Almost every day I get a note from a student saying they want to get into venture investing. got a nice one yesterday from a rising senior at Harvard (comp sci major), here was my response:

my strong, strong recommendation: don’t start in venture capital or even investing! this is the greatest time in the world to build something. investors are parasites. they (we) need a host. as an investor, your destiny is basically whether you can find somebody to hitch your wagon to.

but if you’re technical and determined, you can now create anything!

that having been said, when you are 21 you aren’t exposed to a broad array of problems in the world. most college students i meet just know homework, dating, and food — and consequently start companies/build products around those areas.

so my recommendation (even if you want to end up as an investor): join a very exciting company now. there are only two jobs at real companies: making the thing, or selling the thing. choose which path you want. and as you get more experience there, and are exposed to more problems in the world, and more people in a work environment, maybe you’ll start something.

and THEN, you’ll have a powerful network, an understanding of how products work vs don’t work, deep insights that you can coach people with, etc. and you’ll probably already have done a few little investments here and there. and THEN you will be interesting for a venture firm. i didn’t reach out to any vcs to get a job, they all pursued me, which is not meant to sound arrogant — rather it’s how most firms operate.

most venture firms don’t hire mbas anymore. we want people who enhance our ability to find, pick, and win deals, and overwhelmingly this means people who worked at a startup. there are exceptions, but they’re rare. it’s the inverse of the world 30 years ago.

good luck!