The people and positions that make up the venture capital ecosystem — GPs, LPs, analysts, partners, and founders.
38 terms
An investor who provides ongoing support, introductions, and strategic guidance beyond simply providing capital.
An individual who invests personal capital in early-stage startups — typically at pre-seed or seed stage — in exchange for equity, often providing mentorship and connections alongside capital.
A founder who demonstrates the qualities VCs look for: vision, resilience, domain expertise, and ability to attract talent and capital.
A founder or operator actively creating products or companies rather than purely investing or advising.
Investment arms of large corporations that invest in startups for both strategic and financial returns.
Investment firms that participate in both private and public markets, often investing in late-stage startups approaching IPO.
The assignment of credit for sourcing, winning, and managing specific investments within a VC firm, which affects carry allocation and reputation.
Entrepreneur in Residence — an experienced operator or founder who joins a VC firm temporarily to explore new startup ideas, evaluate investments, or eventually spin out a new company.
A first-time or early-vintage fund manager, typically raising Fund I or Fund II, often with differentiated strategy, diverse backgrounds, or access to underserved markets.
An experienced founder or executive temporarily based at a VC firm to evaluate deals, support portfolio companies, and develop their next venture.
An experienced executive hosted by a VC firm who evaluates deal flow, supports portfolio companies, and often launches or joins a portfolio company as CEO or C-suite executive.
The phenomenon where successful founders receive investment, media coverage, and credibility for new ventures based primarily on their previous success rather than the merits of the current idea.
A third-party service provider that handles a fund's accounting, reporting, capital calls, and LP communications.
General Partner — the managing partner(s) of a venture capital fund who make investment decisions, manage the portfolio, and are compensated through management fees and carried interest.
The managing partner(s) of a venture capital fund who make investment decisions, manage fund operations, and are legally responsible for the fund's obligations.
The managing partner(s) of a venture fund — responsible for investment decisions, fund management, and bearing unlimited liability for fund obligations.
An investor specializing in later-stage companies scaling revenue.
A deal-by-deal investor who sources and manages transactions without a committed fund, raising capital from LPs on a per-deal basis.
Limited Partner — an investor in a venture capital fund who provides capital but has no role in investment decisions and whose liability is limited to their committed amount.
Public market investors (hedge funds, mutual funds) who invest in late-stage private companies, typically in pre-IPO rounds.
An investor in a venture fund who provides capital but has limited liability and no role in investment decisions.
An experienced executive embedded within a VC firm who provides hands-on operational support to portfolio companies.
A VC firm structure employing experienced operators who work hands-on with portfolio companies to accelerate growth, distinct from traditional investment-only partner roles.
An experienced executive or founder who has run operations inside a company — often contrasted with pure investors, and increasingly sought after as VC partners.
A startup operator who invests personal capital into startups while still actively working in the industry.
An investor who previously built or ran companies in the same industry.
A dedicated non-investment team within a VC firm that provides operational support services—recruiting, marketing, business development, engineering—to portfolio companies.
The framework of board oversight, reporting requirements, and decision-making processes that VCs establish at their portfolio companies.
An entrepreneur starting another company after previously founding one.
An investor specializing in early-stage startup funding.
An informal advisory group that operates alongside the official board, sometimes used by investors to exert influence without formal board representation.
A venture capital firm run by a single general partner rather than a partnership of multiple GPs — increasingly common at the seed stage.
A prolific individual angel investor who writes many checks across numerous startups, often at institutional scale — blurring the line between angels and micro-VCs.
An investor known for making decisions and closing deals quickly.
A professional investor who deploys capital from a managed fund into high-growth private companies in exchange for equity, targeting outsized financial returns.
A part-time or deal-by-deal contributor to a VC firm who sources investments, provides expertise, or supports portfolio companies — without being a full general partner.
A contractual arrangement defining a part-time partner's role at a VC firm, including deal sourcing expectations, board responsibilities, carry allocation, and time commitment.
A founder with exceptional qualities that significantly increase the probability of startup success.