Why Venture Capital and how did I break into the industry?

"I don’t want to fill out one more hourly client timesheet. Ever. Or spend weeks traveling back and forth to Rockford, Michigan, in the snow.”

I'm pretty sure you are?NOT?supposed to frame goals negatively, even in early Jan…. but that’s exactly what I was thinking about as I worked on a career change in the first half of 2022. That’s also a direct quote from this?podcast interview?I just did with the folks at Scale by Design.

Looking back at my time in management consulting I loved the people I was working with, but not the job, or the career, as it presented itself. It’s perfectly great for some folks, but it wasn’t for me.

So I did something about it. I did the research, talked to people, got rejected, and rejected other companies that weren’t the right fit. I did the work. That’s what this interview is all about.

In this?podcast & video interview?with Jason over at?Secure Vision, we go through what made me want to?non-quiet-quit (you know…old fashioned normal quitting) my consulting job.

Here’s a quick summary:

• I knew in working with our portfolio companies I could continue to flex my operator's muscles and leverage my digital, strategy, and product skills.
• Continue to lean on my passion for strategic thinking around people, process, technology, and culture change.
• Work with founders — diverse leaders who are passionate about creating and building. That’s my tribe.
• Stitch together an ecosystem of value add partners for our portfolio and our fund. Something I do that just comes naturally and I enjoy.
• Better lifestyle — be more present for my family.

I knew I’d get much more leverage and impact as an operating partner with a Venture firm, all without the regular road trips away from my family!

Take a listen, or have a watch, and let me know if you have any questions about breaking into this industry. I’m still new, but I realize how obtuse it is as an industry and since great people and resources helped me (list below), maybe I can help others on their journey.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/rajivbala/?— One of my mentors in VC

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/adamlipman/?— One of my mentors in VC

https://www.hustlefund.vc/?— The Hustle Fund Investor Bootcamp

https://www.goingvc.com/?— Emerging VC Ecosystem

https://www.youtube.com/@InsideHQ/videos?— Meet our Fund Pitches

https://elizabethyin.com/2017/01/04/a-primer-on-convertible-notes-convertible-securities-and-equity/?— Gold Standard on Convertible Notes from Elizabeth Yin

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1737747/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1?— Something Ventured Film

https://terra.do/climate-education/cohort-courses/climate-change-for-vcs-and-investors/?— So you want to be a Climate Change VC?