Charlie O’Donnell has published a post on the economics of his VC fund. I really admire him for: starting his own firm, being so transparent about his take-home pay, and the incredible passion that he has for the investing business.
I’ve written about it before, but I really do believe that early-stage VC is a calling and not just a job. You really must love what you do, as there are many other ways through which you can make money. In VC, you spend most of your time on companies that are struggling, and the long feedback loops (it takes 6 to 8 years to build a real company) drive some folks out of the business.
However, it is an incredible rush to work with entrepreneurs and to be part of the job-creation engine. Eric and I recently tallied up jobs created in our two funds: over 300 jobs have been created in our portfolios.
For me, that’s very meaningful.