What it's ACTUALLY like being a Venture Capitalist

I’ve been a venture capitalist for about a decade now starting off as an intern at the storied fund Kleiner Perkins, which led the earliest rounds of funding for iconic companies such as Google, Amazon, Genentech, and more.
People think of VCs as either all-knowing savants that have a crystal ball into the future of tech or as capitalist blowhards that just try to pump themselves up. Whatever you believe, one thing IS for sure, it’s a super secretive industry that has outsized influence in financing the most legendary tech companies.

Sadly, there aren’t any videos online that share what it's really like being a VC, good and bad, from inside the industry. So in this video, I’m going to share the 7 biggest secrets and surprises about being a VC in Silicon Valley

[nogatekeepers]

What surprises you mmost about venture capital? What questions do you still have unanswered about the industry?

[BallyBoy]

6:48 - showing us google's first homepage and apple's first prototype was so damn eye-opening, thanks for sharing.

[Galbrath]

Wow, amazing video Wayne! Just read about the Power Law last night in Zero to One haha! So glad I found your channel so I can learn more about the VC space directly from someone crushing it in the industry!

[BarrysBit]

Grandmaster Explanatory Skills per usual. Always love the clear effective communication in your content Wayne! MORE!!!

[learningwithrishad]

This is a great list! I’m an angel investor slowly getting into the VC world and it’s more of a solo sport than I initially thought.

[CesarrrScreamer]

This is an incredibly well-made video with lots of insights!

[joo]

increadibly well-made and informative, thanks!

[wenxuanchen]

The memes in the beginning were 😂Good insights/perspectives into the downsides of the buy side of the venture industry.

[mahootzki]

Just love your videos, as a founder I find them extremely informative. Thank you!
Would love to have a chat with you one day

[g-richtheproducer]

Wow! That’s a lot of information in this video👏🏽👏🏽

[sinzz]

Really enjoy the video - such a good and thorough intro to outsiders.

[hadeli]

Cool video. As a founder, I sometimes think what it'd be like on the other side of the pitches. Great insight!

[JasonGoodison]

Well made vid - cool to see a VC influencer

[huimingsun]

Thank you Wayne - learned so much from your video :)

[alexander]

Thanks for shedding light unto the industry for those outside of it!

[proshawn]

What would you recommend I do to start getting into this industry? I have experience in mortgages and Insurnace. What material should I study or what entry level jobs do I need to get into? Appreciate your response!

[sigerry]

You've made a great videos. Would you elaborate more details about the profit Distribution between VCs and their LPs, the 2:20 and also the profit Distribution between investors under 1 Fund.

[KitpleAustralia]

Hi Wayne, If I may ask, as a VC working at venture capital firm, who's money do you use to invest? is it your own money or the firm's money? and how does the firm regulate the amount of money each VCs spend?

[culinaryjack]

Would you recommend getting into VC as someone who is primarily interested in having their own startup? Or would be more useful to join a startup if your end goal is to start your own?

[aminbusiness]

Aren’t a lot of VC’s ex-startup founders tho ?

Why would a founder want to take capital from you if they feel like you haven’t been in their shoes, or have specific expertise knowledge in their companies domain industry ?

What was your edge that made you valued as a VC and got you in the door ?

I’d like a video on how YOU specifically became a VC. A lot of what you mentioned is Google-able knowledge so I’d love insight based on your actual personal experiences 🙂

I’d also like a vid on how you’d land a VC role in todays landscape if you were starting from scratch as a young person in 2024