Key Takeaways
- • Patrick Blumenthal, a Zurich-based investor at American VC firm Draper Associates, says junior VC roles are primarily about startup sourcing, since early-stage founders typically bring "no product, no revenue, nothing" and banking skills offer limited help.
- • Blumenthal recommends candidates pick three to five partners at target firms, study their investment histories, and send them one interesting startup every week or two.
- • Each outreach email should include three to five bullet points covering what the company does, the team, what is distinctive, and why the sender thinks it is a good startup.
- • Blumenthal advises publishing research publicly on platforms such as LinkedIn, Substack or a blog, and says a three-month loop of this work makes asking for a job unnecessary.
- • Networking remains a core route into VC, as Blumenthal says he got his first VC role through it.
Summary
Breaking into venture capital is difficult, according to an eFinancialCareers article, because VC teams are typically small and rarely run dedicated graduate recruitment programmes. Juniors are still hired, but the article argues candidates need a more deliberate route in. The traditional path, as described by Patrick Blumenthal, a Zurich-based investor with Draper Associates, runs through banking or consulting, possibly an MBA, and then a VC fund, or through working at a startup first.
Blumenthal argues that banking skills translate poorly to early-stage investing. Founders at that stage typically arrive with an idea but little or no product or revenue, so investors are "just betting on the founders." He says a junior VC's core value lies in deal sourcing, the first of four steps in the VC process he outlined, and that sourcing is what firms are effectively hiring junior staff to do. Polished deck-making or financial modelling is not the differentiator.
His suggested approach is to start sourcing before getting hired. Candidates should select three to five partners at firms they want to join, study their investment stages, sectors and geographies, and send each one a startup they find compelling every week or two. Each email should name the company, provide three to five bullet points on what it does, the team and its distinctive features, and close with the sender's own view of why it is a strong company. Blumenthal says many partners respond by asking to be connected to the startup, and that repeated quality outreach builds a reputation for usefulness. He also advises clear, plain-English writing in the candidate's own words, noting that partners quickly spot AI-generated text and disregard it.
The final step is to publish the research, on LinkedIn, a newsletter, Substack or a blog, so that the candidate becomes visible to the industry. Blumenthal says that after three months of this sourcing and publishing cycle, a candidate is effectively already doing the job. Networking remains important too; Blumenthal said he obtained his first VC role through personal contacts and recommends telling everyone of one's interest in venture capital.
Blumenthal argues that banking skills translate poorly to early-stage investing. Founders at that stage typically arrive with an idea but little or no product or revenue, so investors are "just betting on the founders." He says a junior VC's core value lies in deal sourcing, the first of four steps in the VC process he outlined, and that sourcing is what firms are effectively hiring junior staff to do. Polished deck-making or financial modelling is not the differentiator.
His suggested approach is to start sourcing before getting hired. Candidates should select three to five partners at firms they want to join, study their investment stages, sectors and geographies, and send each one a startup they find compelling every week or two. Each email should name the company, provide three to five bullet points on what it does, the team and its distinctive features, and close with the sender's own view of why it is a strong company. Blumenthal says many partners respond by asking to be connected to the startup, and that repeated quality outreach builds a reputation for usefulness. He also advises clear, plain-English writing in the candidate's own words, noting that partners quickly spot AI-generated text and disregard it.
The final step is to publish the research, on LinkedIn, a newsletter, Substack or a blog, so that the candidate becomes visible to the industry. Blumenthal says that after three months of this sourcing and publishing cycle, a candidate is effectively already doing the job. Networking remains important too; Blumenthal said he obtained his first VC role through personal contacts and recommends telling everyone of one's interest in venture capital.
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