Job of the Week: Fancy Joining the Silicon Valley Elite?

Want to follow in the footsteps of some of the great Internet VC investors? Has the Facebook IPO given you a thirst for hitting the jackpot in the tech world?

Our job posting this week could well be a foot in the door to join that Silicon Valley elite.

Global early-stage Internet investor BV Capital has an opening for an associate based in its San Francisco office focusing on early-stage Internet investments. Among the stars in BV Capital’s portfolio are service referral company Angie’s List; group discount website Groupon; and video advertising technology company yuME.

While last year’s volatile market conditions stung short-term US venture returns, long-term returns (er, beyond 10 years, that is) so far remain unscathed, according to recent data from Cambridge Associates and the National Venture Capital Association. Third-quarter 2011 returns at 0.7% fell from 7% in the second quarter and one-year returns fell to 20.9% from 26.3% in the second quarter. However, ten-year returns rose to 2.6% from 1.3% and 15-year returns crept up to 31.7% from 30.9%, according to the data. That, coupled with Facebook’s stellar filing to raise a targeted $5 billion in its much-anticipated initial public offering last week, makes for an encouraging growth story for US venture.

Big-name US private equity recruiters such as Denali Group, Korn/Ferry and Spencer Stuart don’t generally take junior position assignments because of the low fees, says one US recruiter who preferred to remain unnamed. And so, many venture firms hire either through their own websites, online recruitment channels such as Doostang and SmartRecruiters, as featured below, or purely by reputation and word of mouth.

Global investment firm H.I.G Capital’s dedicated life sciences fund, H.I.G. BioVentures, for example, is currently advertising for venture capital associate positions on the St Louis Regional Higher Education Recruitment Consortium website. Resumes for the positions should be sent to recruiting@higcapital.com.

peHUB’s choice for this week is showcased below:

***Job of the Week***

Position: Associate

Firm: BV Capital

Location: San Francisco, California

Focus: Early-stage Internet Investments

Currently Investing: North-American BV Capital Fund III and pan-European eVenture Fund I.

Job Description: BV Capital has an opening for an associate focused on early-stage Internet investments. The position will be mainly based in San Francisco, but may also include stints in other offices in São Paulo, Tokyo, Beijing, Hamburg and Moscow. Associates at BV Capital report directly to the firm’s partners.

Key Responsibilities (as cited via online recruitment agency Smartrecruiters.com):

Proactive deal sourcing
Managing due diligence processes on potential investments
Analyzing investment proposals
Gathering industry research on areas of interest to the fund
Providing hands-on support to portfolio companies

Qualifications (as cited via online recruitment agency Smartrecruiters.com):

• BS degree in business administration, engineering or equivalent; MBA preferred
• Minimum 2 years work experience. Start-up, private equity, investment banking or consulting experience required
• Ability to work within a global business environment; second language is a plus
• Must be a motivated self-starter with strong analytical, management and coordination skills

Salary for equivalent role (based on 2011-2012 Holt-Thomson Reuters PE/VC Compensation Report; this does not come from BV Capital):


Associate position at a venture capital firm $130,100 (average base salary); $170,500 (average salary + bonus);

Contact via: SmartRecruiters

The job post states: “Please add your cover letter, a selection of startups you find interesting, as well as your Linkedin URL to the application.”

And from the words on BV Capital’s own website: “If you are a fearless Internet entrepreneur, we would love to hear from you.”

For more exciting private equity career opportunities head over to the peHUB career center, co-hosted with eFinancialCareers.com.