Castor Ventures
Alumni Ventures (AV) is a fast growing, network-powered venture capital firm disrupting the VC industry. We are democratizing venture investing by allowing individuals the opportunity to invest into previously inaccessible startups.
We believe in growing and engaging with an inclusive community of teammates, investors, and entrepreneurs to challenge the status quo and build a better future. Fueled by our mission, we are growing rapidly, with over 180 employees and 20 investing teams working from locations in Boston, Chicago, New York City, Menlo Park, Austin, and a headquarters in Manchester, NH. AV is a fast-paced work environment with a dedicated approach to growth and innovation that is centered on regular change, experimentation, learning (from both failures and successes), iteration, and continuous improvement.
AV has raised over $1B to date from thousands of investors and is the third most active VC in the world (Pitchbook 2021) with over 1,000 portfolio companies. We recently won several awards, including Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies 2022 (Financial Services) and Bezinga’s Most Innovative Personal Investment Company 2021. AV invests alongside well-known lead investors such as Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and Bessemer.
We are seeking an experienced, full-time investing venture Principal to join Castor Ventures , an Alumni Ventures fund. Alumni Ventures is consistently recognized as one of the most active venture firms globally, according to PitchBook. The firm employs over 50 full-time venture investors, has raised more than $1B, holds a rapidly growing portfolio of over 1,000 venture-backed companies, and counts 600,000+ community members and subscribers across all of its funds.
This individual will be a core part of the investment team, reporting directly to and working closely with the Castor team . The primary focus of the role is deal sourcing across different sectors, stages and geographies. This individual will also support researching and evaluating potential investment opportunities and managing relationships with portfolio companies and fellow venture investors. Castor Ventures is a co-investor, investing alongside well established venture funds. The successful candidate will source high quality investments for Castor Ventures and will have significant input into the creation of an annual portfolio of :20-30 venture investments.
This position is based out of Alumni Ventures’ Boston office and is a hybrid role, with an expectation that this individual will work from the office at least 3 days per week. Alumni Ventures is a fast-paced, professional, entrepreneurial environment.
Responsibilities
- Conduct outreach to VCs, entrepreneurs, incubators, and more to help fill our pipeline with prospective investment opportunities
- Actively build Castor Ventures’ network and awareness in the startup ecosystem by attending conferences, events and leveraging social media
- Educate companies/entrepreneurs about our process and effectively manage relationships
- Research and evaluate potential investment opportunities, including talking to lead investors and company management teams
- Present opportunities to the Managing Partner, prepare due diligence materials, and assist with orchestrating Investment Committee meetings
- Help create and manage our company database, monitoring prospects on an ongoing basis
- Assemble and update CRM on companies and entrepreneurs
- As requested, assist with investor relations and outreach to potential investors
- Help supervise back-end functions as needed
- Recruit, train, and manage interns/fellows to help support deal outreach and research
- Suggest improvements to our approach, process, products, and services
Profile Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- MBA or advanced degree preferred
- 1-5+ years of venture investing experience
- 5+ years of total work experience in business development, strategy, entrepreneurship and/ or finance
Desired Traits
- Strong networker with superior sales skills and comfort regularly interacting with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, with an ability to source compelling investment opportunities and grow our ecosystem
- Demonstrated interest and experience working with emerging companies / technologies / entrepreneurs / startups
- Existing connections to the MIT entrepreneurial ecosystem. Castor Ventures is a private venture fund for MIT alumni and friends of the community to access high-quality, diversified venture portfolios in early to growth-stage companies, many with an MIT alumni connection
- Self-starter and independent manager, while also a good team player
- Smart, creative thinker and problem-solver, fast learner, with demonstrated initiative
- Strong writer and communicator, excellent listener
- Highly organized and detail-oriented, balanced by ability to get and communicate big picture
- Excellent work ethic and professional demeanor
- Strong research and analytical skills
- Experience in company research and due diligence preparation
- Track-record of managing multiple, complex projects at the same time