Fred Wilson, an American businessman and Venture Capitalist, said “Venture capital is about capturing the value between the start-up phase and the public company phase.” This quote very much encapsulates the essence of Venture Capitalism. Venture capitalists (VC) are investors who see potential for good returns on investment (ROI) in certain early stage companies and choose to put their money into it. This is done in exchange of an ownership interest / equity stake. Working in a venture capital company is interesting as we can meet a bunch of talented entrepreneurs, but at the same time, it can be risky and under pressure.

A couple of weeks ago my venture capital company started to look for a new Principle or Managing Partner to join us at San Francisco office in order to start the new round of fundraising. So at the moment we are scanning the market for talent and taking meetings with potential candidates.

First, I want to introduce the hierarchy (top-down) in VC firms, which is Managing Partners -> Vice President / Principal -> Associate Vice President ->Senior Associate / Associate -> Analyst. An analyst is typically an entry level job which mostly desk-based and involves origination of ideas, generating leads and doing basic due-diligence work. And my internship duty is Financial Analyst. An associate is a slightly more senior level and this is where the actual action begins. In fact, these days most companies have the roles of Analyst and an Associate all rolled into one.

Second, let’s take the example of a typical day in venture capital. My morning typically starts at 10:00 am where I browse through leading newspapers, blogs, online news feeds and possibly every other resource which gives me an update about the existing portfolio company, next hot investment prospect or simply the competitors’ next moves.

Mid-morning, I begin responding to emails that’s accumulated over the night. Primarily from entrepreneurs but also from other VCs and personal acquaintances. I schedule a few meetings for later in the week. One entrepreneur wants feedback after a pitch his team gave on Thursday. Tough one. I call them up and give them our feedback, interesting idea but very regional ambitions and therefore not the global winner we are looking for.

In the afternoon, I do some research on a company that showed up on one of my partner’s radar last week. Read up on their competitors’ products to see how well they stack up. Learning a lot.

Then, I get in touch with all those companies and entrepreneurs through online chats, emails or phone calls and takes a roundup of what’s happening there. Sometimes, my boss will meet the executives of existing portfolio companies or other people introduced from friends over lunch and discuss the affairs. In mid-afternoon, I would join back-to-back meetings with startups and taking notes during meetings. In later afternoon, I prepare a report on my observations and inferences, supports it with data and circulates it to other partners for reference.

To sum up, a VC job is not a typical 8-9 hours’ job and day-to-day life varies significantly across and within funds. Some of the skills required to work at a VC firm are: strong mathematical & analytical skills, ability to manage and prioritize large amounts of tasks, ability to source & analyze information easily to help build a thesis around companies & industries and great networking & social skills.