Career Paths Post-VC? | The Early is back!

Happy Friday! The Early is BACK and better than before 💪 After some time off, we’re full speed ahead with weekly postings. Let’s GO! 💨 

I’m excited to dive into a new topic this week - career paths after working in VC. I’ve been chatting with friends either considering an investing career or already working in VC. A few questions keep coming up, including: “If I end up wanting to transition out of VC, what exit opportunities are there? What skills do I build in VC that translate to other roles down the road?” There aren’t many resources on the subject and as it turns out, there are a LOT of different career paths taken by ex-VCs.

That’s why, today, I’m excited to feature the first of a series of interviews on the topic, starting off 🔥 with a Q&A with Rohit Bhatia, who transitioned from his career as a VC investor at Grand Ventures to product management, most recently as a Lead PM at Chipper.

💹 Today’s schedule:

• New VC Roles This Week (Precursor, Forerunner & more) 💫

• Breaking into Product Management from VC with Rohit Bhatia 💡 

• Can’t Get Enough? Related Reads this Week (Young VCs Retiring?) 🤓 

• Rate This Newsletter ☑️ 

• Refer a Friend 🙂

• Resources 📝

• Say Hi 👋

New VC Roles This Week 💫 

Internships 🤓 

• Graduate Internship @ Precursor Ventures (Remote) - Apply Here by Sept. 8th

• VC Intern @ Mangusta Capital (SF Bay Area) - Apply Here

Analyst 😍 

• VC Analyst @ Springbank (Hybrid - New York, NY) - Apply Here

• Investment Analyst @ Impact Engine (Hybrid - Chicago, IL) - Apply Here

Associate/Senior Associate 😄 

• VC Investor @ Pascal Capital (Hybrid - SF Bay Area) - Apply Here

• Investor @ Will Ventures (Boston, MA) - Apply Here

• Senior Associate @ XAnge (Paris, FR) - Apply Here

• Investment and Operations Associate @ Ponderosa Ventures (New York, NY) - Apply Here

Operational Roles 🤠 

• Platform Associate @ Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (New York, NY) - Apply Here

• Research Associate @ Forerunner Ventures (SF Bay Area) - Apply Here

❗️ Note that many VC roles are posted without application deadlines and filled on a rolling basis - if you see one you like, I’d recommend applying within a week, or as soon as possible!

Q&A: Breaking into Product Management from VC feat. Rohit Bhatia 🌟 

About Rohit: Rohit is an impact-focused product manager with a passion for Health-Tech and FinTech. He most recently was the lead product manager at Chipper, a start-up focused on helping people pay off their debt. He also led the build of telehealth products for complex patient populations at Cerebral. Previously, he worked in venture capital with a focus on B2B software investments. Outside of work, Rohit enjoys triathlons, climbing, and beach volleyball.

How long did you work in VC and why did you decide to start your career in investing?

I was always interested in careers that were impact focused. I had studied political science in college, but decided that working for the government or a think-tank was too boring. I became interested in impact-investing through a club on campus and came to appreciate the power of money to effect positive change. After college I briefly worked at Cambridge Associates in their ESG (environmental and social governance) team, helping large institutions make socially responsible investments. I found the work to be too far removed from the actual change we were effecting. During a meeting where we were advising a client on which VC they should allocate their money to, I realized that I would much rather be the VC myself. I left Cambridge Associates and joined Venture for America, a program similar to Teach for America, whose goal is to redistribute tech talent to emerging tech hubs like Detroit and St. Louis. Through this program I began my first VC job at a small fund in St. Louis. I ended up spending 3.5 years investing in start-ups and developed a particular interest in Health-Tech and FinTech.

What roles were you considering coming out of VC, and what made you ultimately land on the PM role at Cerebral? What factors did you consider in the process? 

I considered strategy, operations, chief of staff, and PM roles. I narrowed my focus to PM because I wanted to maximize the tangible impact I could have on the company I joined. When I was deciding whether to join the new products team at Cerebral I was weighing it against two other job offers. The decision to join Cerebral was ultimately pretty easy because I was passionate about health-tech and was excited to have ownership of the product I was building all the way from ideation to execution. 

What were the key skills you developed in VC that translated to your PM career? 

While working as a VC I learned how to analyze markets and ask the right questions to find out if an entrepreneur was solving a problem that customers were willing to pay for. I also learned how to get smart on lots of different topics very fast. While sitting on boards as an observer, I learned common mistakes that entrepreneurs make and critical decisions that lead to success. These skills are all very applicable to building a new product as a product manager. They don't, however, give you strong execution skills. That can only be learned by doing the job.

How did you frame your VC background in your PM interview process? Were there any challenges you ran into? 

While interviewing for PM jobs I learned that most employers want people with previous PM experience (just like VC). The key was to find companies with a history of hiring people with more diverse backgrounds. I found that the same employers who are open to hiring ex-consultants were open-minded about my background in VC. I framed my background in VC as giving me strong strategy skills and an ability to work cross-functionally. I also demonstrated domain interest and experience by tying what I learned through particular VC investments to the company I was applying to. For example, I had evaluated and invested in various health-tech companies, which gave me credibility when interviewing with Cerebral (a mental-health start-up).

What advice would you give to early-career VCs wanting to break into PM as their next role? Are there any resources you would suggest? 

First, I would say you don't need to go to business school to break into PM. Also, don't waste money on a coding boot camp. My advice would be to focus on employers that are open minded about hiring people with diverse backgrounds. Also, start-ups are going to value early-stage VC experience more and see you more as a partner in the company than an employee. I would also advise that you learn to speak the language of product management. If you have the time, demonstrate your ability to build something.

A huge thank-you to Rohit for the awesome insights 👏 

Related Reads 📖 

Here are a few related articles to check out (including Rohit’s blog!)

• Breaking Out of Venture Capital! Rohit Bhatia

• Investment Notes: Encour - Why I’m All In Jessy Wu

• Why I Left VC to Start a Startup Daniel Li - Entrepreneurship Handbook

• Young VCs Who Left Investment Banking and Consulting Jobs Business Insider

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Refer a Friend 👭 

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Resources 📝 

• Download my meeting notes template for VC/investment pitches

• Check out my previous post for a list of VC interview resources

• Take a look at the Early VC job board with roles updated twice weekly 🤗 

• Join the waitlist for our VC candidate portal 🤝 

Say Hi! 👋 

And that’s all for this week! You can find me on LinkedIn and X. As always, feel free to reach out to [email protected] with any questions or feedback. I’d love to hear from you! 🙂 

-Mic