Hello there, good question! Regarding your question, I would say in general, try to prepare for a VC interview as if you're preparing for a consulting case interview (in the sense that you need to learn how to break down complex problems into small, manageable questions to address within a reasonable timeframe). If you're new to that, Victor Cheng (www.caseinterview.com/) and Crafting Cases (www.craftingcases.com/) would be a decent start. Besides that, I would say Chia Jeng Yang's writing on the typical things VCs would look out for in interns is a good high-level insight into the traits you need to demonstrate during your interview (medium.com/saison-capital/what-you-need-as-a-vc-benchmarking-skills-across-venture-capital-jobs-titles-1c8fd3f8473c). Also, if I were in your position, I would also aim to prepare a simple investment thesis on a start-up/industry you would recommend the firm to invest in (assuming that it fits well with their fund mandate; make sure you check that thoroughly). To do that, try to read up on some of the latest news on to get an idea of some of the start-ups that seem promising, try your best to study their business models (as well as their competitors'), and aim to build an evidence-backed argument to propose why you believe that it is a good investment for your firm. If you're lucky (and for extra brownie points), try to use LinkedIn to connect with an insider in the company you're proposing (you may sometimes get non-public information; VCs love that). Hope these help!
@@BiancaKhor thanks for the resources. I'll try to add these to my routine and finish it. also do you think is it important to develop salesmanship to deal with clients and selling startups ?
Noted on your feedback! Yup, it was something I only realised after receiving a couple of comments on it. Will definitely bear that in mind for future video edits :)
Being contrarian in right time at right place I believe is key. When market is ready for you product or service, you become leader and no competition around you.
Yup I believe so too! Would say as long as you have a very solid thesis and evidence to justify an otherwise "unpopular" opinion at the right place and right time, that should still be fine. Just that of course, I suppose simply preaching the notion that one has to be a "contrarian" to succeed as a VC may not necessarily be interpreted by someone else in the same way as you did, hence some clarification will always be helpful!
Not necessarily. Honestly, people in VC can come from very diverse backgrounds. Yes, you will meet colleagues with the standard educational background like finance or business, but there are plenty of STEM graduates, for instance. I've also met people from a law background and even fine arts. So, really, please don't self-reject just because you don't hold a finance- or business-related degree.
Hey Bianca, I’m currently doing my masters in Entrepreneurship Management as part of my preparation to become a VC Analyst. Your video is very insightful. I will count it a rare privilege to have you mentor me in this journey. Thank you
Quite an insightful video. Will be joining a venture debt company soon and find this very helpful. Thank you Bianca! On a separate note, how different are the roles and responsibilities of a VD analyst from a VC analyst? (not very different I hope)
Hello, thank you very much for your feedback and support :) Congratulations on your new role! Regarding your question, I would say venture capital and venture debt are somewhat similar as you will both be looking into early-stage start-ups, and the due dilligence process would cover similar facets like the viability of the business and revenue models, the market size, as well as the defensibility of their product and/or service. However, the thinking cap that you're going to wear will also differ in certain ways. For instance, you would most likely place a greater scrutiny over whether the company has a healthy enough cash flow to repay their debts (after all, you are loaning them a certain amount of money). Besides that, you may also be drilling the start-up on lot of questions such as - are they capable of making it to the next fundraising round, and if they can attract the confidence of VCs (in essence, venture debt firms typically work very closely with venture capital firms). Hope my sharing offers a little bit of insight, and all the best in your future endeavours!
Hello there! Would say BackScoop, Tech in Asia, TechCrunch, e27, DealStreetAsia, TechNode Global, and Digital News Asia are some of the notable online sources covering VC/PE activities in Malaysia. Do bear in mind that they are not a Malaysia-only news site, but they're a classic when it comes to news regarding recent fundraising rounds for start-ups in Malaysia! Hope this helps.
