Do VC partners make a lot of money?
The bottom line: Quite a few VC Partners earn less than $1 million per year, and sometimes they earn much less than that – especially if their fund is new, small, or hasn't performed well.
State | Annual Salary | Monthly Pay |
---|---|---|
Colorado | $112,331 | $9,360 |
New York | $111,727 | $9,310 |
Nevada | $111,352 | $9,279 |
Ohio | $111,096 | $9,258 |
The investors get 70% to 80% of the gains; the venture capitalists get the remaining 20% to 30%. The amount of money any partner receives beyond salary is a function of the total growth of the portfolio's value and the amount of money managed per partner. (See the exhibit “Pay for Performance.”)
Successful VC partners tend to be wealthy because of investment wins more than salary. Normally they take some equity in deals, which means a big payoff when a startup generates a big exit. Young associates are normally employees, making market-level salaries.
A successful VC for a top-tier firm can expect to earn somewhere between $10 million and $20 million a year. The very best make even more. Meanwhile, there's also the “management fee” of 2% or 2.5% that venture capital firms charge their investors.
It is very hard to become a partner at an early stage venture capital firm. Venture capital is a highly competitive industry, and there are far more qualified candidates than there are open positions. According to a study by PitchBook, the average time it takes to become a VC partner is 7.5 years.
You might only be in the office for 50-60 hours per week, but you still do a lot of work outside the office, so venture capital is far from a 9-5 job. This work outside the office may be more fun than the nonsense you put up with in IB, but it means you're “always on” – so you better love startups.
The finance sector offers prestigious career paths, and two prominent options are working at a venture capital (VC) firm or an investment bank. While both roles are highly esteemed, they have different focuses and perceptions.
What Are the Prominent Roles in a VC Firm? Each VC fund is different, but their roles can be divided into roughly three positions: associate, principal, and partner. As the most junior role, associates are usually involved in analytical work, but they may also help introduce new prospects to the firm.
- Base Salary:Analyst: $80,000 - $150,000Associate: $120,000 - $200,000Senior Associate: $150,000 - $250,000Partner: $300,000 - $1,000,000+
- Bonus: 10-30% of base salary (can be significantly higher if the firm has successful exits)
What happens to VC money if startup fails?
If the startup fails, they will not only lose their original investment but also any potential returns that they might have earned had the startup been successful. If the venture capitalists are unable to recoup their investment, they will be forced to write off their losses as bad debt.
Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.) American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, businessman and television personality who cofounded (1995) Broadcast.com, an Internet audio and video streaming service, and who was active in numerous other companies.
The failure rate of venture capital-backed companies is high, with estimates ranging from 50% to 90%.
Compensation: You'll earn significantly more in private equity at all levels because fund sizes are bigger, meaning the management fees are higher. The Founders of huge PE firms like Blackstone and KKR might earn in the hundreds of millions USD each year, but that would be unheard of at any venture capital firm.
The sharks are venture capitalists, meaning they are "self-made" millionaires and billionaires seeking lucrative business investment opportunities. While they are paid cast members of the show, they do rely on their own wealth in order to invest in the entrepreneurs' products and services.
VCs are under pressure to generate returns for the businesses and individuals that invest in their startup funds. This has become harder recently as tech valuations have plummeted. Toxic competition, isolation, and the need to maintain a personal brand are also adding to VC stress levels.
So late 20's, early 30's is probably quite standard. The average age of a senior associate at a venture capital (VC) firm can vary depending on the specific firm and the individual's career path. In general, however, a senior associate at a VC firm is likely to be in their late 20s or early 30s.
The truth is, like most careers, there are multiple paths into VC despite how daunting it might appear. But it's still hard. If you only have a few minutes, here are some takeaways to consider when thinking about how to break into VC: Go niche to stand out.
- Learn the business. Okay, maybe this may not jump off the page of your resume. ...
- Join a startup. ...
- Try Your Hand at Investing. ...
- Start networking. ...
- Try to lock in an internship.
Participate and contribute in daily meetings to discuss investment opportunities and portfolio companies. Prepare presentations and investment memoranda. Do whatever they can to help keep the ship afloat and on a good path.
Do VCs have work life balance?
VC professionals often have the opportunity to set their own schedules, work remotely, and also do something entrepreneurial on the side. The workload can be demanding during due diligence or deal execution phases, but work-life balance is very good overall.
Most venture funds have a 10 year time horizon to invest all of their capital and then return the profits to the fund's investors. There are exceptions to this 10 year life cycle, but that is fairly standard.
Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | |
---|---|---|
Top Earners | $132,000 | $11,000 |
75th Percentile | $100,000 | $8,333 |
Average | $82,146 | $6,845 |
25th Percentile | $54,500 | $4,541 |
There are not that many junior-level VC jobs, and the available jobs tend to be concentrated in specific regions, such as the coasts of the U.S. It's difficult to win these roles because: Similar to other buy-side roles, VCs do not “need” an army of junior employees to churn endless documents to close deals.
