I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately about how exactly I should go about accomplishing my goals. Given the title of the blog, one of those goals is to become a successful venture capitalist. Frankly, I’ve been working my ass off lately trying to find an internship that will lead me down this path, but all I’ve accomplished is incredible amounts of frustration. However, thanks to my dad, I’ve realized some pretty significant factors in achieving this goal.
Simply put, venture capital is the selling of capital. Just because I have money that I want to put to work in specific companies doesn’t mean they’re going to accept it. If a company is promising enough to invest in, they’ve probably got multiple investors that want in. So what’s going to make me a valuable VC is the experience and knowledge I have in any given industry that I can pass on to entrepreneurs that will lead them towards success. The beauty of this realization, given my age and career experience, is that it can literally be ANY industry. Therefore, I really just need ANY job this summer where I can learn valuable skills and knowledge. Obviously, my main concern has always been to enjoy the work environment I am in and the people I am working for/with; however, I just need something. The commitment on my end then has to be going way above and beyond my allotted task in order to know the entire process involved, if/how that process can be made more efficient, how the process fits inside the sector, and know the sector inside and out etc. For example, I used to work for a check cashing company where literally all I would do was add up all the checks and make sure the totals matched the number printed on a summary sheet by the cashier. I HATED it and I constantly complained about how inefficient it was. If I had that same job now, I would have found out everything there is to know about the process and where it fits in the overall scheme of the check cashing business. Who knows, maybe I would have found how to innovate and improve the system by creating a new type of software. Either way, by gaining real industry knowledge, I definitely would have been incredibly valuable to other firms in the industry when looking for a full time job later on.
So in terms of finding something good this summer, I’m a little less stressed after this realization. What I really want (ideal situation) is to find a mentor. I’m no longer focused on a specific path that will best prepare me for my long-term goal. Instead, I really want to find someone who has a vast amount of industry knowledge that would be willing to take the time and share what they know with me. In return, I will gladly complete any tasks they need done or brew any blend of coffee they prefer. The value I will add to this person or their firm is the mindset I bring to work each day. I’m committing myself to knowing all there is to know about the tasks I am doing. I have a vested interest in making your processes more efficient or finishing tasks in a better way that will benefit the firm. It doesn’t take a 4.0 from Harvard to find some numbers and plug them into a model. Within reason, anyone can do that job. However, I’d much rather hire someone who has the passion, skills, and vested interest to make my firm more efficient and profitable.
Quote of the day: “The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary.” – Donald Kendall, first CEO of merged Pepsi-Co corporation
FutureVC 