I now know 32 VCs who have moved back to operating in the last 12 months.. everyone from associates to GPs. Maybe it’s this way all the time and I’m just noticing it, but the pace seems to be accelerating. And they seem much much happier? From a professional perspective, it makes sense especially if you are junior. You get to work directly with customers and work as a team. A lot more autonomy than having to pander to GPs. From a compensation perspective too, why wait for carry for 13 years when you can have a chance of liquidity a lot sooner. As someone who had been operating for a while but loving venture rn, I completely get the trade. To the remaining players, see you on the field 🫡
我现在知道，在过去 12 个月里，已经有 32 位 VC 又回到 operating（运营一线）了——从 associates 到 GPs 都有。也许一直都是这样，只是我现在才注意到，但这个节奏似乎正在加快。而且他们看起来真的开心得多？从职业发展的角度看，这很合理，尤其如果你是 junior（资历较浅）。你可以直接和客户一起工作，也可以作为团队的一员协作。相比之下，这比不得不一味迎合 GPs 有更多得多的自主权。从薪酬角度看也是如此，既然有机会更早实现 liquidity（流动性、变现），那为什么还要等 carry（分成）等上 13 年？作为一个曾经做了很久 operating、但现在又很喜欢 venture（风险投资）的人，我完全理解这种取舍。至于还留在场上的各位，赛场上见 🫡