Becoming a Venture Capitalist: Masters at Work Series

Masters at Work

by Gary Rivlin

A reader-friendly guide to the inner workings and behind-the-scenes action of Silicon Valley and venture capitalism.

Investigative reporter Gary Rivlin gives an armchair tour of the world of venture capitalism, while providing vivid case studies illustrating how to get started in the field. He shows how once-small companies such as Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon used venture capitalism to transform into the icons they are today, and the VCs that made a fortune in the process. Readers will learn what series funding is, the difference between an angel and super angel investor, and how to go about identifying ideas worthy of funding.

Becoming a Venture Capitalist is not only an exclusive look into the world of legendary venture firms—as well as stories of their most interesting characters, including Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, and Mark Zuckerberg—but a wonderful guide on how to break into a seemingly impenetrable world.

Genres: Business, Finance, Audiobook

176 pages, Audible Audio

First published April 2, 2019

Reviews

[Wendelle]

an interesting window peek into the high-stakes, rather foreign world of venture capitalism, which involves foresight and risk-taking in deducing which start-ups and tech proposals would take flight a few years in advance, and which would be worth providing the millions of dollars of ramp-up investment to.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is essentially 1) a brief overview of how the VC field got started in the United States; 2) some interviews/spending-a-day-with-VCs anecdotes; 3) a few insights on how the industry generally works; and 4) making it clear that you're unlikely to get a job in the industry unless you have the *right* sort of background, are a hard worker, and can network well.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fast paced and often insightful read which reminded me in tone of Tom Wolfe’s “masters of the universe” description of bond traders when Wolfe introduced Sherman McCoy to the readers of Bonfire of the Vanities.

This book emphasizes venture capitalists who groomed and financed some of the leading tech companies, and introduced readers to the various players in the VC world: founders, angel investors, and other unique descriptions, though none quite as vivid as Mr Wolfe’s big swinging d*cks of the bond trading world, or even some of the descriptions if investment banking careers you can find in Michael Lewis’s Liars Poker, which in actuality might be a more useful book.

The author gives a distinct impression that venture capitalism is a frat boy kind of profession dominated by white, ectomorphic, Ivy League educated males, though there have been some notable female and Asian venture capitalists, and while the writer noted and interviewed Asian-American venture capitalists he does not particularly attribute them among the “diverse,” which is a mistake.

Ultimately, this book posits itself as a “guide” which “imparts practical knowledge of our dream jobs.” It takes a Napoleon Hill- like style approach of interviewing people in the field. Some people came to VC from a tech side, others from networking among other Harvard or Stanford grads. And so forth.

I enjoyed the book as an entry point into understanding the world of these financiers, entrepreneurs, and tech players who are becoming so important in our current world, as important as Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford when Napoleon Hill interviewed them and similar figures for his books on success.

[Andres · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and enjoyable read. It's a well-written story that attempts to unravel the business of venture capital through the lens of half a dozen people the author spent time with. These individual perspectives are woven into a narrative about the industry and what it takes to succeed. At 177 pages, the book doesn't spend much time on the nitty-gritty but provides a more personal account.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to understand more about these high stake ballers. It’s a rather hush-hush undefined term, like “hidden in plain sight” - ‘they’re there but you do not know how they got there’. This book gave me a better outline to a rough idea I had of these creatures. For the financially-illiterate like me, this read is as exciting as a magical fantasy novel.

[Nasti · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book gives some interesting insights, especially on history of VCs in the US and tells about people who are successful in the area, but in my opinion lacks a clear storyline. I might have anticipated a bit more general knowledge on the work of venture capitalists rather than the industry’s and its people’s history.

[John Capodilupo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely surface level survey of venture capital that offers limited insights and fails to say really anything.

[Colin Keeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

High level overview of working in VC

[DJ Satoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, condensed read about the VC industry and its practitioners. Nothing particularly groundbreaking or novel for those familiar with the space

[Enrico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like a series of long-reads profiling some random, if fairly interesting, people in the US VC business, with a pinch of context thrown in for the sake of good reporting. Light.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this as a great beginner's guide in the world of venture capitalists.

Further Reading: eBoys by Randall E. Stross
Venture Deals by Brad Feld

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contained some interesting stories about being a V.C.

[Omar El-Mohri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some insight in the VC world in Silicon Valley. A quick nice read.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wasn't what I was expecting, but it was excellent. The author had access to many top VCs, and does a great job of providing interesting examples of high-profile VC backgrounds, stories, experiences, and advice. There are "in the room" pitch meetings and a little humor. It's kind of long investigative journalist's piece. There are no short cuts to becoming a VC (except phenomenal luck), but this will give you a good feel for what it's like. Recommended!

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 20-30,000 view of the industry and process, but the author certainly interviewed a few of the key industry players. If you're interested in the industry this would fit into a wide range of books but certainly isn't the full playbook.