StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cFrom this experience I fell in love with entrepreneurship and knew from then that I wanted to help startups.”<\/p>\n
Watson, like Kuhlman and Stead, says the people she gets to meet and work with one is of the best parts of the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeeting with really smart people tackling huge and interesting problems everyday and knowing that I get to play a tiny part in their success,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201c[But] 99% of the time I am saying \u2018no\u2019 to people and that can suck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kuhlman says her favourite part of being an investor is “the inspiration I take from our fantastic entrepreneurs and the knowledge I gain from my fellow Scale investors”.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more I learn the more I realise how much I don’t know,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Stead too loves the daily grind of being a VC, even thought it can sometimes be very challenging.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that I get to work with really smart people, solve hard problems and help entrepreneurs realise their dreams whether it be legacy or wealth,\u201d Stead says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never a linear line between start and finish, and that is an emotional roller coaster for everyone involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve said previously VC is more EQ [emotional intelligence] than IQ, I spend more time managing people, their reactions and emotions, and my own reactions and emotions than I do on strategic decisions and this is pretty emotionally exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n
What qualifications, experience and connections do you need?<\/h3>\n
\u201cFortunately \u2013 in my opinion \u2013 there is no cookie-cutter mould here,\u201d Stead says.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome have investment banking backgrounds, some have scientific backgrounds, some come from strategic management consulting backgrounds, some are successful entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, those with good EQ, good networks, good strategic thought and a personality type that doesn’t need immediate gratification \u2013 because investments take a long time to mature in VC \u2013 can be a good fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
For others interested in becoming angels, VCs and startup investors, Kuhlman suggests looking at the underlying motivation to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally work out why you want to be an investor,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not an easy life, so you really have to have the passion for the process, be comfortable with huge amounts of variability and really care about backing amazing founders.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom there, there\u2019s no real rules. We meet people from investment banking, startup operators, bankers, teachers, so, much like being a great founder, go out and learn and prove yourself, then find a way in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part two of<\/em> StartupSmart‘s investor series comes out next week.<\/em><\/p>\nFollow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, LinkedIn and iTunes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blue Sky Venture Capital investment director Elaine Stead The lack of diversity in venture capital and startup investment is a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,14,19,25,28,24,20,6,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47612"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}