VC Associate @ Zinc VC in London, England

Zinc VC

Zinc

 VC, an early stage mission-led talent investor is seeking an Associate to join our fast paced and dynamic Venture Capital team and focus on working with startups post-investment.

This is a unique opportunity to learn and be immersed in an environment of passion, impact and ambition. You will learn how VCs think and invest and how founders operate during the most crucial time in a startup’s journey – building and discovering the product and business from zero to one.

About Zinc

At Zinc, we back the most talented, mission-driven individuals before they even have a team or idea, to build ambitious, mission led startups that address the biggest social issues facing our world. Our four missions – improving mental health, solving our environmental crisis, improving the quality of later life, and helping people impacted by automation and globalization – guide us in identifying the most pressing problems to tackle.

Since 2017, we have helped over 200 entrepreneurs build over 60 ventures that are making a real difference in the world. At the end of last year we closed a £33m fund and are looking to scale operations to back more than 500 entrepreneurs.

We are not your typical VC firm. We believe in building global businesses with impact at their core, and we are committed to supporting entrepreneurs who share that vision. Our diverse cohorts come from all over the world, with over 30 nationalities represented, 50% women, and 40% people of color. At Zinc, we believe that diversity drives innovation and creativity, and we are proud to have a team that reflects that belief.

Joining Zinc means being part of a team that is changing the face of entrepreneurship. Our focus on impact-driven, ambitious global startups sets us apart, and we are proud to be the best place in the world to build huge businesses that make a real difference.

About the role

As an Associate at Zinc, you will be working with early-stage startups who have received investment from Zinc and are at the early stage of building their team, validating their product, and preparing for fundraising. You will be joining the team who run Zinc’s Accelerate Platform, a 6 month phase of work which supports startups to move forward at pace, with the goal of increasing the likelihood of building a successful company and raising early-stage investment.

Your responsibilities will primarily involve working with the Accelerate team to ensure the platform is optimised to support the early stage ventures – building partnerships, designing the content, engaging with experts from the ecosystem.You will have an incredible learning opportunity to work with impact-led, super-ambitious entrepreneurs aiming to solve the early challenges in building a global startup.

This role reports to the Head of Accelerate at Zinc.

What you will do:

As an Associate in the Accelerate team at Zinc, your main outcomes will be:

  1. Supporting the Senior Associate in managing day-to-day operations of the Accelerate phase, ensuring that startups in the portfolio are receiving the support they need to succeed.
    1. Providing administrative support to the Senior Associate and managing internal processes to ensure efficient and effective operations.
    2. Identifying areas for improvement and adapting to the changing and growing needs of founders during the 6 months period.
    3. Joining weekly meetings with founders and supporting the development of the cohort of startups.
  2. Building and engaging the wider European Climate tech ecosystem to proactively work with and support the founders by organizing events and workshops
    1. Identifying key stakeholders in the European Climate tech ecosystem and developing partnerships and collaborations to support the startups.
    1. Organizing events and workshops to connect startups with mentors, investors, and other stakeholders in the ecosystem.
    2. Developing and executing strategies to engage the wider ecosystem and promote Zinc as a thought leader in the European Climate tech community.

3. Managing relationships with the existing Zinc fellows, founders, and investors to drive clear value to the Zinc portfolio.

    1. Building and maintaining strong relationships with the Zinc community, including fellows, founders, and investors.
    2. Providing regular updates to the Senior Associates on the progress of the Zinc portfolio and identifying opportunities for growth and improvement.
    3. Developing and executing strategies to drive clear value to the Zinc portfolio, including identifying potential follow-on investment opportunities and supporting fundraising efforts.

Requirements

What are we looking for in you

This is an entry level role and we are looking for potential within candidates, so you don’t need to have worked in VC before.

This role will require you to:

  • Be proactive and resourceful in seeking out knowledge and information.
  • Possess excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
  • Be comfortable working in conditions of uncertainty, with the ability to adapt and pivot as necessary.
  • Have demonstrated agility, resilience, and tenacity.
  • Have strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
  • Be passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation, with a desire to learn and grow in a fast-paced startup environment.

This contract is expected to span 24 months with the first 12 months working with the Accelerate team and the option to move to a different team within Zinc after that period based on your ambitions and Zinc’s resource needs at the time.

This is a full-time role, starting immediately with a salary of up to £32K p.a. This role will be primarily in-person from our base in Euston, with scope for some hybrid working.

Benefits

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a dynamic, fast-paced and growing team. This advisory role will provide the opportunity to:

  • Shape and develop significant relationships with a talented and committed cohort of founders and early-stage ventures
  • Work with the growing Zinc team and our great ecosystem – our global network of experts are driven by their passion for our missions and opportunities for commercial innovation
  • Be part of a mission-led, ambitious and high-growth organisation with an enormous sense of urgency to experiment and solve hard problems at scale

Application Process

  1. Submit your application via Workable. This includes:
    • Basic information about you
    • CV
    • Cover letter
    • 250 words about a tech/tech-enabled startup you are excited about and why.

2. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an initial phone interview.

3. The next step is an online interview with members of the Zinc team and short task.

4. Successful candidates will be invited to Zinc’s HQ in Euston for in person interviews with the team.

Applications close at midnight on Sunday 16th April. We will process applications as we receive them, so interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

We believe diversity drives better performance and we are actively looking for diverse candidates. If you don’t meet all of these criteria but think you’d be a great fit for the role, we’d still love to talk to you.

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