Venture Capitalist Job Description
Some people have more money than they know what to do with. Others, like venture capitalists, know exactly what they want to do with it. These people spend their time looking for companies or entrepreneurs to invest their money with. By providing funds to startups and other companies or individuals with potential, venture capitalists typically take an ownership share in the company with the goal of eventually selling it for a profit or making their money back through the company becoming successful.
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Duties
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Venture capitalists can have a wide range of responsibilities. As their primary job is to find and invest in startups or entrepreneurs who have high-profit potential, venture capitalists must be able to evaluate potential investments. They must be able to perform financial analysis, evaluate a company or idea in terms of its potential effect and acceptance in the marketplace, measure the potential hazards and risks involved, and be able to finalize a deal once an investment opportunity is found.
Education and Training
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Venture capitalists (VCs) typically come from a background in business, finance, management or any other business-related field. Most VCs have served as business executives or financial officers in large companies. Bachelor's degrees, and often advanced degrees, in business or finance-related subjects are often required by VC firms that hire employees. Venture capitalist firms can often hire accountants, assistant, analysts and anyone else required to run a business.
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Skills
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Venture capitalists specialize in finding new, unproven or untested ideas and companies that they believe can turn a profit in the future. To do this successfully, venture capitalists must be able to identify companies and ideas that can generate a lot of revenue. Venture capitalists must have an excellent business sense, a good feel for the marketplace and the ability to accept a high level of risk.
Work Environment
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Venture capitalists typically work in an indoor business environment, and they can often spend long hours at work. These workers can travel a lot when looking for new investments, and spend a lot of time meeting with startups and others looking for venture capital. VCs often work for themselves or for firms or companies in which they are a partner or part owner.
Salary and Jobs
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Though the average salary of a venture capitalist is hard to determine, salary.com estimated in November 2009 that the median salary for these workers was about $160,000 per year. The top earnings for these professionals are almost unlimited, given the potential profit they can make from investing in a company that becomes very successful.
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References
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