I was recently thinking about a conversation I had with one of my mentors a while ago. We were chatting about growth within VC, how to create meaningful relationships with founders, and how to add value to startups as a way to build your reputation.
During our conversation, he paused for a moment and said, “let’s go back to the beginning. Why do you want to be a VC?”
Suddenly, my mind jolted to an interview I had a few years prior with a top NYC real estate firm where they asked me why I wanted to do real estate. It’s a fair question, but I wasn’t prepared for it. I stumbled and my answer basically came out that I really enjoyed the game Rollercoaster Tycoon as a kid and that’s how I realized my love for real estate. It was a horrible response, I didn’t mean it, and I didn’t get the position. But that’s just a side point.
Fast forward to the present conversation, I felt much more prepared to answer this time around.
In my opinion, people become VCs for one of three reasons:
- Been There, Done That: This person has either built something successfully or has made enough mistakes to know what not to do. Either way, they join the game to impart their experience and wisdom on the next generation of entrepreneurs.
- Fell Into It: This person wasn’t planning on becoming a VC. They most likely climbed the corporate ladder and are looking for something exciting to work on next.
- Calling In Life: This person lives and breathes startups and investing. They have been an avid TechCrunch reader since their teens and have been dreaming of the moment they graduate college to apply for a VC position.
I find that many VCs fall into one of these buckets. There could be more, but these are a few of personalities that I’ve seen over the years.
My answer was slightly different. I haven’t built something before, fallen into it, and for sure didn’t have TechCrunch on my radar when I was in high school.
For me being a venture capitalist is about supporting people and helping their dreams come true. It’s about making the world a better place. Why would I want to have a hand in building one startup when I can play a role in building 100 startups? For me being a VC represents magic. You invest in people’s dreams and ambitions. You work with them side-by-side for years to turn fiction into reality. And at the end, if you’ve done your job properly, you’ve helped make the world a better place.
It might sound like a fairytale, but this is what drives me. I love placing bets on founders who create things that completely upend the status quo. I love the feeling of uncovering an awesome idea and instantly understanding how it changes our everyday lives. I feel the thrill of helping founders grow their business when I facilitate an introduction between them and a potential customer. And I feel the pride when I share their progress with family and friends as if their wins are my wins.
This is why I wanted to be a VC and this was my answer to my mentor. I can’t remember his response, but it was definitely better than my interviewer’s at that NYC real estate firm.
Hi! I’m Jordan, and I work in VC in Israel. There’s a lot happening in the VC/startup scene and I figured I’d post my observations here. All opinions above are my own. Feel free to follow on Twitter: @jordanodinsky.