VC Associates
topic on 4 shows · 9 statements across 7 episodes
In Depth 
the Official SaaStr Podcast 
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20VC
9 statements about VC Associates, every show
Hays: VC associate roles at most firms are SDR-like busy work
“The VC associate job is just not at most firms is not that you're kind of like a BDR SDR, like cold reaching out to companies. The good companies don't want to talk to the associates. And so it's just sort of like a role that has a bunch of busy work”
Siroker: Pitch junior VCs at non-target firms simply to practice your presentation
“I would hone it and use I hope I just doesn't offend anyone, but use like associates and VPs at firms that you don't want to take money on as practice. Cause you meet these people, their whole job is to meet with you and get deal flow. But like, actually, you …”
Stebbings: Founders Should Bypass VC Associates and Pitch GPs Directly
“And I'll be honest, I say that too, especially at growth. We don't have time for spinning cycles on associates. Like, just go to the GPs.”
Basu Trivedi: Founders Should Judge VC Associates by Quality, Not Title
“I think that you're better off as a founder judging based on the actual conversation you have, which sometimes may be a lot better with the youngest person on the team versus the managing partner of the firm, and sometimes it won't be.”
Zach Coelius: VC associates cannot close deals, but they can kill them
“One thing that I always like to tell the, my companies that I work with is that the associate can't necessarily get the deal done themselves. They're your advocate, but they can absolutely kill it. So if you don't make friends with your associate or whatever a…”
Zach Coelius: Founders should interview VC associates for competitor intelligence
“I think one of the other good things to think about when you work with associates is they can inform you about what they're seeing in the market in really powerful ways. So they spend A lot of time focused on your sector, your competitors, your ecosystem gener…”
Goldberg: Founders should meet VC associates if they can lead rounds
“I strongly disagree with the notion that it's a waste of time for a founder to meet with a non-partner, though I do think the important question to ask an investor is, are you someone who can lead a round? So irrespective of title, and titles have become so me…”
Ward: Meeting VC associates and providing casual updates wastes founders' time
“Spending time with associates. I think that's Tends to be a waste of time. And I think meeting with investors to give them updates, I think that is also a waste of time.”
Taking pitch meetings with outbound VC associates is a waste of time
“If it's an associate reaching out saying they want to talk and learn more about it, when I hear that, what I'm hearing is they're just trying to pump as much information out of you and then put into a database somewhere and send it to the partners. And those t…”