Differences Between Consulting and VC
In consulting, you work with large, established, slow-moving organizations. However, in VC, someone might have a new idea today, and a product and customer tomorrow. There is a rapid change you have to keep up with. The benefit to working with established organizations?
References
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-average-age-of-a-senior-associate-at-a-VC-firm
- https://www.buysidehustle.com/work-life-balance-in-finance-ranked-best-to-worst/
- https://dcjournal.com/some-private-equity-is-economic-fools-gold/
- https://www.comparably.com/salaries/salaries-for-vice-president
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/venturecapitalist.asp
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/private-equity-labor-market-returns-to-earth-as-deal-making-cools-48f97483
- https://mergersandinquisitions.com/venture-capital-careers/
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Private-Equity-Vice-President-Salary--in-California
- https://www.interviewprivateequity.com/why-possible-to-make-so-much-money-in-private-equity/
- https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/new-york-city-senior-managing-director-private-equity-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IM615_KO14,53.htm
- https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/programs/cfa/charterholder-careers/roles/private-equity
- https://mergersandinquisitions.com/private-equity/careers/
- https://fastercapital.com/content/What-Happens-if-Your-VC-Backed-Startup-Fails.html
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Vice-President-Of-Hedge-Funds-Salary
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_equity
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Venture-Capital-Salary--in-California
- https://entrepreneurial-mindset.quora.com/How-much-does-a-CEO-of-a-40-million-dollar-company-make
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Venture-Capital-Ceo-Salary
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-average-salary-for-a-venture-capitalist-at-a-top-firm-What-are-some-of-the-best-ways-to-break-into-this-field
- https://www.inc.com/magazine/201511/paul-keegan/does-more-pay-mean-more-growth.html
- https://www.svb.com/startup-insights/vc-relations/what-is-venture-capital/
- https://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/where-to-start/commercial-awareness-info/becoming-a-lawyer-in/becoming-a-private-equity-lawyer-the-view-from-sidley-austin-llp
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/best-private-equity-firms/
- https://chiefexecutive.net/10-ceos-earn-only-1-a-year/
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Private-Equity-Ceo-Salary
- https://managementconsulted.com/consulting-vs-venture-capital/
- https://mergersandinquisitions.com/private-equity-career-path/
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Entry-Level-Private-Equity-Salary--in-New-York
- https://www.movemeon.com/insight/private-equity-the-double-edged-sword-of-working-in-private-equity/
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/041315/what-are-major-differences-between-investment-banking-and-private-equity.asp
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-failure-rate-of-venture-capital-backed-companies-and-how-can-it-be-improved
- https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/top-ceos/highest-paid-ceos/
- https://www.quora.com/Of-the-two-years-of-the-IB-program-which-time-is-the-hardest
- https://nypost.com/2024/04/19/media/warner-bros-discovery-ceo-david-zaslav-saw-pay-jump-to-50m/
- https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/The-Blackstone-Group-Vice-President-Salaries-EJI_IE4022.0,20_KO21,35_IM167.htm
- https://investor.vanguard.com/wealth-management/private-equity
- https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-bad-parts-about-working-in-private-equity
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Cuban
- https://www.theforage.com/blog/careers/hedge-fund-vs-private-equity
- https://vault.com/professions/private-equity-lawyers/requirements
- https://au.prosple.com/career-planning/what-do-young-venture-capitalists-do-all-day
- https://mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-get-into-venture-capital/
- https://www.ceo-worldwide.com/blog/ceo-vs-president-differences-in-authority-salary-responsibilities/
- https://fastercapital.com/content/Not-all-private-equity-firms-are-evil--but-these-fiveare-especially-troublesome.html
- https://www.vikingmergers.com/blog/selling-to-a-private-equity/
- https://managementconsulted.com/private-equity-vs-investment-banking/
- https://blog.acquire.com/how-does-private-equity-work-and-how-do-you-get-it-interested-in-your-business/
- https://www.quora.com/Are-all-venture-capitalists-rich-or-are-only-the-general-partners-Are-the-young-associates-who-scout-deals-making-millions-or-are-they-only-making-high-five-figures-low-six-figures
- https://www.goingvc.com/post/5-ways-to-get-started-in-vc-if-you-dont-have-any-experience
- https://www.industryleadersmagazine.com/the-million-dollar-question-why-do-ceos-earn-so-much/
- https://www.titan.com/articles/private-equity-returns
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Vice-President-Private-Equity-Salary
- https://www.sourcescrub.com/post/private-equity-firm-roles
- https://www.corporate-rebels.com/blog/ideal-ceo-to-employee-pay-ratio
- https://www.quora.com/If-a-company-is-asking-50-000-for-5-equity-what-is-the-company-valued-at
