Corporate investment banker to venture capitalist
A corporate investment banker already meets 47% of what the venture capitalist role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.2/ 100
1 How much of what a venture capitalist is expected to do is already part of a corporate investment banker’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the venture capitalist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A venture capitalist role treats 7 of its required skills as things a corporate investment banker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse business plans
- analyse financial performance of a company
- analyse financial risk
- business valuation techniques
- funding methods
- make strategic business decisions
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A venture capitalist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a corporate investment banker background worth leading with.
- already held holding company activities business, administration and law
- already held business valuation techniques business, administration and law
- already held maintain client debt records information skills
- already held management consulting business, administration and law
- already held investment banking business, administration and law
- already held perform debt investigation information skills
All 18 carried skills, including the 7 the venture capitalist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assess financial viability required
- still to learn perform business analysis required
- optional, not held analyse loans optional
- optional, not held analyse market financial trends optional
- optional, not held obtain financial information optional
- still to learn decide on providing funds required
- still to learn create a financial plan required
- optional, not held establish investment funds optional
- optional, not held budget for financial needs optional
- optional, not held make investment decisions optional
- still to learn investment analysis required
- still to learn business analysis required
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- still to learn apply technical communication skills required
- still to learn build business relationships required
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
- optional, not held foreign languages for international careers optional
- optional, not held apply credit risk policy optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a venture capitalist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 decide on providing funds practise this
- 02 investment analysis study this
- 03 apply technical communication skills practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 18 skills that carry over
- already held analyse business plans skill
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held analyse financial risk skill
- already held business valuation techniques knowledge
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held make strategic business decisions skill
- already held management consulting knowledge
- already held credit control processes knowledge
- already held debt systems knowledge
- already held develop investment portfolio skill
- already held examine credit ratings skill
- already held holding company activities knowledge
- already held investment banking knowledge
- already held maintain client debt records skill
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held modern portfolio theory knowledge
- already held perform debt investigation skill
- already held review investment portfolios skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held actuarial science optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held establish investment funds optional
- optional, not held actuarial science optional
- optional, not held analyse loans optional
- optional, not held analyse market financial trends optional
- optional, not held apply credit risk policy optional
- optional, not held budget for financial needs optional
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held foreign languages for international careers optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
- optional, not held make investment decisions optional
- optional, not held obtain financial information optional
16 held skills the venture capitalist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on participation in financial markets skill
- not needed by the target role asset management knowledge
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role business loans knowledge
- not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
- not needed by the target role economics knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial statements knowledge
- not needed by the target role fundamental analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret financial statements skill
- not needed by the target role manage corporate bank accounts skill
- not needed by the target role mergers and acquisitions knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor stock market skill
- not needed by the target role perform stock valuation skill
- not needed by the target role provide legal advice on investments skill
- not needed by the target role securities knowledge
- not needed by the target role stock market knowledge
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn investment analysis required
- still to learn business analysis required
- optional, not held actuarial science optional
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held foreign languages for international careers optional
- optional, not held international business optional
Common questions about this move
Can a corporate investment banker become a venture capitalist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A corporate investment banker already covers 47% of what a venture capitalist is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 7 of which the venture capitalist role treats as required.
What skills does a corporate investment banker need to become a venture capitalist?
8 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is decide on providing funds.
How hard is the move from corporate investment banker to venture capitalist?
Its learning distance is 54.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.