Job brief

Lightbank, an early-stage venture firm based in Chicago, IL, is seeking a smart, scrappy, and hardworking investment professional to join its team. You will be part of a small, growing, and dynamic investment team in the early stages of building a substantial venture franchise. The role consists of sourcing early stage investment opportunities, performing critical analysis and due diligence, leading and co-leading investments, partnering with portfolio company founders and management teams post investment, managing key internal systems and processes, and providing crucial support in the firm's fundraising efforts. This role is designed for aggressive self starters who are okay with autonomy and flexibility. There is a strong runway for career development as Lightbank’s goal is to promote partners from within.

Who is Lightbank

• Lightbank is a venture capital firm with a Midwest work ethic. We will out-hustle and out-work.
• We aim to be the preeminent venture capital franchise between the coasts. As startups continue to disperse geographically, this advantage will compound.
• We invest in the Midwest, on the coasts, and anywhere interesting companies are started. In our first fund our winners came from Chicago (Tempus, Sprout Social, Tastyworks), Silicon Valley (Udemy), and the rest of North America like (Boom, Expel, SnapTravel).
• We respect the role of the founder. In many ways, the most important part of our job is to identify, partner with, and support great founders.
• Our GPs have founded and led startups that have raised over $3bn in venture capital and created tens of billions of dollars in equity value. This fact gives us an advantage in selling to both founders and LPs.
  • For founders - we know the journey you are on. We can provide hands-on support and advice.
  • For LPs - our experience as operators informs how we pick the companies we invest in, our ability to help guide positive outcomes for our portfolio companies post-investment, and leads to superior deal flow.
• We have superior deal flow. Our network includes founders, former employees, C-level executives, and investors. Our deal flow is second to none in Chicago while also remaining relevant and competitive on the coasts. As a result, we see companies that other venture funds do not see without missing opportunities to invest in the companies they do.
• The combination of factors above result in a unique portfolio of venture backed companies - our returns are uncorrelated from the standard venture capital portfolio.
• We are fast and flexible. We move quickly, act decisively, and embrace our flexible mandate to act on the most compelling opportunities we see.
• We take our fiduciary responsibility seriously. We run Lightbank in an organized, diligent, and responsible fashion. We balance the need to move fast and embrace risk with our responsibility to protect our LP capital and our firm’s reputation.

Responsibilities

• Perform due diligence and rigorous analysis of potential investments, including analysis of management teams, market size, product differentiation, and unit economics, among other factors.
• Assist in all aspects of the investment process including holding initial calls with prospective investments, building market maps, performing due diligence, and crafting investment memos.
• Work with portfolio company management teams post investment providing a varied range of support. Be a jill/jack of all trades for our portfolio companies.
• Provide support for firm fundraising efforts and helping to create reporting materials.
• Identify, optimize, and manage key internal systems for organizing and managing firm workstreams and processes.
• Provide support for Partners & Principals as they develop market theses.
• Build new relationships in the founder and VC community through events, recruiting and conferences.
• Monitor the activity and performance of the existing portfolio across asset classes.
• We are looking for team members who can add value - you tell us what other responsibilities should be.

Opportunities

• Advancement potential within the organization.
• Lightbank itself is an early stage startup. We aim to build it into something big. Get in at the ground level.
• Build your network with world class startup founders and management teams.
• Learn from a seasoned team of investors and operators. Build pattern recognition and refine your investment analysis skills.
• High degree of independence and latitude.
• Take advantage of the firm’s flexibility. Lightbank has a broad mandate to create value. What ideas can you contribute?

Requirements

• 2-5 years working experience, ideally in a startup, consulting, or banking/investment role.
• Deep passion for early stage businesses, entrepreneurship, investing, technology, and innovation.
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Startup / entrepreneurial experience is a plus.
• Investment Banking or consulting experience is a plus.
• Self-starter who is okay with unstructured work environment and flexible job requirements.
• Strong convictions weakly held. Willingness to speak up and present an opinion, and willingness to change opinions in the face of new data.
• Hustle. Move fast. Embrace risk. Prepare diligently. Be passionate. Collaborate. Work as a team. Be long term greedy. Have high integrity.

Interview Prep

• Why are you interested in VC?
• Talk about a project or deal you’ve worked on that you found interesting. What were some learnings that you took away from that experience?
• Talk about a time that you were stuck on a project at work. What steps did you take to resolve the challenge?
• What companies in Lightbank’s portfolio do you think are interesting?
• What areas of technology do you find particularly interesting (and startups within those)? What areas are overblown?
• How would you diligence an early stage startup?
• How would you build out an investment thesis for Lightbank?