One person we talked to started as an analyst only a couple of years out of college and then was promoted to associate. Yet another insider moved up from the minors to the majors, starting right after business school as an associate with a smaller, less elite firm in New Jersey, moving to Texas to become a partner in a new fund, and then getting hired by one of the elite Boston firms. At first glance, these firms appear to be remarkably similar. They have a small number of employees, they have a large amount of money to invest in entrepreneurial ventures, and they are all seeking to be part of the next phenomenally successful start-up. Despite these shared characteristics, these firms have each adopted their own approach to succeeding in the competitive and risky world of start-up financing.
Firms differ in fund size, regional focus, industry focus, and stage of investing.
These differences are noted in the table below. That leaves smaller companies, like Onset Enterprise Associates and Hummer Winblad, free to invest more modest funds in at earlier stages. . . .