3 Lessons learned and tips from a young VC’s perspective

My Summer in the Venture Capital World – Philipp Handel – Medium
via @daphnipolis

Lesson 1: Designing a good sourcing strategy is key

Looking back to the inception of our sourcing strategy, the idea was to 1) reach out to "country here" investors, 2) attend startup events, and 3) reactivate and formalize existing connections.

power of events to bring together the startup ecosystem. 

TIP 1: Discover your hunting instinct

TIP 2: The power of extroversion

Lesson 2: Learn to ask the right questions

trade-off between being efficient at screening and being open-minded to new creative ideas, thus not missing the “crazy bets”. It requires a very entrepreneurial mindset: Looking for strengths instead of weaknesses at first.

During the call you want to find out about the “raison d’être” of the startup, hear its founding story, usually starting with a) the problem they saw in the market, b) the solution they developed and c) the vision they have for the future.

If sounds exciting: 1) the product,  2) the market, 3) the team, 

A big trap would be to rely too much on a rigid framework or a checklist when assessing an opportunity. 

TIP 3: Build a trust relationship with founders

TIP 4: Develop proficiency in technology

Lesson 3: Go beyond executing the investment thesis

you evaluate an investment opportunity not only in itself but also relative to the fund’s investment thesis.

It was key for me to fully understand what we are investing in instead of only executing a checklist of criteria. 

TIP 5: Spot the value of contrarian views