So What is a Venture Banker?
I love what I do.
It’s nice to be able to say that. I’ve been on the other side of the happiness equation, pounding the phones doing cold calls for a venture-backed start-up. I was young and eternally optimistic and had just the right amount of naivete and enthusiasm to think I could change the world by selling a SaaS CRM application that was “way better than Salesforce.com”.
Or so I thought.
It turns out the start-up had a flawed go-to-market strategy, no clear idea of how to grow sales and a significant cash burn. After a few months it was clear to me that my personal role was not a great fit, and that the company’s prospects for success for slim to none. So I ended up leaving the start-up and switching industries altogether.
That’s how I found myself at a bank. But not any old bank. A bank which focuses entirely on the type of companies that I had grown to love - entrepreneurial companies that have raised venture capital. At that point in time, Square 1 Bank was still very much a start-up in its own right, having opened its doors a mere 15 months earlier. I had been familiar with the bank’s story and ended up finding a job as an analyst.
In retrospect, if I’m truthful about things, I didn’t have a great grasp on exactly what a venture bank was when I took the initial job. I was very familiar with the venture capital world but didn’t totally understand how a bank and venture debt fit into the equation. There was not (and still isn’t) a ton of information available breaking down the industry. But what I did know was this - Square 1 billed themselves as “entrepreneurs serving entrepreneurs” - and that sounded like something I wanted to be a part of.
My banking education was fast and furious, like that of many who join an entrepreneurial organization. There were times when I felt like I was just treading water as I soaked up everything I could about credit risk, covenants, and the other various and sundry details which make the industry work. Before long I found I was able to swim a bit, and then I graduated on to life not as an analyst, but as a lender.
And that’s where I find myself today - as the commercial banker to a number of fantastic venture-backed companies in the New York metropolitan area. Everyday I get to interact with entrepreneurs and the investors who fund the “next big thing”. I see tons of business models, countless applications of technology, and the nitty gritty of what does and doesn’t work in a start-up. And along the way, I help to finance the dreams through venture debt facilities.
I’m a venture banker and I love my job. Still have no clue what a venture banker is? Well stay tuned, and you just may find out.
