Longtime VC Keith Rabois has some advice for young professionals hoping to break into the industry.
“I think they should either join a startup or found a company with almost no exceptions — especially if they’re technical,” Rabois said Thursday on “The Rise” podcast.
“You’d ask the question, like, ‘Why are they interested in venture?’ and usually when I meet people like that, the answers are pretty superficial. Most people don’t even understand what venture really is versus what it looks like on TV,” he added.
Rabois said it’s essential for newcomers to either learn how to build their own companies or watch others do the same.
“First of all, it’ll make you more confident that you’re making the right decision. This is a 20-year job minimum. Secondly, you’ll be better suited to perform the job. And third, you’ll have more credibility, which also helps you perform the job,” Rabois said.
Rabois is a managing director at Khosla Ventures and has served on the boards of several companies, including Reddit and Yelp. He’s also the cofounder and chairman of Opendoor Technologies.
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During the podcast interview, Rabois said it’s a “bad idea” for new graduates to want to become venture capitalists right after school.
“Doesn’t mean you can’t be an associate somewhere. You know, spend two years watching and learning, A: Is this right for me? Because you’ll see how the industry really works,” Rabois said. “Then, use the platform and vantage point of seeing 100 or 200 portfolio companies and choose the best company for you to join.”
“Then, if you really enjoy the experience of working a venture and think it’s what you want to do, then doubling or tripling down after you’ve built something is a very good move,” Rabois added. “If you do this right out of school, you know, by the time you’re 30, you’ll be you have maybe two shots at a startup,” Rabois said.
When contacted for comment, Rabois pointed Business Insider toward a blog post written by Founders Fund partner Delian Asparouhov, who previously shared five lessons he learned from Rabois, including on how to become a VC. Asparouhov writes that it boils down to: becoming a junior generalist, gaining experience at a “high-growth” startup, allocating resources with VCs, and learning from the best.
“Fundamentally, in order to get a job in venture, a current VC needs to think you will be a good VC,” Asparouhov wrote. “They need to think you have relevant expertise and they need to think you have great judgment. There are no shortcuts to developing expertise or judgment.”
