Title: Associate/Senior Associate (depending on level of experience)
Reporting to: Partner
Location: San Francisco (we prefer candidates who can commit to being in the office at a minimum of 1 day per week to start. We are open to remote work for the right candidates who may already have deep, established networks in other major hubs.)
About Telstra Ventures:
Telstra Ventures is a premier venture capital and growth equity investment firm whose mission is to serve lighthouse leaders and support the delivery of their product vision. We target investments in areas of cybersecurity, crypto / blockchain, web assembly / API / Kubernetes / cloud, SaaS, networking, machine learning, data, consumer / sports / esports, fintech, logistics, and other emerging sectors. We invest in companies across the USA, China and Australia and seek to partner with high quality teams. We look for companies generating $1M to $10M in revenue, and target approximately 12 new investments each year.
Our differentiation comes from:
- sourcing: thematic investors complemented with data science capabilities
- Revenue Bearing RelationshipsTM value-add: we have generated $400M in revenues for our portfolio by selling to and through Telstra, and;
- our quality investment process and track record: in 10 years, we have generated 9 IPOs (BigCommerce, Box, Cloopen, Crowdstrike, DocuSign, GitLab, Skillz, Snap, and Whispir), 11 strategic M&As (Auth0, Elastica, Elemental, Kony, Nexmo, Nginx, Ooyala, Rancher, TeleSign, Trifacta, and VeloCloud), and 8 additional Unicorns (Asapp, Blockdameon, FTX, FTX.US, MPL, Qiniu, UBtech, Xtransfer).
Telstra Ventures is an independent venture capital firm backed by some of the most well-known LPs including HarbourVest, the ~$90B AUM private equity investment platform, and Telstra Corporation, Australia’s largest communications services company (~$35B in market capitalization).
Role Description:
This role is a rare and excellent opportunity for someone seeking an end-to-end venture capital and emerging growth equity experience. There is potential for this to become a Partner track position.
Primary responsibilities of this role include working directly with General Partners and Senior Investors on identifying and executing new and follow-on investments.
Other responsibilities will include working with the CFO and the Deputy CFO on internal GP as well as external LP portfolio management analytics. The Associate will also work closely with our internal Data Science team to help develop the firm’s investment pipeline and portfolio analytics.
The Associate/Senior Associate should also have an interest in developing their own investment thesis and network in a go-forward investment area.
Key Responsibilities:
- Play a key role in the end-to-end investment process, including:
- Working closely with General Partners and Senior Investors to develop and research new investment theses and themes;
- Conducting analyses of early-stage technology operations including interrogation of financial models, product differentiation, and business plans;
- Preparing valuation and investment returns analysis and memoranda for our investment committee, including running cap table modelling, historical and projected financial analyses, comparable companies analyses, and interviews of management teams, competitors, and customers;
- Assisting in shortening the time to conviction of our new and follow-on investment cycle (as venture capital has evolved, the number of participants have increased, and the ability to move quickly is becoming increasingly important);
- Being an active participant and a representative of Telstra Ventures within the broader venture capital ecosystem;
- Coordinating with the CFO and Deputy CFO for internal GP portfolio analysis, particularly around quarterly portfolio reviews for valuation, trends in financial KPIs, cash fume dates, etc.;
- Coordinating with the CFO and Deputy CFO for external LP portfolio analysis, particularly around portfolio performance, returns analyses, due diligence performance improvement, and fundraising data requests; and
- Coordinating with the Data Science team linking the above to our data science investment pipeline and portfolio analytics work.
- The ideal candidate for this role should also have an interest and ability to bring / build networks in an investment area across crypto / blockchain / web3, climate change / carbon neutrality, creator / developer-led economies, quantum computing, or other emerging sectors.
Education and Experience:
- 2-5 years of experience from a lighthouse cloud, SaaS, cyber, fintech or other software company; or an investment bank, PE / VC investment platform, management consulting firm, or hedge fund;
- Understanding of standard venture capital investment terms
- Nice to Haves: Experience with / and networks in crypto / blockchain / Web3, climate change / carbon neutrality, creator / developer-led economies, quantum computing, or other emerging sectors.
Software Skills and Language Requirements:
- Advanced Excel and financial modelling experience required as well as fluency in other Microsoft Office suite applications;
- Familiarity with data services (CapitalIQ, CB Insights, FactSet, Pitchbook) and web researching capabilities (LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Glassdoor, etc.);
- Effective English language and communication skills;
- Multi-lingual capabilities a plus (e.g. Mandarin); and
- Must be comfortable with presenting and voicing opinions confidently (we are big believers in valuing diverse and differing perspectives).
Traits We are Looking for:
- High intellectual curiosity, superior organizational, preparation and analytical skills, strong work ethics. Creative and strategic thinking;
- Consensus builder, collaborative and persuasive;
- Results driven with a bias for actionand high morale with an ability to work independently;
- Self-managing, self-starter: someone who thrives in unstructured environment
- High Integrity; and
- Great business judgement
Certifications, Licenses, Registration: None
Physical Demands & Work Environment (The physical and environmental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)
- Standard city office environment, requiring sitting, using standard computer, typing, reading documents and computer screens.
- Travel potentially required
If interested, please apply here.
