congratulate them on their new deals via personal messages and public LinkedIn posts.

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5.????? FOCUS ON FOUNDERS; NOT ON BOARDS

Boards can be overrated. Build deep relationships with founders. Engage daily or weekly on WhatsApp. Become a trusted advisor. Solve their biggest pains. Make founders love/fear/respect you.

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6.????? DEVELOP PROFOUNDLY DEEP EXIT NETWORKS

Exits matter much more than the investments. You will stand out in the industry with profoundly deep exit networks. PE firms, corporates, secondaries, investment bankers and stock exchanges; pursue all of them with tenacity. Make them your new best friends. Personal target: meet 5 new exit partners every week. Send quarterly updates on your portfolio and your most exciting deals. Become an exit dealmaker.

7.????? BUILD YOUR EXPERTISE

Develop extensive, profoundly deep expertise in one or two key areas for portfolio development, e.g go-to-market, follow-on fundraising or CFO recruitment. Write a book on the topic. Do podcasts and webinars.

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8.????? EDUCATE YOURSELF

Learn more. Educate yourself continuously. Read books. Follow blogs. Attend conferences. Seek out educational programs. Notable programs include Newton Venture Program(LBS) , IMD , Oxford , Columbia , Stanford , 500 , 2X Ignite , VC Lab , DreamVC and Kauffman Fellows. Be hyper active in the alumni community.

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9.????? DO NOT TAKE ON SECRETARIAL TASKS

While it may be tempting and even expected; do not take on secretarial tasks. Note-taking, coffee making, lunch orders; skip them. If you are the youngest at the firm, implement an AI tool for note-taking firm-wide.

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10.? GET TWO EXPERIENCED VC/PE/GP/LP MENTORS

Mentorships matter. Get yourself two highly experienced VC/PE/GP/LP mentors. Just reach out and ask. Use them actively. Tap into their networks (see point #1).

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If you do all these things and do them well, and you still feel you are under-respected, under-appreciated and under-paid, here are three more concrete steps you can consider.

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11.? COMPENSATION PACKAGE

Know your worth and get it. Negotiate on your compensation package twice per year. Prepare well. Do your research. Tie compensation to performance (not activity). Negotiate hard.

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12.? RIP HEADS OFF

Sometimes you just need to draw a line in the sand. Rip a (male) colleague’s head off. If you are still feeling treated inferior, you may want to consider a “public ripping off head” on one of your (male) colleagues. Do this in a firm-wide, public setting. Put yourself in a position of respect. (NB! This is not always a wise thing to do. Be smart. May backfire)

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13.? LEAVE

If you do all these things, and still feel under-appreciated and treated less than your peers. Leave. It is not your job to spend 2 years trying to ‘change the culture and leadership’. That won’t work. Just leave. Your talent, drive and energy is better spent somewhere else. If you are in the VC/PE industry, it is a truly global industry with many firms and strategies. You will always be able to find a better job somewhere else. Or maybe, now is the perfect time to branch out and start your own firm and fund…..

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?About Chris Rangen

Chris Rangen is strategy advisor, early-stage investor, GP and faculty. He has advised more than 250 funds globally, mostly on strategy and LP fundraising. Globally, he runs multiple GP accelerator programs, like 2X Ignite GP Sprint, DFDF Fellows and a wide range of VC/PE Masterclasses. He also teaches venture capital in places like NVP/LBS and IMD. He is Chairman of Link Capital (three funds, 1 FoF) and deeply passionate about more diversity and equality in the venture capital and private equity space.

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