Clark: Former operators face schedule shock six months into venture capital
Quentin Clark · 20VC: Lessons From Working with Bill Gates, How To Lead Without Authority and The Difference Between Leadership and Management & How Fundraising Changes In A COVID World with Quentin Clark, Managing Director @ General Catalyst · Dec 28, 2020 · at 15:06
Quentin Clark, Managing Director at General Catalyst and former CTO at Dropbox and SAP, describes the initial structural adjustment former tech executives face when entering venture capital.
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“The two spots are kind of six months in and two years in. At the six month in mark, it's kind of, what am I doing exactly? Especially for a lot of people that come into venture, they show up for their first Monday or whatever, and they literally have nothing to do. There's no portfolio or There's no deal you're already pursuing. Like, it's kind of strange to go from operating roles where 30 hours of your week is programmatic. It's managing the system and operating the system. It's like this regular cadence to, I don't know, Monday partner meetings, like six hours a week or whatever, right? And to have so little of your time structured that way, it can be pretty jarring.”
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