How to get in touch with a VC

Wow, can’t believe it’s been almost a month since my last post. I can already tell that I’m failing on my goal for posting weekly... Well let me tell you folks, even though I haven’t been posting, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been trying. In fact, I’ve been trying more than ever these past few weeks. Dedicating most of my time deeply immersing myself into VC.

Last post, I set a goal for myself to reach out to at least 2 VCs. One who’s podcast I listen to on a regular basis, and the other would be someone local to me here in Chicago. I’m happy and excited to declare that I did, but, definitely didn’t get the outcome that I was looking for (with the exclusion of Harry Stebbings, which I’ll go into more detail about below).

For those of you that don’t know who Harry Stebbings is, he is the Creator of the podcast 20minVC which has over 2000 episodes and features some of the most prominent VCs in the worl to come and discuss their journeys. Harry is now also General Partner at his own VC firm which most recently closed on it’s fund and is now making seed investments. Here’s the kicker, I’m pretty sure Harry is younger than I am! Which is nuts to think about but really shows his dedication to the industry and his passion around the subject.

As I continue to try and extend my roots into VC, I try to absorb all of the knowledge I possibly can. That’s where Harry’s podcast comes into play. One thing that Harry’s podcast does very well is going into great detail around how a particular VC got their start. For example, did you know that Brad Feld (Foundry Group) help SoftBank’s VC get started back in the 90’s and early 2000’s after having sold his previous company? Crazy isn’t it?

I take a step back and look at some of the major players and what types of things they did to make their way into VC. What I’m starting to realize is that the way you got into VC back into the day doesn’t necessarily translate well into how the industry attracts talent today. Now you definitely have cases like Brad who made is way into the industry through an acquisition or you also have the traditional MBA route. But let’s say you are someone like me, with no traditional VC or finance education, how would someone like us find our way in? That’s where I reached out to Harry to get some insight.

Harry is one of those rare professionals that definitely practices what he preaches. At the beginning and end of each of his podcasts he gives his Instagram username and says to reach out to him with any questions, so I did.

Below, you’ll find the thread between Harry and I.

"Hi Harry! Long time listener here. Not sure if you’ll see my message but question for you. As someone that has professional experience in Product/corporate but with no professional VC experience other than personal research, can you recommend some ways that I can get involved with a firm? I’ve tried to reach out to VCs within and out of my network to see if I could even possibly volunteer my time, I keep getting turned down. I understand that rejection is part of life but wanted to see if you had any nifty or insightful ways for me to get myself out there and break into the space?Looking forward to hearing from you and this week’s podcasts!"

Here was his response:

"Sure thing and so appreciate the support. You have to select 3-5 partners at firms. Then give them the freemium product! Show then what you could do if you worked for them. Show them deals that suit their sector, stage etc. They see you become a reliable source of flow. And then you turn that into leverage for a discussion on a role."

Honestly, this is some of the most candid feedback that I have received. It may seem simple in nature but we won’t know until we try it out. That’s why, my goal for next post is to come up with some ideas on how I can add value to VCs by providing them some insight into the Chicago startup space.

As an example from one of my colleagues in the past. This person would choose a random company, let’s say spaceX, and would put together a marketing pitch deck based off of his knowledge and expertise. His specific niche is marketing. Eventually, he caught the attention of a CEO who was ramping up to have his company go public. This CEO flew him out to SF to discuss his strategy. Long story short, he didn’t get the role, but he did gain some valuable insight into how well his strategy is working and how to maximize his opportunity.

For next post, my goal is: To come up with some ideas on how I can add value to VCs. I will create a bullet list of things that I can provide to VCs in order to add value. I will also come up with a template that I can send off to the VC to catch their attention in a very quick manner.

Hey, if this doesn’t work, I’ll continue to iterate. It’s all going to be a part of the journey on the Road2VC.

As always, if you agree or disagree with anything that I said here, feel free to comment.