Why you must begin your startup job search by emailing your VC friend
Pratik Agarwal
Your VC friends know their portfolio better than your research
You'll be surprised how often people get this very wrong.
I've had lots of folks reach out to me, saying, “Dude! I didn't realise your portfolio Startup C already raised '$
apos; million! I love their idea but I took another job because I thought they were still at seed stage!” Well...most funding rounds aren't announced for a few months and some even up to a year!
Or, how about this one, “Hey! Your portfolio Startup C has such a sleek website; can you introduce me?” Well...sure it has a polished product but don't you want to know whether it has product-market fit? Or if it's in real trouble?
So here are the reasons you must speak to your VC friends before when you want to send out your resume to startups.
They probably know other VCs' portfolio better than you'd think
You might wonder, “But my VC friend wouldn't know much about other VCs' portfolio right? Even if they did, wouldn't they be biased?” Wrong! For all you know, your VC friend might be considering your startup of interest for a future round and think highly of it. Moreover, it's possible they tried to get into that deal but missed out.
Even if your VC friend is sceptical, at least their concerns will give you something to think about.
They know of secret opportunities
As I mentioned earlier in the post, most top-tier VCs often don't announce deals for a long time. Say, there are five top-tier VCs and each has three unannounced deals. Imagine how many hot secret opportunities you are missing out on.
And that's not all. Even if the investment is public news, what if one of the top portfolio startups is recruiting for a leadership role in a new secret business unit? Would you want to miss out on that?
Note: Don't expect your VC friends to tell you confidential stuff, but just remember they're actively looking for solid talent for secret opportunities as well.
They can pump your search with steroids
I've first-hand experience in the stressful job of breaking into top startups several times. It's painful to email your LinkedIn connections only to get this reply, “Dude, I only met this founder once, don't know them enough to drop an intro...”
Good news is that you might be just one send-email-to-my-VC-friend click away from warm introductions to top startup founders.
Moreover, your VC friends can help you evaluate between multiple offers. It's their full-time job to evaluate startups, so just give them some credit.
“But I don't have any VC friends!”
Don't be shy to email any top-tier VCs, if you don't know any personally. They're always looking for excellent talent for their portfolio startups. If anything, you're helping them do their job!
Just do them a favor and send them a blurb about roles that interest you, and include a copy of your resume/your LinkedIn URL.
And if you're one of those cool kids who has already used this hack to land your startup job, please leave your story in the comments below to inspire the masses.
All the best!
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)
