Corporate Venture Capital #6: Five reasons to start CVC career (2024)

Corporate Venture Capital #6: Five reasons to start CVC career (1)

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Joerg Landsch Corporate Venture Capital #6: Five reasons to start CVC career (2)

Joerg Landsch

Corporate Venture Capital | Innovation | Harvard Business School | University St. Gallen

Published Jul 31, 2023

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It’s time for many students entering their senior year at college/ university. Which is as well the time to prepare for starting your professional career. I summarized below 5 reasons for starting & having a career in Venture Capital particularly in Corporate Venture Capital:

  1. Blend of corporate stability and startup/ VC agility: CVC offers anunique blend of corporate stability withtheagility of startup or venture fund. The stability comes from leveragingtheparent companies' resources, network, and brand while still fostering a nimble and fast-paced decision-making environment. This balance provides professionals with the best of both worlds: the security of a corporate job and the dynamic, fast-paced nature of a startup.
  2. Strategic and financial skills development: CVCs are strategic investors who look beyond just financial returns. They seek investments that align with the corporate strategy and can providestrategic benefits. As such, a career in CVC fosters not only financial investment acumen but also strategic thinking. Working in this field means making strategic investment decisions, managing relationships(e.g. CVC Business Development), and fostering collaborations - skills that are highly transferable and sought afterthroughout career.
  3. Exposure to cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions: CVC divisions typically operate at the forefront of technology and innovation. Working in CVC means you'll be immersed in emerging technologies and markets, thereby providing an opportunity to learn about groundbreaking advancements first-hand. As parent companies often works/ adopts the solution of the portfolio company, you will receive hands-on exposure to the technology as well from a client sideand in addition to investor side.
  4. Opportunity to build a strong network: Given the unique position between corporations, venture capital and startups, CVC professionals have extensive networking opportunities. These connections span across different industries, including investors, startups, industry experts, and corporate executives. This wide-ranging network can provide a robust foundation for future career growth and opportunities.
  5. Impactful work: Working in CVC offers the chance to have tangible impacts on both the corporation,the wider industry and even on our society. By investing in and fostering startups, CVC professionals help to drive innovation, create jobs, and shape the future of industries and regions. This provides a high level of job satisfaction and a strong sense of purpose.

As with the investments itself, the due diligence to select the right CVC employer is key. Few things to look out for, when looking at a job in CVC (or VC) (i) investment activity (how active is the team e.g. how many transactions a year and what is the investment size/ fund size?), (ii) investment strategy (is the investment focus matching your skills and career ambitions?), (iii) reputation (what’s the reputation of the corporationand the investment team?) and (iv) leadership (how do you connect with the leader/partner and overall team from a personality perspective?).

Finally, Yes, I am bias when saying working in Corporate Venture Capital (and Venture Capital) is very rewarding and a great choice for future career. While of course there is always a flip-side in life (higherwork load, transaction stress level, CVC often don’t pay carry), but I believe the benefits of starting and having a career at CVC clearly outweigh. So rock’n’roll…

Find here my recent Corporate Venture Capital newsletter articles:

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  • CVC 1: Selecting Board representation
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  • CVC 4: Four Benefits to invest into other funds
  • CVC 5: Balance sheet or fund investing

#corporateventurecapital #venturecapital #career

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post and under Corporate Venture Capital newsletter are solely mine as the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or opinion of my employer. Any content provided are my personal views and not investment advice.

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Corporate Venture Capital Corporate Venture Capital #6: Five reasons to start CVC career (6)

Corporate Venture Capital

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Cem Ergün-Müller

Lead Program Manager

9mo

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Hoffe, ich sehe dich und deine Community auf der Startupnight am 1. September in Berlin.

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Hans-Martin Kraus

Partner at Deloitte, Transformation Impact that matters

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... and there is a 6th reason (coming with an obvious condition): Working with Joerg and team is fun & inspiring.

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Jonas Ide

Venture Capital💡💵 | Healthcare⚕️| MBA 👨🎓

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Well written Joerg. To me the combination of Finance and Strategy is the best part of working in VC. It is not only about returing 2x, 3x or more at an Exit, it is about the value the startup brings to the long term strategy of the parent company or even the value the big corporate can bring to the startup in helping scaling the technology or building a sales team. #CVCrocks 🤘

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Joerg Landsch

Corporate Venture Capital | Innovation | Harvard Business School | University St. Gallen

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Global Corporate Venturing BVK Bundesverband Beteiligungskapital Startup-Verband

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Sanford (Sandy) Rosenberg

Operator, advisor and investor. Passionate about working with companies and founders to drive growth.

