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Venture Capitalists


Overview

Venture Capitalists

Introduction

Venture capitalists are highly skilled business professionals who identify investment opportunities, evaluate target companies, negotiate the terms of investments, help build successful portfolio companies, and liquidate investments. According to the National Venture Capital Association, there are more than 1,000 venture capital firms in the U.S.

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$188,852

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Employment Prospects

Fair

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Minimum Education Level

Master's Degree


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Experience

Five to 10 years of success as an entrepreneur, or high-level exe
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Skills

Business Management
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Personality Traits

Enterprising
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Earnings

According to the 2020 Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Report, 68 percent of respondents reported having total compensation greater than $200,000. The largest bonus payouts were achieved at firms that had more than $1 billion of assets under management. Salary.com reported that the average salary for venture capitalists in September 2020 was $188,852. Salaries ranged from $94,903...

Work Environment

Venture capital firms are loaded with highly intelligent, creative, and passionate people with Type-A personalities. If this description fits you, then you’ll be a good fit and enjoy the work environment. If not, you might want to reconsider pursuing a career in this ultra-competitive industry. A typical day for a venture capitalist might consist of a meeting with an analyst to review financial...

Outlook

It’s very difficult to land a job as a venture capitalist. A commonly used analogy compares the size of the VC industry with that of Major League Baseball. It’s estimated that there are more than 7,000 professional baseball players (1,026 in the Major Leagues and 6,000 players in the minor leagues)—and the VC industry is about the same size. So, in short, it’s extremely difficult to become a pr...