The one thing that is more laborious than actually getting into an MBA program is figuring out ‘what-after’ the MBA. It was no different for me. Curious about the world of investing as a potential career path, I wrote to every venture capital (VC) firm in Mumbai (this was clearly before the 2^nd wave when I was still hoping for an in-person internship experience). Luckily, Lightbox (LB) gave me a chance in their investment team. From what I had read and heard from people’s experiences was that VC was all about portfolio work- board meetings, MISs, fund raising, collecting market intelligence and new investment work- due diligence, valuations, ownership percentages. It was absolutely thrilling to witness first-hand how each of these terms actually playout in the real world.

Coming from a non-finance and non-VC background, I can only describe the whirlwind that was my 3 months at Lightbox in 3 stages (inspired by the 3 stages of a startup)- the grind, growth and gold. I’m going to describe my bumps, jolts and learnings for all the VC noobs out there, like me.

Stage 1: The Grind- Discomfort with the amount of catching up to do!

Day 1

Joins a weekly internal team meeting

 LB 1: “How’re the fundraise conversations going?”

LB 2: “Good for a bridge round. Looks like we’re getting a co-lead before the main.”

LB 1: “Oh cool, let’s review the cap tables.”

Me: *googles what a cap table is*

If there’s one thing that I have learnt at Lightbox is not being afraid to be the idiot in the room. No question is stupid and people are encouraged to ask ‘So what?’. My first week at Lightbox was about catching up on a long list of VC 101, studying portfolio company models and following portfolio brands, competition, competing funds on Twitter.

Stage 2: Growth Stage- Go, go, go!

A typical Monday at Lightbox is anything but dull. It usually starts with a thesis presentation by members on topics ranging from NFTs to advertising in IPL to Fintech products like ‘buy now pay later.’ These discussions are peppered with insightful questions and even more well researched answers. For a Monday morning, I was always left hungry to learn more about a space, read as much as I can about it and form a unique opinion. For someone like me, with specific industry experience in CPG and e-commerce, these discussions enabled me to learn about new industries and categories and study the fundamentals.

The week followed with multiple portfolio company work including weekly business updates, problem solving together, collecting market intelligence on competition, discussing the company roadmap, cash situation and fundraising. Amidst these multiple conversations, what stood out to me was the empathy and impassioned involvement of Lightbox. The Lightbox team was so well integrated with its portfolio companies, for an outsider witnessing any of these meetings for the 1^st time, it would be hard to tell investor from the founder’s team.

Stage 3: Strike Gold!

One of my main objectives of interning in VC was also to learn to evaluate new businesses and spaces. So, one of the highlights for me was meeting new companies and understanding what investors look for. My key takeaways were the below:

1.   All about the people: Can I put money behind the founder? Trade off between good founder, average space and average founder, attractive space- I learnt that the good founder ALWAYS wins!

2.   Space < Lightbox Thesis: Does the space fall within the Lightbox thesis? Considering the variability in Lightbox’s own portfolio, exceptional businesses can form the exception to this rule. In short, the space should excite the team.

3.   Product and leverage: How unique is the product? Is there an operating moat exclusive to this business?

My experience at Lightbox taught me 3 things. Firstly, to always break everything down to the smallest part. Understand the fundamentals and key drivers, and that will help you influence any business. Secondly, to try and have an opinion on everything but always be flexible when new information is made available. And lastly, it has taught me to appreciate empathy is a very different way. COVID-19 impacted many businesses. As investors, empathy with the founders, the situation and businesses was one of the key influencers in successfully riding the wave!

Q&A

What does failure mean to you?  
It is inevitable? Learn and never repeat the same mistake twice.

What’s your superpower?
I've not missed a workout in the last 2 years.

Which is your favourite city in the world?
Dehradun! 

Favourite books this year
Factfulness by Hans Rosling (Book of hope and positivity in these gloomy times)
50 Psychology Classics by Tom Butler Bowdon and Silence! The court is in session by Vijay Tendulkar