Being a Venture Capitalist: An Inside Look

If you’ve ever pondered about what it’s like to be a venture capitalist (VC), let me break it down. A VC invests in budding startups or businesses with the hope of reaping big benefits, be it profits or shares, as the operation flourishes.

Of course, being a venture capitalist is not without risks—knowing those risks are part of the job. But it’s the potential of the startup, its promise of success or high growth, that venture capitalists bet on. What’s more, they’re usually prepared to put in sufficient funding to cushion any resulting risks.

Here’s another interesting part: when venture capitalists invest in startups, they don’t just offer financial support. They are essentially buying equity or shares in the company, which means they get to share the profits too. What makes this exciting is that many household name companies owe their existence to bold venture capitalists. Big-league players like Facebook, Uber, Twitter, Airbnb, Paypal, and Xiaomi all started from venture capital support. And in Singapore? Firm favourites include Vertex Holdings, B Capital Group, Insignia Ventures Partners, and Qualgro VC, according to FundComb.

Venture capital is often more of a partnership than a simple financial exchange. The investors, by funding the startup, naturally become an integral part of the company. They might become shareholders or partners, actively participating in the firm’s decision-making process. In certain situations, if they own shares, they might choose to sell them, making way for fresh investors to step in.