Deciens
Deciens is a venture capital firm that supports early-stage founders in building the next generation of financial services. We seek to recruit an associate to assist the investing team.
Founded in 2017 we exclusively focus on leading investments in financial services companies of consequence across geographies. Our team is fully remote, distributed across North America and Europe with operations and administration hub located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Deciens aspires to be one of the great VC firms. We believe that if we behave like most of our peers we will have middling returns, so we behave very differently. The most salient difference is that we privilege picking great companies irrespective of how “hot” they are. This requires a first-principles approach to what is (or is not) a great company so that we can invest without the need for external validation. This has led us down fascinating, lucrative, and unexpected partnerships with the likes of Chipper Cash (the largest FinTech in Africa), Treasury Prime (the biggest Banking-as-a-Service provider in the US), and Therma (cutting-edge energy finance), amongst many others. To date, our first two funds are both in the top decile of their respective vintages as measured by Cambridge Associates.
We already see 900+ opportunities and do 3-4 net new investments per year. This position will help the investing team triage this deal flow and use our limited time to maximum effectiveness through conducting primary and secondary research, due diligence, financial modeling, and building market maps. A passion for systems and process will be key as we scale out our ability to handle ever-increasing deal flow with limited bandwidth.
This role will work closely with GPs across the US, and as such, all locations will be considered. There is limited travel expected for this position. Deciens believes that the best investments are made by a team with differing points of view. As such, we are committed to building a diverse team.
In the role you will, in order of importance
Triage:
- Evaluate our raw deal flow against Deciens’ investment strategy to create an actionable set of opportunities. Identify the key due diligence items for further research.
- Conduct primary and secondary research, due diligence, background checks, etc as part of the conviction development process under the guidance of a general partner.
- Develop sophisticated financial models, forecasted return scenarios, dilution models, scenario plans, competitive landscape mapping, and cap table waterfall models.
- Help GPs prepare term sheets; support counsel, ops team, and finance team in support of closing, post-investment support, and follow-on financings.
Context building:
- Help the firm have a prepared mind by sharing cutting-edge ideas, content, etc so that when we see compelling, idiosyncratic ideas, we are prepared to act.
- Develop market maps or other materials to help us grasp what are the most interesting categories, sub-categories, and companies in new and diverse spaces.
Sourcing:
- Meet with companies, review pitch materials, provide feedback and pass qualified investments to the team for review.
Most important skills
- Passion for financial services – You must care deeply about FinTech or Financial Services or you will quickly find this role (and US) quite painful.
- Passionate for an investing process based on fundamentals. You love building out financial models or equivalent as a way to think deeply about a company’s long-term future.
- Prodigious work ethic – Everyone on the team works insanely hard and loves it. While this is a demanding role in total hours, there is fluidity when work is done. We often take time in the middle of the day and also often talk on the weekends. Flexibility is key.
- Autonomous and self-reliant worker. As Deciens is a small team, you will progress deal flow independently while others are in the field.
Other background and skills
- 4-6 years of relevant experience, e.g. at a VC firm, investment bank, private equity fund, equity research team, or hedge fund.
- Mastery of venture capital deal structures, terms, and industry standards.
- Advanced Excel, financial modeling, and quantitative skills.
- Clear and precise communication, especially in writing.
- Work authorized in the United States.