If you do then pop by the Union Square Ventures blog where they’ve announced they are hiring. They describe their ideal candidate as having:
- Strong analytical / quant skills.
- Excel wizard.
- Strong internet technology experience, prior programming experience a plus.
- Net-native: deep understanding of Internet origins, trends, and solutions. Strong online presence a plus.
- Strong personal skills, great oral communications and writing.
- Work experience in either investment or internet-related field is a plus but is not required to be considered for the position.
I have to admit that I’d love to work in the Venture Capital industry, particularly with a a firm that has such a focus on IT. But the question is would they want me? Here are their requirements again with some thoughts on how I match them:
- Strong analytical / quant skills - I believe I’ve got good analytical skills - for example see my review of StableTable.
- Excel wizard - I love spreadsheets and I’ve spent some time hacking out VBA.
- Strong internet technology experience, prior programming experience a plus - Perfect, I started off as a programmer and have worked with Internet technology since 1996.
- Net-native: deep understanding of Internet origins, trends, and solutions. Strong online presence a plus - I like to think that this blog is a good online presence, but it’s still a work in progress.
- Strong personal skills, great oral communications and writing - I certainly hope this blog demonstrates good written communication skills, if you disagree please let me know!
- Work experience in either investment or internet-related field is a plus but is not required to be considered for the position - I’ve no investment experience but I’ve been working on Internet related fields since 1996 for the likes of UK Online (an early UK ISP), PriceWaterhouseCoopers and my own Internet business consultancy.
So what do you think, if you were them would you want me on the team? Or is it a job that would fit your interests and skills, if so why not pop over and add your name to the list.
This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
John
A great book for you: Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston. All about VCs and tech startups.
Tom,
Thanks for the suggestion, it’s actually sat on my bookshelf at the moment, but I have a bunch of books that publishers have sent me to review that I need to get through first.
I’ve also enjoyed eBoys: The True Story of the Six Tall Men Who Backed EBay, Webvan and Other Billion-dollar Start-ups by Randall E. Stross which I reviewed last year.
Regards, John