VC Principal @ Purple Arch Ventures in Chicago, IL

Purple Arch Ventures

Purple Arch Ventures, Alumni Ventures’ fund for Northwestern alumni and friends of the community, is seeking an experienced, full-time investing venture Principal or Sr. Principal (hereafter Principal) who can source, recruit, research, and evaluate venture opportunities. This individual will serve as a leader of the Fund’s investing work: deal sourcing, researching, evaluating, and managing relationships with portfolio companies and fellow venture investors.

The successful Principal will drive enhanced deal quality and improve co-investing opportunities for AV and will have significant input into the creation of a unique portfolio amassing highly valuable strategic assets. AV is a fast-paced, professional, entrepreneurial environment. As Principal, this individual will report directly to and work closely with the Managing Partner of the fund.

Role/ Responsibilities

  • Network with various players in the startup ecosystem
  • Identify deal resources and conduct outreach to VCs, entrepreneurs, incubators, and more to help fill our deal pipeline with prospects
  • Educate deal sources and companies/entrepreneurs about our process and effectively manage relationships
  • Prepare and distribute due diligence packages
  • Research and evaluate each opportunity as a potential investment, including interviewing company teams, competitors, and customers
  • Recruit, train, and manage interns/fellows to help support deal outreach and research
  • Present opportunities and respond to Managing Partner and LP questions, run deal meetings, and orchestrate IC meetings
  • Help create and manage our company database, monitoring prospects on an ongoing basis
  • Assemble and update CRM on companies and entrepreneurs, portfolio monitoring
  • As requested, assist with investor relations and potential investor outreach
  • Help supervise back-end functions as needed
  • Suggest improvements to our approach, process, products, and services

Requirements

Profile Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • MBA or advanced degree preferred
  • Strong connection to the Northwestern community preferred
  • 1-5 years of professional venture investing experience
  • 7-10 years of additional experience in finance, venture capital, or entrepreneurship

Ideal Traits

  • Smart, insatiably curious, lifelong learner
  • Coachable, optimistic, resourceful with no sense of entitlement
  • Good investment instincts and excellent pattern recognition a plus
  • Strong research and analytical skills
  • Excellent work ethic, humility and professional demeanor
  • Demonstrated interest and experience in entrepreneurship, as well as emerging companies and technologies
  • Experience in company research and due diligence preparation
  • Track-record of managing multiple, complex projects at the same time
  • Strong writer and communicator, excellent listener, with superior sales skills and comfort regularly interacting with potential community members
  • Capable networker, with an ability to grow our system and process for identifying deals
  • Highly organized and detail-oriented, balanced by ability to get and communicate big picture
  • Self-starter and independent manager, but good team player and personnel manager
  • Smart, creative thinker and problem-solver, fast learner, with demonstrated initiative
  • Database management and strong technical and social media experience a big plus
  • Comfortable in an “extreme ownership” culture, with a scrappy, grinder mentality.
  • Must be able to thrive in a dynamic, fluid environment.

Salary Description

Principal starts at $175,000 ; carried interest eligibility

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