I’ve been a product manager for 5 years and am looking to break into VC. Everyone says the analytical mindset is different—less about product roadmaps and more about market sizing and deal terms. I’ve seen communities offering mentorship sessions with active VCs. For those who’ve tried them: did these structured programs actually help you reframe your thinking? What parts of VC evaluation (cap table analysis, liquidation preferences, etc.) were most challenging coming from a PM background? And crucially, how long did it take before you felt competent evaluating deals independently?
structured mentorship? lol. 90% of these are glorified networking sessions. you wanna learn liquidation prefs? go read 10 actual term sheets and cry yourself to sleep. mentors won’t tell you the real game – it’s about pattern matching and who you know. but hey, take the coffee chats if they’re free.
had 2 mentor sessions so far! the cap table stuff makes my head spin but they showed me how to spot red flags in pitch decks. not perfect yet but way better than reading alone. any1 know good resources for practicing valuations??
Effective mentorship requires clear goals. When I transitioned, I focused on three areas with my VC mentor: 1) Building market maps for emerging sectors 2) Stress-testing founder assumptions during due diligence 3) Portfolio construction math. We met biweekly for 6 months with concrete deliverables. The key is treating it as apprenticeship, not passive learning.
Stick with it! The analytical shift is tough but so rewarding. My third mentor call finally ‘clicked’ – you’ll get there!
My mentor had me analyze a failed pitch they’d passed on. Brutal reality check – I missed three key financial risks that seemed obvious in hindsight. Now I checklist EVERY term sheet clause. Took 4 months before I stopped second-guessing every analysis. Still learning daily though!
2023 survey of 120 PM-to-VC transitions showed mentored candidates reached deal evaluation proficiency 37% faster (4.8mo vs 7.6mo). Focus areas correlating with success: 1) Liquidation waterfall modeling 2) Proprietary market sizing frameworks 3) Portfolio impact analysis templates. Recommendation: Prioritize mentors who provide structured evaluation frameworks.