Overview
You source deals and support diligence for a 17-person early-growth VC fund focused on enterprise software. You spend most of your time finding companies that fit their thesis, taking initial meetings with founders, and researching markets to decide if deals are worth the partners' time.
Role Snapshot
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role Type | VC Associate (sourcing & diligence) |
| Primary Motion | Outbound sourcing to founders |
| Deal Complexity | Investment evaluation (not sales) |
| Investment Cycle | 3-6 months from first meeting to term sheet |
| Deal Size | Early growth stage (likely Series A/B) |
| Success Metric | Quality sourced deals, portfolio support |
Company Context
Stage: Established VC fund
Size: 17 employees
Focus: Thesis-driven early growth investor in enterprise software
Market Position: Boutique fund competing for deals with larger firms
What You'll Actually Do
Time Breakdown
Sourcing (40%) | Screening/Meetings (30%) | Research/Diligence (20%) | Portfolio Support (10%)
Key Activities
- Cold outreach to founders: You build lists of enterprise software companies that fit the fund's thesis, then email/LinkedIn message founders to get intro meetings. Most don't respond. You're trying to find 2-3 quality conversations per week.
- Initial screening calls: You take first meetings with founders to understand their business, traction, and fundraising timeline. You're filtering for what's worth bringing to partners - probably 1 in 10 makes it through.
- Market research and mapping: You dig into specific enterprise software categories to understand competitive landscapes, market size, and whether there's a venture-scale opportunity. Lots of reading pitch decks, looking at G2 reviews, talking to operators.
- Diligence support: When partners are interested in a deal, you help with due diligence - reference calls with customers, financial model review, competitive analysis. This is detail-oriented work with tight deadlines.
The Honest Reality
What's Hard
- Most founders you reach out to either ignore you or are already in conversations with bigger-name funds. Getting quality inbound deal flow takes time and reputation.
- You're not making the final decisions - you're filtering and researching for partners. Your recommendations matter, but you don't control outcomes.
- VC moves slowly. A deal you sourced might take 4-6 months to close, and most won't close at all. You don't get the instant feedback loop of sales.
- When funds are deployed or market conditions shift, sourcing slows down and you're mostly supporting portfolio companies instead of doing new deals.
- Small team means you wear multiple hats - admin work, event planning, portfolio support - not just high-level investing work.
What Success Looks Like
- You source 1-2 companies per year that the fund invests in
- Partners trust your market research and bring you into diligence early
- Portfolio founders reach out to you directly for help with GTM, hiring, or customer intros
- You develop a reputation in a specific enterprise software vertical (security, data infrastructure, etc.)
Who You're Talking To
Primary Contacts:
- Enterprise software founders (CEO/CTO level)
- Other VCs and angels in the ecosystem
- Operators at portfolio companies (sales leaders, heads of product)
What Founders Care About:
- Does this fund actually understand our market and motion?
- Can they help us beyond just capital (customer intros, GTM advice, hiring)?
- How fast do they move and what's their check size?
- Are they thesis-driven or opportunistic (Telescope says thesis-driven)?
Requirements
- Genuine interest in enterprise software and B2B business models - you need to understand SaaS metrics, sales motions, and what makes companies fundable
- High agency and self-direction - no one is giving you a daily task list; you figure out where to spend your time
- Comfort with rejection and ambiguity - most outreach fails, most deals don't happen
- Strong research and analytical skills - you're building market maps, analyzing financials, evaluating competitive positioning
- Relationship-building ability - this is a small fund where trust and long-term connections matter more than transactional deal-making
- Prior exposure to startups, sales, or investing helpful but not required - they want curiosity and hustle over pedigree