Venture Capital Job – Investment Associate – ACME Capital

About ACME Capital

ACME is a San Francisco based, early-stage venture capital firm. We invest in bold, non-consensus ideas that reshape industries. Our mission is to expand what’s possible for our founders and investors. From Uber to IonQ, we’ve backed 17 unicorns across a wide range of industries, and we’re not slowing down, because we’re here to fund the future, whether it’s in frontier technologies, disruptive consumer products, or something the world hasn’t seen yet.

We’re actively investing out of our fourth early-stage fund, with our partners based across the US and in Europe.

Opportunity (of a lifetime?)

We are searching for an outlier talent to join our team as an Investment Associate. This 2-3 year program will have you dive into the deep end of early-stage venture investing. You will be working closely across the ACME partnership to source and evaluate new investments and support companies within ACME’s portfolio. You will get to work on companies across a breadth of markets and verticals, and you should be especially adept, curious, and motivated to explore a range of deep tech and frontier opportunities and help the partnership evaluate them. Unlike many institutional venture firms, we expect our investment associates to join our investment committee and be a driving force in our thinking and decision making as a team.

Key Responsibilities

1. Sourcing New Investments:

• Be the tip of ACME’s spear to find the next transformative startups — attend events, slide into DMs, and get in front of the founders who are making waves
• Systematically cultivate relationships with founders, industry insiders, researchers, and other investors to keep ACME in the loop on what’s exciting and what’s next
• Stay obsessed with new tech, markets, and trends. Be the person who knows what’s coming before it’s front-page news

2. Evaluating Opportunities:

• Will it work? – Get in the weeds to rapidly understand the risks and likelihood of emerging technologies
• Tear apart business models with confidence, analyze markets, and figure out what’s hype versus what’s real
• Craft compelling investment theses on why a startup is worth betting on, and be ready to defend your rationale
• Build financial models that don’t just look good, they help us make smarter decisions

3. Supporting Portfolio Companies:

• Be a trusted ally to our founders. Help them problem-solve, make connections, and navigate growth challenges
• Leverage ACME’s network to open doors and make valuable introductions
• Keep your finger on the pulse of our portfolio’s performance and needs

4. Firm Building:

• Bring fresh ideas to how we operate—whether it’s improving our internal processes or leveling up our branding
• Help shape the future of ACME by participating in fundraising efforts, LP relations, and content creation

Who You Are

• Early in your career, but you have some reps: You’ve spent 1-5 years doing something interesting in technology, finance or maybe a more junior investment role
• Deep-Tech-Savvy: You likely have a technical background or education, and you’re quick to pick up on new trends and innovations in the most bleeding-edge areas of technology. Whether it’s nuclear reactors, synthetic biology, or something we haven’t heard of before, you can quickly get to the most critical first questions to ask to figure out if it is worth spending time on, and where we should focus our technical diligence next
• Network Ninja: You love connecting with people, whether it’s at conferences, online forums, or coffee meetups. You know how to systemically build and maintain a network. If you’re already lurking in VC WhatsApp groups and obsessively tracking the next breakout startup, you’re our kind of person
• Curious & Fast Learner: You’re a sponge for knowledge. You dive in and get up to speed fast
• Analytical Beast: Financial forecasts don’t scare you. You’ve got the chops to break down complex info into actionable insights. Your hot takes are backed by data and sharp thinking
• More than transactional: You’re smart and can hustle, but you value meaningful relationships with people instead of just “hunting for a deal”. You respect the speed at which trust and relationships break down unless they are well-maintained. You don’t burn bridges. Your EQ is as high as your IQ
• Self-Starter: You don’t need hand-holding when facing ambiguous challenges. You take initiative, hustle hard, and get things done
• Team Player: You know that great outcomes come from collaboration, not lone-wolfing it. You’re in it for the team win
• A hacker: You have hacked your way to where you are. You aren’t legacy – you are creating one
• A sense of humor: You are witty, self-deprecating, and can take it as well as dish it out. You understand sarcasm (and actually enjoy it). You are current on your memes and know your way around a funny GIF or two 🙂
• Are discrete: You have a deep appreciation for confidentiality and you are reflexively discrete
• Care about excellence: You are focused, professional and thoughtful in everything you do. While the big ideas matter, you also care deeply about the details and meticulous execution
• Embody ACME through and through: You are respectful, friendly, upbeat, empathetic, punctual, and confident in your abilities without being boastful

Join our community of VCs/Investors here – https://nas.io/tsw-ecosystem-community