Roles & Careers
What does a VC analyst actually do day to day?
VC analysts source deals, research markets, build financial models, write investment memos, and support portfolio companies. The role is more research-heavy and less deal-execution-heavy than banking — you're building conviction about markets and founders, not closing transactions.
A typical week for a VC analyst might look like:
**Sourcing** — Attending events, cold-emailing founders, scanning newsletters and demo days, reviewing inbound deal flow. A significant portion of the role at many funds is generating pipeline.
**Market research** — If a partner is interested in a space (say, vertical SaaS for construction), the analyst builds the market map: who are the players, what's the TAM, who are the comparable public companies, what are the unit economics of the best businesses in the space?
**Diligence** — Once a deal is live, analysts pull together competitive analysis, reference calls with customers and industry experts, and basic financial modeling. The depth varies significantly by fund and stage.
**Memo writing** — Summarizing investment rationale in a structured document for the investment committee. This is where analytical clarity matters most.
**Portfolio support** — Connecting portfolio founders with recruits, customers, or other resources. Light in some funds, heavy in others.
**Administrative** — CRM updates, tracking deal pipeline, preparing materials for LP meetings.
The ratio of sourcing/research to execution is much higher than in banking. You're not closing many transactions — a good early-stage fund might make 10–15 investments per year, so most deals you touch won't close. Learning to say no quickly and develop conviction in the ones worth pursuing is the core skill.