Breaking into Venture: An Outsider Turned Venture Capitalist Shares How to Take Risks, Create Power, and Build Life-Changing Wealth

Unparalleled insight into how the powerful, profitable, and exclusive industry of venture capital works, especially for those who are not already part of the club.

Although most people know nothing about them, venture capitalists are the small yet elite group of people funding and shaping world-changing technology businesses like Google, Facebook, Uber, and Amazon. In an increasingly technology-driven world, understanding how to harness the power of venture capital can lead to unimaginable money, power, and influence. Whether you’re an aspiring investor, entrepreneur, or career-focused business professional, this book will teach you how this historically exclusive and incredibly lucrative industry actually works.

Through a combination of the author’s real-life stories coupled with insights from other elite venture investors from unexpected backgrounds, Breaking into Venture draws the curtain on what it takes to break into venture capital, navigate the hidden pitfalls that insiders know to avoid, and build a long-term winning strategy that plays to your unique strengths.

Drawing on her background building multiple successful venture funds and teaching venture capital at world-class business schools on both coasts, Allison Baum Gates shares the nine fundamental principles that lead to success in VC, providing everything you need to navigate the rapidly changing technology landscape. By learning how venture investors think, you’ll unlock your own potential, whether you’re looking to make angel investments, develop and launch a successful business, or create the career of your dreams. Breaking into Venture covers every angle, including:

• The three keys to success in venture capital: accessing great opportunities, analyzing which ones to pursue, and adding value post-investment
• How to build a relevant network from scratch
• The importance of writing your own "narrative" that communicates who you are and inspires people to help you get what you want
• How to avoid falling victim to your own biases when choosing opportunities
• Details on how VCs evaluate companies during their due diligence process

This game-changing guide democratizes the VC world by showing the ropes to those who aren’t already part of the "in crowd," aren’t already wealthy, or don't even know where Sand Hill Road is. With Breaking into Venture, you will have everything you need to leverage the power of venture capital for investing or career success.

Allison Baum Gates, a general partner at the early-stage venture capital fund Semper Virens, has spent her career at the intersection of VC and the future of work. She served as an analyst on the Manhattan trading floor of Goldman Sachs, worked at General Assembly (sold to Adecco for $413M in 2018), co-founded global seed fund Fresco Capital, and was an investor at Trinity Ventures. In addition to speaking at a variety of industry conferences around the globe and appearances on BloombergTV and Cheddar TV, Gates teaches venture capital at Columbia Business School and UC Berkeley-Haas.

"This book is a GPS for outsiders seeking to get their bearings in the venture capital industry. Rich with examples and tips, it demystifies the venture capital industry for the novice and is a must-read for anyone seeking an adventure in venture capital." --Hayagreeva Rao , Atholl McBean Professor of Organizational Behavior, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Scaling Up Excellence "I never understood the full meaning of 'venture capital' until reading Allison's honest account of what it takes to identify and invest in transformative businesses long before they become household names. Whether you're trying to build a new company or put your own capital to better use, this book contains countless pillars of professional wisdom." --Michael Koenigs , Executive Producer at Disney-ABC and host of ABC's More in Common "In a bold act of democratizing access to one of the most enigmatic but influential corners of our economy, Baum Gates brings us a remarkable and delightful insider's guide to venture capital. A must-read for anyone interested in working in, investing in, or understanding technology and the forces driving its development." --Diane Gherson , Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, independent director, and former Chief Human Resource Officer of IBM "The mission of this book is to make it easier for people with new and different perspectives to find their way in a historically exclusive and homogeneous industry. Allison breaks down complex and opaque concepts in a way that is accessible to anyone. Whether you are trying to break into the industry or just understand this important asset class, this book is a great resource." --Angela Lee , Professor of Venture Capital at Columbia Business School and founder of 37 Angels "The inner workings of venture capital can be ambiguous and complex. This book demystifies the industry powering the technology behind our everyday lives and equips the reader with principles that can apply to anyone looking to invest, raise money for a new idea, or build a career in technology." --Mala Singh , Chief People Officer, Electronic Arts

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