The Hard & Soft Skills You Need to Break Into Climate VC 🏆
Read time: 4 min
Welcome to Part 1 of our series on How to Break Into Climate VC! 💚 We’re getting to grips with the essentials of what it takes to make it in this industry: the hard and soft skills you'll need to thrive in VC, how to improve them, and why.
Next week, I'll let you in on some creative ways to step into the VC world, skipping the traditional paths and MBA requirements. Stay tuned 👀
Hard skills to brush up on 📚
Let’s start with the bad news: the world of VC is pretty cut-throat. To be taken seriously, you really need to talk the talk and walk the walk.
The good news? All of this can be learned. In my experience, even those with the most unconventional, creative, liberal arts backgrounds can become VC bosses in a short space of time 🚀 They just knuckle down on the basics.
Your to-do list:
✅ Read the following “VC Bibles”
…And google new words and acronyms that you don’t immediately understand.
Venture Deals by Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson
Secrets of Sandhill Road by Scott Kupor
The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby
Harvard Business Review’s Venture Capital section
✅ Study these five key areas…
Deal sourcing
🌱 For climate, cross-reference this knowledge with emerging sustainable technology sectorsFinancial modeling
🌱 For climate, also learn about climate impact projectionsDue diligence
🌱 For climate, long-term environmental sustainability metrics will also be keyValuation techniques
🌱 For climate, think about factoring in regulatory climate risksTerm sheet negotiation
🌱 For climate, prioritize ESG criteria integration
Soft skills that will see you through 🤝
Here’s what many people out there don’t want you to know: as you climb the VC ladder, soft skills become your secret weapon.
Why? Because VC operates on two levels: the bustling pre-seed stage teeming with enthusiastic new founders, and the growth stage, home to seasoned entrepreneurs who've weathered the startup storms.
Newcomers (left) are in a sprint to dazzle investors, often needing to showcase rapid progress or significant traction — think hitting $100k in monthly revenue in a year. On the flip side, experienced entrepreneurs (right), possibly managing businesses valued at over $100 million, navigate the VC world with a different kind of finesse.
The twist here is as you ascend in VC, the power dynamic flips. The little girl on the left is pitching you. She’s seeking that crucial investment to fuel her dreams. But at the zenith of VC are elite entrepreneurs like the girl on the right. In her world, it’s the investors pitching to her, hoping for a slice of her next big success story.
This is where soft skills are essential, far outstripping the value of financial acumen alone. I would advise honing in on three areas in particular:
📖 Storytelling
If you’re a Partner, you’ll want to be able to explain why other Partners should get in on a deal. If you’re fundraising, you better be able to motivate investors with a compelling narrative that connects the dots between investment, innovation, and environmental stewardship.
If you’re an Analyst, you might know the technical details of a product inside-out, but can you articulate them in a “big-picture” way to a Board? Learn to have a way with words and how to connect with an audience.
✏️ Content creation
Showcase the calibre of your thoughts publicly! Social media is an amazing tool for this: post quality content regularly on whatever platform might be appropriate for your target audience (for Climate VC, that’s most likely LinkedIn). Education posts, visuals, and shocking facts are particularly important in the climate space.
🫂 Relationship building
Invest your time in forging connections in the right places. Below are six demographics I believe are most useful when starting out and how to reach them 🗺️
Conclusion
And there you have it, stage one of your journey into Climate VC complete 🏆
Next week, we'll explore unconventional ways you can start out in the VC world.
Your homework until then? ✏️ Get started on that reading list, brushing up on those five key areas, and begin practising your soft skills in everyday interactions. The world of VC doesn't stand still, and neither should you 💪
Want to join our Climate Investor community?
👉 Join the Climate Insiders investor community 🚀 Whether you are looking for unique deal flow, wanting to develop your Angel track, or simply seeking exposure to the best projects in the space, join us here.
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Until next Saturday,
A goldmine for anyone who is interested in VC topics and wants to get a foot in the door!