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Just to set the scene for you – I’m a 27-year-old Brazilian who, after working in Investment Banking for 3 years and then another 3 years in a peer-to-peer car-sharing startup I co-founded, decided to challenge myself by moving to Israel and working for 5 months as an intern for Viola Ventures. With my time here coming to an end, I was asked to write a blog post about my experience and figured that the best way to do this would be to highlight a few key pieces of advice I can pass on to new interns who will work – or are thinking about working – at Viola.
So here goes:
1. Internship period
Try to secure an internship for at least 3 to 4 months. I understand that sometimes this doesn’t depend on us interns, but if you do have a say, that’s the duration I’d recommend. The main reason for this is that obviously it takes some time to adapt, to learn and understand the work environment and even to gain the confidence and trust from people you are working with. Usually a 2-month period is not enough to master all these challenges, or to be considered for involvement in more substantial, longer term projects.
2. Work hours and dedication
There is no such thing as “face time” here at Viola (no one is checking to see when you clock in or out of the office), which is amazing. However, I strongly recommend NOT sticking to the 6-hour workday contract. Beyond the reasons I already mentioned above, a key factor in benefiting as much as possible from the internship is to read interesting news on startups and VCs, attend interesting events (there are plenty in Tel Aviv all year round, for free) and adopt a very proactive attitude towards developing and sharing potentially interesting insights. Even if they’re not always agreed with, people will take the time to explain why, and you will learn something new, as well as show that you are motivated.
3. Get involved!
Don’t be afraid to talk to partners and ask to be involved in different projects (within reason). There’s a lot involved in being a VC and much to learn about how the investment process works, so try to get involved with market research, industry mapping, initial company screening and even live deals. Be curious, ask questions, and work with as many people as you can. This is the best way to fully understand how the whole process works and the fund’s mindset towards an investment decision.
4. Hiring is not guaranteed
Within the VC world, the usual organizational structure is in fact an inverted pyramid, so you will find much more partners than you will find analysts and associates. This is normal and optimized to the way venture capital works. As a result, don’t expect to be offered a full-time job after your internship ends (unless told otherwise). My advice here is not to lose interest and motivation because of this. VCs generally have portfolio companies, and partners are very well connected, so if you work hard and show your worth, people will definitely help you get a good job somewhere else. Worst case scenario, it’s always a good idea to be remembered for having done a good job!
5. Have a good time 🙂
Interning at Viola is a unique opportunity to be part of one of the largest (if not THE largest) VCs in Israel. Enjoy your time, make the best of it and learn as much as possible. If you’ll eventually end up working for a VC or a startup elsewhere, it’s definitely an experience that will come in handy and a story you’d want to tell in future job interviews. I know for a fact that I will…
Bruno with members of the team at Viola: Ronen Nir (General Partner @ Viola Ventures),
Omry Ben David (Partner @ Viola Ventures), Merav Meluban (Head of Marketing @ Viola)
& Dor Polovincik (BI Manager @ Viola). Click here to enlarge
