What Does an Associate at a Venture Capital Firm Do?
on May 22, 2008 - 3:03 PM PSTThe full program
This is an audio program. Listen and/or download here.
Maneesh Goyal, Senior Associate at Miramar Venture Partners, helped me prepare for the Mixergy Funding Forum by showing me the venture capital process from his perspective. Here are some of my notes from the call.
The apprentice. The associate role is like an apprenticeship. He’s learning the business by being involved in every part of it.
The feel. As an associate, he’s developing a feeling for the kind of entrepreneur who’s going to be successful. He describes it as determination without blinders.
Connections. He comes to Mixergy events to meet entrepreneurs, but his best connections come from trusted partners like other investors and lawyers.
Prepare. He sits in on first meetings with entrepreneurs and says we often don’t do basic prep. Many people who present don’t even know what Miramar specializes in. They’re just looking to pitch anyone with money.
Theories. Part of his job is to come up with theories on where markets are going and then keep an eye out for entrepreneurs who are pursuing ideas in those areas.
He gave me permission to record the call and put it online so you can listen in.
Who else should I interview to prepare for the Mixergy Funding Forum?
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May 23rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I liked the part where Maneesh pointed out how important it was to get to know the investment firm before hand. I would even suggest doing an hour of research on the partners and the boards they sit on.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
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