Our Mission

We uplift people and economies around the world through entrepreneurship.

Who We Are

500 Startups is a dynamic global early stage venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley and around the world. We have backed more than 2,400 companies or 5,000+ entrepreneurs in 75+ countries. Notable investments in the 500 portfolio include Credit Karma, Twilio, Canva, Grab, Bukalapak, The RealReal, Talkdesk, Udemy, and Ipsy. Most significantly, those companies have created billions of dollars in value, helped create hundreds of thousands of jobs and delighted millions of customers all over the world. Because of our global network and expertise, we are in a unique position to build startup ecosystems worldwide.

Who You Are

The Associate role encompasses work on trend analysis, pre-investment diligence, Accelerator Program company mentorship, and post-investment deal support. This role will be part of the Global Investment team, working closely with a collaborative group of investment professionals including the firm’s Managing Partners.

Requirements

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to take initiative, manage multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines.
• Outstanding financial modeling and analytic skills with a firm understanding of investment theory and financial markets.
• Excellent research and critical thinking skills capable of synthesizing large amounts of data and information in a clear and concise manner.
• Passion for investing.
  
  

Responsibilities:

• Deal sourcing - establish connections with peer investors and founders to get deal flow; may include speaking at panels, conferences, podcasts and other networking events.
• Deal screening - connect with founder prospects, conduct screening calls, evaluate investment opportunities.
• Deal diligence - gather information about the company’s progress, understand competitive landscapes, company’s metrics and unit economics, calculate market size and conduct founder reference checks.
• Closely collaborate with Partners and General Partners to execute the fund’s investment thesis, in addition to advocating/pitching prospective investments.
• Write internal investment memos - highlight risks and investment theses.
• Research and discover meaningful trends. Share those insights internally and externally via the 500 blog.
• Conduct deep analysis of prospective investment opportunities including evaluating upside outcomes and downside risk - modeling various scenarios, building competitive landscapes, examining market size data.
• Identify key milestones and metrics to best position the investments for Series A and follow-on financings.
• Serve as primary deal lead for individually sourced companies and supporting them throughout the accelerator program and beyond.
• Collaborate with accelerator batch company’s growth coaches during the program to align on the company’s goals and support growth experiments.
• Identify high performing portfolio companies and float up follow-on investment opportunities to the investment committee for a decision.
• Process deal memos on post-investment transactions i.e. financings, M&As, ESOP requests, AGMs and other shareholder-related resolutions that need the fund’s signature.
• Comprehend and verify cap tables and distribution waterfall structures to assist portfolio companies in financings or exits as needed.
  
  

Desired Profile:

• You have a high standard for integrity.
• You possess a deep sense of empathy and appreciation for entrepreneurs. You understand how hard it is to build a company, and you are prepared to support founders on their journey.
• You are a strong communicator and can convey complex ideas in simple, easy-to-understand terms.
• You are curious about everything. You are a committed lifelong learner.
• You are a natural self-starter. You don’t need to be told exactly what to do, and are comfortable with working in unstructured environments.
• Lived professional experience of ideally 2–5 years after undergrad, preferably in a related field (e.g. VC/PE, startup, product management, investment banking, corporate development, strategy consulting, etc.).
  
  

Education & Experience:

• Undergraduate degree required
• Graduate degree a plus but not required
• Startup or large cap tech company operator experience a plus
• Understanding of financial markets and instruments
• Excellent organization, communication and interpersonal skills
  
  

Role is based in SF, CA - Remote OK.

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
• Wellness Resources
  
  

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