It’s a very small, niche industry. There are 1000 active firms, 2000–3000 active partners who lead deals, and roughly 8000–10000 deals each year. Thus, it remains still very much a cottage industry and therefore not an easy career path for most to pursue.

But for those who remain determined to pursue a career in VC, I can share a few thoughts that I’ve observed from my years on both sides of the table.

Generally speaking, there are two on-ramps to the VC world.

One is what I’ll call “The Apprentice” model: go to a top college, get a few years of working experience, go to a top business school, spend a few more years in a start-up (typically in product marketing/management) and then join a firm in your late 20s/early 30s as an associate or principal and hope to be accepted as a junior partner into the partnership after 4-8 years. During that time, you will probably shadow a few of the partners, join one or two boards, and try to learn the trade from the experienced, senior partners around you.

The challenge with VCs who follow this path is that the lack of deep operating experience can potentially be viewed negatively by entrepreneurs. Some entrepreneurs ultimately conclude these types of VCs “don’t get it” because they’ve never walked in their shoes. On the other hand, these “Apprentice” VCs are often very successful investors because they are incredibly broad in their range of expertise and analytical in their approaches to selecting new investments.

The second on-ramp is what I’ll call the “ex-founder/Money Maker” model: work your way up the start-up ladder, become a VC-backed founder, navigate a successful exit or two, and then join one of the VC firms that backed you and with whom you’ve had a chance to build a relationship (and make money for) over 5-10 years. This on-ramp sometimes begins with a “Venture Partner” title before becoming a full General Partner (i.e., the training wheels come off and you have your own checkbook, subject to partnership approval).

The challenge with VCs who follow this path is that they can be accused of viewing their VC careers as a lifestyle choice – “the back nine” – and never really go through the hard work, long hours, and long years to learn the trade. After all, this is a business where you fund life cycles are measured in decades. Although these types of VCs may have deep knowledge in the particular domain where they had the operating experience, they may not have the breadth or analytical horsepower to productively invest in the full broad range of opportunities most general partners require to be successful. On the other hand, these “ex-founder/Money Maker” VCs have great networks of former employees and business partners and an ability to bond with the next generation of young entrepreneurs for whom they can serve as valuable mentors.

Which path is the more successful one? I have no idea – but I do know that numerous aspiring VCs who can’t credibly follow one of these two paths have slim odds to entering the industry; in a world where the odds are slim at any rate. And many LPs are looking for partnerships that blend the best of both sides into a single, holistic unit.