- https://www.allvuesystems.com/resources/what-is-private-capital/
- https://www.peakframeworks.com/post/private-equity-salary
- https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Platinum-Equity-Vice-President-Salaries-E9423_D_KO16,30.htm
- https://www.fe.training/free-resources/careers-in-finance/investment-banking-vs-private-equity/
- https://money.usnews.com/investing/articles/largest-private-equity-firms
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/mutualfund/07/private_equity.asp
- https://www.peakframeworks.com/post/private-equity-hours
- https://legalcareerpath.com/private-equity-law/
- https://cowenpartners.com/average-cfo-salary-by-revenue/
- https://groww.in/p/venture-capital
- https://www.quora.com/Is-working-at-a-venture-capital-firm-considered-more-prestigious-than-working-at-an-investment-bank
- https://blog.privateequitylist.com/what-happens-to-employees-when-private-equity-firms-acquires-a-new-company/
- https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Goldman-Sachs-Vice-President-Salaries-E2800_D_KO14,28.htm
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/39-old-ceo-harvard-law-104913248.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackRock
- https://fortune.com/2024/01/08/denise-coates-salary-mark-zuckerberg-sundar-pichai/
- https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2023/11/27/why-private-equity-pays-so-much/
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-difference-between-private-equity-venture-capital
- https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/private-equity-salary/
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Private-Equity-Firms-Salary-by-State
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/career/Private-Equity-Vice-President/What-Is-How-to-Become
- https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Morgan-Stanley-Investment-Banking-Vice-President-Salaries-E2282_D_KO15,48.htm
- https://hbr.org/1998/11/how-venture-capital-works
- https://www.retaildive.com/news/the-biggest-buyouts/541078/
- https://legacy.vault.com/practice-areas/law/private-equity
- https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-vice-president/
- https://seraf-investor.com/compass/article/charting-course-building-winning-vc-fund-strategy-part-ii
- https://www.bryantstratton.edu/blog/2023/november/love-shark-tank-lets-dive-into-entrepreneurship
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Small-Business-Ceo-Salary
- https://marker.medium.com/how-venture-capitalists-make-money-9af5cc3ff2ef
- https://www.ey.com/en_lu/private-equity/why-is-private-equity-the-driving-force-behind-innovation-and-jo
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Partner-Venture-Capital-Salary-by-State
- https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/vcs-are-burning-out-5617964/
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-careers/09/private-equity.asp
- https://growthequityinterviewguide.com/private-equity-vs-venture-capital
- https://northwest.education/insights/executive-leadership/highest-paid-us-ceos-top-salaries/
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/privateequity.asp
- https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Bain-Capital/salaries/Vice-President
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Price
- https://www.signatureblock.co/articles/how-to-break-into-vc
- https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/7-figures-jobs
- https://www.quora.com/How-hard-is-it-to-become-a-partner-at-an-early-stage-venture-capital-VC-firm
- https://growthequityinterviewguide.com/private-equity-hours
- https://www.ambitionbox.com/profile/private-equity-associate-salary
- https://www.heidrick.com/-/media/heidrickcom/publications-and-reports/2021-pebacked-ceo-compensation-survey.pdf
- https://mergersandinquisitions.com/private-equity-vs-venture-capital/
- https://hbr.org/2007/09/the-strategic-secret-of-private-equity
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/040615/how-does-risk-profile-private-equity-investments-compare-those-other-types-investments.asp
- https://www.dentonsventurebeyond.com/resource-center/what-do-venture-lawyers-do/
- https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/heres-what-ceos-and-cfos-major-profit-health-systems-made-2022
- https://romeromentoring.com/breaking-into-private-equity-and-hedge-funds-the-less-than-1-game/
- https://www.talent.com/convert?salary=1&start=hour&end=year
- https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/what-effective-strategies-achieving-work-life-balance-dtluc
- https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/netflix-ted-sarandos-greg-peters-pay-packages-2024-1235831537/
- https://www.heidrick.com/en/insights/compensation-trends/2023-private-equity-backed-chief-executive-officer-compensation-survey
- https://carta.com/learn/private-funds/private-equity/
- https://www.blackrock.com/institutions/en-us/strategies/alternatives/private-equity
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-dollar_salary
- https://am.jpmorgan.com/us/en/asset-management/institutional/investment-strategies/alternatives/private-equity-group/
- https://www.joinleland.com/library/a/how-to-transition-from-law-to-private-equity
- https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-vs-private-equity/
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/093015/understanding-private-equity-funds-structure.asp
- https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/investment-banking-vs-private-equity/