More than often I am asked what I do in my job, the most common response when I say I work in the Venture Capital industry is a nod and ‘oh wow, money, finance’. Which can be deciphered as, ‘I really have no idea, but that sounds important’. But to be fair to the wider audience, yes the Venture Capital world is to do with money and investments, but it also incorporates a lot more which I would like to enlighten you about. I’m going to fill you in behind the scenes, of what it is like to work in this industry and you’ll realise its not all just about stuffy guys in suits — the main stereotype.
I came to work in this niche world just over a year ago, and to be brutally honest it was not intentional at all and I was similar to those of my peers that knew of the industry but not fully how it functioned. I have worked in two VCs, both have been a small team and both have their individual styles, attributes and differences, however both having the same goal to help build the vision of startups from the ground upwards and hopefully helping them become a multimillion pound company, or maybe even a billion pound company.
At Episode 1, we have 4 partners. Our Managing Partner Simon Murdoch, a previous Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, he has been frightfully successful and has a great depth of experience and knowledge, he mostly functions as what one can only describe as organised chaos. Saying he doesn’t stop, like road runner! We have two further Founding Partners: Damien Lane, the resident marathon runner both metaphorically (he’s been around in the investment world for some time…) and literally, and can best be described as the straight talker, or marmite, he’ll love it or hate it; and Adrian Lloyd, ‘the young buck’ as he has been called and the most meticulously organised person I have ever met. The final partner, Paul McNabb recently joined last year, previously from Cisco, he has a wealth of knowledge in the enterprise tech world, along with the most bizarre accent, (cue Nathan Lane) and he thinks himself a coffee connoisseur.
The team is also comprised of our two Investment Managers, Ash Puri, the ‘King of Bling and surprisingly TenPin bowling’, trust me we were all shocked at his skittle skills and Martin-Afshari-Mehr, gym obsessed, master on powerpoint and excel, and the most ‘eggscellent’ narrator I know. And then there’s me ! The resident Marketing Executive, who would like to think of herself as hard working, floating on air, but also able to take the banter, working with 6 guys day in day out, I consider it definitely part of the job
So as I feel I could waffle on and bore the living daylights out of you all, I thought I would share with you the two most surprising things about VCs ( in particular at Episode1) that I have learnt and was previously unaware of.
Factor 1: They’re Humans, Not Robots !
Strange, I know, to those who know them personally 😉 (just kidding), but actually the Partners and Investment Managers at Episode 1, are human. Not only are they super knowledgable and experienced, but they are really nice and down to earth guys. 5 out of 7 of them have been entrepreneurs themselves so they have all been in your shoes ! They know the struggles, trials and tribulations entrepreneurs face better than most, so that’s why we get a decision back to you as soon as possible and also in the event that we do work together, we will be there every step of the way with you, guiding and supporting you to make the best decision for not only your company but you too. This has to be one the best qualities of Episode 1, because it has been quoted by some of our entrepreneurs already that we are ‘Founder Friendly’ and having a great relationship with entrepreneurs is key the way we work. We look at every investment as a Partnership, so not only is it important for us to get on with you, its important you get on with us, a perfect marriage
Factor 2: How a business can be created in under 3 months!
What I find completing fascinating is how in the Startup world, companies are being formed in less than 6 months . The breadth of talent in entreprereneurs at present is impressive and competition is rife. Therefore it seems everyone is picking up their game and fighting not only for investment, but the overall competition amongst Accelerators is extremely high.
Looking at the industry as a whole, in the past few years, the infrastructure now exists for entrepreneurs to create a business so quickly , 5 years ago this certainly wasn’t possible. The overall community is much more comfortable with the Startup world with the Government, Accelerators like Entrepreneur First and organisations like Tech City UK supporting the development of the tech industry. These are the stepping stones in place for these new entrepreneurs to build a business rapidly in this environment and there is also the added bonus that technology is much more advanced also allowing the company to be built at a more rapid pace. Therefore all these factors show that it isn’t just the logistical and practical changes that have enabled this over the past 5 years but this also represents a shift in attitude in the tech environment. Experienced Angel Investors, Venture Capital firms and SEIS Schemes have demonstrated this change in attitude too, investing in the businesses earlier and usually at a higher price, because the perception perhaps is that the entrepreneurs are more prepared to succeed and the possiblity of massive returns is plausible. It is safe to say the entrepreneurs won’t disappear but the investors could and the big question is ‘Could the Bubble Burst?’ Experienced Investors may became scared and decide to invest not so early but I guess we just watch this space….
At the end of the day all investments are informed bets (in coloquial terms) and even though all investors demonstrate an outward confidence when every invesment is made, there is always uncertainty and there is always a champion in the team that needs to have the ‘kahunas’ to lead and convince others. With that I can end by saying here welcome to the world of Venture Capital :-)!
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