9mo

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Thanks for posting, Joerg Landsch - great to highlight corporate VC as an entry point.

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Corporate Venture Capital #6: Five reasons to start CVC career (2024)

FAQs

Why do you want to build a career in VC? ›

Venture capital (VC) is a form of financing that provides funding and guidance to startups and early-stage companies with high growth potential. It can be an exciting and rewarding career path for those who have a passion for innovation, entrepreneurship, and impact.

Why do you want to work in corporate venture capital? ›

Strategic and financial skills development: CVCs are strategic investors who look beyond just financial returns. They seek investments that align with the corporate strategy and can provide strategic benefits. As such, a career in CVC fosters not only financial investment acumen but also strategic thinking.

What are the benefits of CVC? ›

Benefits for the startup

On the startup side, CVCs have access to the resources of the parent company, such as distribution channels, customer base, supply chain, and technologies. This can provide startups with a significant advantage in scaling their business and getting to market more quickly.

Why do you want to join a VC? ›

Q: Why venture capital? A: Because you are passionate about working with startups, helping them grow, and finding promising new companies – and you prefer that to starting your own company or executing deals.

Why do people want to get into VC? ›

VC is a Team Sport

They have experience identifying high-growth potential companies and know what differentiates them from those that are not. While many people who work in VC do so because of a desire to support founders, they are also investing in industries and businesses.

Why do you want to build your career? ›

“In my career, I am sure of one thing and that is I want to build a decent career in my current domain. My present job has shown me the path to move and attain what has been my long-term career objective. I have acquired necessary skills to some extent as well as have got accustomed to the corporate way of working.

Why are you interested in breaking into the venture capital industry? ›

Example answer: “I've been wanting to work for a venture capital firm for a long time, mainly because I'm very interested in observing young companies. I enjoy discovering how each company plans to scale and evolve and then assessing how they put their plans into practice.

Why do you want to pursue a career in corporate finance? ›

A few of the perks of working in corporate finance are that you get the chance to develop good teamwork skills, since finance professionals generally work in teams. You also get to travel and meet people, and the pay is pretty good. A financial analyst can make $44,000 to $72,000 a year.

How to pitch a startup VC interview? ›

Focus on the market

One of the most frequent VC pitching no-no's is to heavily focus on all the great features of a product, while underplaying why it will benefit customers. The benefits tell an investor how big your market could be—the main thing an investor cares about.

Why is CVC important? ›

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex governmental body in India that is responsible for promoting integrity, transparency, and accountability in the country's public administration. It was established in 1964 as a result of the recommendations of the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption.

What are the objectives for CVC? ›

Learning objectives

Hears and says the initial sound in words. Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together and knows which letters represent some of them. Links sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet. Begins to read words and simple sentences.

Why would you need a CVC? ›

A CVC helps you receive drugs, fluids or blood for emergency or long-term treatment. It also helps with blood draws. Types include PICC lines and ports.

Why do you want to make your career in venture capital? ›

A career in venture capital can be both challenging and rewarding. On the one hand, VCs have the opportunity to work with some of the most innovative and talented entrepreneurs in the world. They also can make significant financial returns if their investments are successful.

How to crack VC interview? ›

If you have the requisite background, preparing yourself for common questions will help you shine in your venture capital job interview. Many of the questions you can expect during a VC job interview are general in nature, but others are unique to the venture capital industry.

How to nail a VC interview? ›

The most important things to remember are that you should be able to clearly articulate why you want to join the VC industry overall and the firm in particular, and have knowledge of the markets and industries in which the firm works.

Is VC a good career path? ›

A career in venture capital can be highly rewarding but also challenging. There are several roles within the venture capital industry, including investment analyst, associate, principal, and partner. Here's a look at what it takes to succeed at each level: Investment Analyst.

Why is working in VC exciting? ›

As a venture capitalist, you'll be working with many firms in various industries. Some of these companies will be creating their industries. So getting a front-row seat to learn about new companies and technologies that have the potential to create change can be very interesting.

What factors will enable you to seamlessly transition your career into VC? ›

Having experience in the startup ecosystem, either as a founder or operator, is also important. In addition to hard skills, soft skills are key; to be successful, venture capitalists need excellent networking and communications skills, and an ability to handle ambiguity.

How do I create a career in VC? ›

You can start a career in venture capital by following these steps:
  1. Assess and develop your skills. As a venture capitalist, certain skills and qualities are indispensable. ...
  2. Select your entry point. ...
  3. Earn a degree. ...
  4. Get an internship or a relevant job. ...
  5. Start your own company.
Mar 15, 2023

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