If you’ve considered working for a venture capital firm, you’ve probably found that landing a position as an investment analyst is a big challenge. Recently, I have been in the process of determining if this is the career I would like to pursue. Before exhausting all my efforts to find a place in this incredibly competitive and exciting environment, I decided to interview Aakar Vachhani, Senior Analyst at Fairview Capital.
Aakar joined the Fairview team in 2008, where he is involved in research, due diligence, investment monitoring, and business development. Prior to joining Fairview, he was an Analyst in the Alternative Asset Performance group at Cambridge Associates, where he was responsible for tracking fund and company performance metrics for private equity, venture capital, and real estate funds, as well as analyzing and produce due diligence reports to select funds. Additionally, Aakar has also worked with consulting teams to provide portfolio performance reports to grants, foundations, colleges / universities, public pensions, and family offices. In addition, at Cambridge Associates, he led quantitative research and analysis projects on venture capital and venture capital benchmarks. Aakar studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Economics – Finance from Bentley College.
I wanted to know the best way to get a job in the venture capital industry, so I asked Aakar how he got his position at Cambridge Associates and Fairview Capital. He told me that the industry is relatively small and that there are not many positions available for younger people. It is difficult to find employment in a company, especially fresh out of school without any relevant experience. Aakar said Bentley’s professional services department helped him connect with Cambridge Associates, one of the most respected consulting firms that specializes in advising pension funds, endowments, foundations and family offices on private equity and equity investment portfolios. private. It happened that they had a vacancy for an internship in their performance reporting group. Unfortunately, landing this position was difficult. Aakar went through two rounds of interviews and was rejected. The following year Cambridge Associates posted a full-time position. Aakar decided to apply during his fall semester, went through three rounds of interviews, and was ultimately turned down. In the spring, he applied again and after another three rounds of interviews and an incredible amount of persistence, he was finally offered the position.
Working at Cambridge Associates was a great way for Aakar to learn about the venture capital industry. He said he was constantly looking for ways to get involved and increase his knowledge. After two years of experience, Aakar decided to seek other opportunities. He realized that Fairview Capital had a vacancy for a research analyst and decided to apply for the position. Since obtaining the position, he has been promoted to Senior Analyst on the investment team.
After learning about how Aakar got involved in venture capital, I asked him what he does on a daily basis. On any given day, accomplish a variety of different aspects of the business. While conducting due diligence on potential investments, you are meeting with venture capitalists, reviewing performance, and making recommendations. When it comes to business development, prepare presentations for clients or potential new investors and compile marketing materials for new funds. Aakar also helps with annual and semi-annual reports and writes summaries on the fund’s activity and performance. In correlation with research, explore investment topics and write about them in newsletters and research reports. Aakar has also helped develop hosting symposia, web conferences, and even podcasts with venture capitalists.
Aakar has a wide role and it was important for me to learn about his daily responsibilities. Having the urge to participate in venture capital is certainly not common among most people. I continued to ask Aakar about when he knew he wanted to get involved in the industry. He said he began to develop interest when he was in his third year at Bentley. In his senior year, he became interested in venture capital, but never knew that working for a fund of funds would be a good fit. Aakar’s defines its interest in the venture capital industry as a more evolutionary process.
I enjoyed putting together the interview and learned that perseverance is crucial when it comes to working in the venture capital industry.