Venture capital companies invest ‘venture funds’ in start-ups. They aim to obtain a return on their investment when companies are bought or start to sell shares (called an ‘initial public offering’).

 Venture capital professionals need to be able to identify and analyse relevant information and make / defend decisions based on this information. Venture companies with a portfolio that includes or focuses on life science companies employ life scientists for their critical thinking skills and for their ability to help assess the robustness of the science behind the business’ potential life-science-related product. Large pharma companies also often have their own venture capital departments that invest in startups. Additional opportunities also exist at other finance and investment companies with investment portfolios that include life science companies.  

Roles and responsibilities

Possible tasks may include a subset of the following activities:

• Keeping up to date on developments in relevant business sectors, and in scientific fields, to identify potential opportunities
• Collecting, evaluating and synthesising relevant information and making strategic recommendations on:
  • Potential future companies in the portfolio: attend ‘pitches’ from companies looking for investment; dig further into the science, business plan and team for interesting propositions, assess market potential / competition etc
  • Business decisions for current portfolio – as investors in these companies, the fund has a say on important decisions such as mergers, licensing details, further fund-raising

This information gathering often involves identifying and talking to relevant professionals and experts.

• Partners (and occasionally more junior staff) may also sit on the board of directors for companies, and be involved in attracting new investors for their venture fund and communicating with existing investors

Roles in other investment companies may have similar responsibilities, but a stronger focus on assessing business information that might affect the stock price of their investments.

Knowledge and skills

 In our careers and skills survey,  6 venture capital professionals told us the competencies they use most in their daily work  The most frequently selected competencies were:

• Networking / engaging in professional discussions (selected by 100%)
• Clarity of thought (selected by 86%)
• Effective communication (selected by 71%  and ranked top for success in the role)
• Broad scientific knowledge (selected by 71%)
• Independent thought (selected by 43%)

Career entry and progression

It is possible to enter venture firms in a junior role, and progress upwards. Entry level roles may be called ‘associate’ or analyst. For direct entry, competition is very high. Those who directly enter this area generally can demonstrate an interest in the business side of science – they often enjoy following biotech news. Other relevant activities that can help you build your CV include:

• taking part in entrepreneurial training / pitching competitions that help you become familiar with start-ups
• doing an internship (many companies offer internships (or fellowships) that are paid and will enable you to gain around 6-months experience – some but not all are openly advertised),
• work as an outside consultant for a venture company (note, you will likely need to gain approval from your institution for this, due to potential conflicts of interest and contractual obligations).

Alternatively, gaining experience in an operational role in industry, business development, management consultancy or other relevant positions can provide experience that will allow you to enter at a higher level. 

Why consider this career area?

In our careers and skills survey,  venture capital professionals frequently stated that they appreciate that their work:

• is intellectually stimulating
• benefits society

Want to learn more?

Sources / further reading

• Written articles (first-person experience) 
  • My career path to investment banking –  Developmental biology special issue ‘Careers beyond the bench’
• Overview articles: 
  • Predicting a future in venture capital – Science Careers
  • Investing in science: *Feature Index* – Science Careers
  • So you want to be a venture capitalist? – Nature Biotechnology

• General careers books, including ‘Alternative careers in science leaving the ivory tower‘ by Cynthia Robbins-Roth and ‘Career opportunities in biotechnology and drug development‘ by Toby Freedman.

Informational interviews

For all career areas, we highly recommend first learning more about the careers using the resources above, then conducting informational interviews to gain further insights directly from former PhDs working in career areas that interest you.

Last update: November 2022