How to Break into Entrepreneurship or VC as a Student

It recently occurred to me how strange it is that I haven't written this yet. So here it is: the things you need to know if you're planning on making a name for yourself in the entrepreneurship/VC ecosystem.

My goal here is to share what worked for me, and what I've learned along the journey.

If you're reading this, hats off to you. Not many students are bold enough to pursue this path, and the ones that are generally think of it completely backwards.

You might be thinking what the hell does this have to do with anything? If you know about Catalyst then you probably aren't asking that, but in case you don't here's a bit about the company.

And to draw a parallel between my blog and my company, think of it this way: I write this blog because I spend a lot of time thinking about what students should do to maximize their potential, make an impact, and feel fulfilled. And as far as I can tell, trying to start a company is a pretty good route to go. So Catalyst is meant to help students make sense of what that would look like, and give them a leg to stand on in the world of entrepreneurship.

And I practice what I preach. About one year ago I started to take a strong interest in this space (mostly in VC at first), and was told by absolutely everybody that there is NO breaking into venture capital out of college, and definitely no breaking in in your undergraduate years.

Now, barely halfway through my college career, I am an Associate with Techstars, the world's largest and most active pre-seed investor. And I am fortunate enough to be running a startup that has seen incredible traction and success in our first five months, and has been a vessel for me to solve the problems that I am most passionate about.

And most importantly–I've found this path to be incredibly satisfying and fulfilling. I spend most of my day working on my own ideas, and get to support others doing the same. And during the months I spend solely working on Catalyst, I get complete control of my time. And though money is hardly a motivation, it's amazing to be in a position where there is no cap to what my income might be in the next year, two years, ten years, etc.

Needless to say, if you can figure this crazy world out, it will be worth your while.

With that in mind, my goal here is to invalidate whatever barriers you believe there are to this, or at the very least, tell you how to overcome them.

The truth is this space is innately chaotic. For some, that works in their favor. And then there are some who simply can't handle it. It takes a certain level of scrappiness and open-mindedness to be able to use the chaos to your advantage, and those are things that can be hard to teach. But what I can do is give you a guide on where to start, so that you can find out if this is right for you.

I'll start with this: there are multiple routes to breaking into VC. And maybe you're saying I don't give a sh*t about VC, I want to start a startup! And I would say that's valid, but the most I can do here is tell you what worked for me. And interestingly enough, my entrepreneurial journey started with a sole interest in venture capital.

So back to my point: multiple ways to break into VC. It's basically this: either work in high finance for a number of years and then pivot into an Analyst job at a VC firm, start your own VC fund, or start a startup and become a VC later on. Or, you can do your best to be valuable to as many startups and VCs as possible through formal or informal work. And about that last point, there are infinite opportunities to support startups and VCs informally; all you have to do is ask.

At the end of my freshman year of college, I was fortunate enough to have a very rewarding experience with HP Tech Ventures, the VC arm of HP Inc. This led me to be fully invested into the VC/entrepreneurship path, as it showed me the unique passion and purpose-driven nature of entrepreneurs and the incredible insight of VCs.

What was interesting was that my roommate Jack Hudgins' passion for the space developed--coincidentally--at the exact same time. But neither of us saw a feasible route to pursue this interest of ours any further. What we did see, however, was an opportunity to create one.

So that's when we started Gator Venture Capital at UF. This was a community of students with that same hunger we had, ready to take risks to explore the innovation ecosystem. And in terms of breaking into the space, here's what that did for us and our students: GVC gave us a means to be genuinely valuable to people in the space. We could partner with VCs and accelerators, and put teams of students together to work with and support them at no charge.

Here's why that's important: everyone has very false misconceptions about what your "network" is in college. It is generally thought of as the small pool of people you know who work at top firms, and who can help you or your friends get jobs at those firms. But that isn't it at all.

Your network is the pool of people you have mutually valuable relationships with. But in order to build those relationships, you first need a way to provide value, and it helps if you have interesting ideas to talk about too.

So how do you create/get those? The simplest way is to start offering support to startups and VCs you find interesting, and impressing them enough for them to be your spokespeople. This might mean applying for programs you find online that let you do that type of work, or simply reaching out to people and offering to support them.

Because the thing about the entrepreneurship/VC space is that it is extremely connected. Startups organize themselves into all sorts of different communities, and if you can impress one of them, you can impress all of them. And the same goes for VCs. So what's it really all about?

Find a way to be valuable to people in the space, and don't expect anything in return.

But let me emphasize this: the best way to be valuable to people in the space and to have interesting ideas is to start something of your own. Start a student organization, start a startup, write a blog. Do something to establish your own identity in this vast community. Because if there's anything people in this community respect, it's unique perspectives and ideas.

And find some people to embark on this journey with you. When you're pursuing something so abnormal, it helps not to feel like you're completely on your own.

And of course, learn everything you possibly can. Stay informed, listen to podcasts, read books like Startup CEO, The Business of Venture Capital, and Venture Deals. It goes an incredibly long way if people can see that you dedicate real time to understanding this ecosystem. And it gives you something to talk about.

So to sum this all up, the way to break into this space is by building a strong network within it. And in order to do that, you need to be able to deliver value to people in a way that forms highly beneficial relationships. And it helps a lot if you can also have some interesting ideas to talk about. But you don't get any of that without some inspiration. For me, that inspiration was the experience with HP Tech Ventures, where I was able to network with startup founders and VCs in a way that showed me the unique passion and insight such people have into how the world works, and where it can be improved.

And last thing: the systems in the startup world just aren't the same as the system we're used to as college students. You can work at a company with no job openings. You don't ever have to wear a suit and tie. You can talk to whoever you want. Everyone is curious. Everyone is just like you: people who aren't a fit for this traditional system that our universities push us into. They are people who want help, and who want to help you. So be authentic and ambitious about how you get into this, and it will work in your favor.

Hopefully that provides the insight you were looking for. I meant to keep this short(ish), but if you'd like a deeper dive, you can always reach me at nathan@catalystxl.co.

You can also find a WAY deeper dive in my newer post "A Student's Guide to Startup Internships". 8,654 words with EVERYTHING you need to know about interning with a startup. Hope it helps!

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