Turns out being a venture capitalist can be really hard and some VCs want out
- This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
Happy Friday! Have you sat on the couch while watching the Olympics and thought, "I could do that?" Well, you'd be wrong. Here are all the ways these elite athletes are quite literally built differently.
In today's big story, turns out being a venture capitalist can be really hard, and some VCs want out.
What's on deck:
- Markets: Want to know who will win in November? The stock market might have the answer.
- Tech: Charging things nowadays is kind of a nightmare.
- Business: The antitrust lawsuit from Elon Musk's X has already made an impact.
But first, I thought this was supposed to be fun.
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The big story
We were promised big returns
For venture capitalists, when the going gets tough, the tough get going…toward the exits.
Some VC workers are reconsidering their future as the industry goes through a rough patch, writes Business Insider's Sri Muppidi.
It's been a rough two years for VCs. Fundraising dried up. Firms downsized. Valuations have stagnated or, God forbid, gone down. That's left workers wondering: What the hell happened?
Just a few years ago, VCs were the toast of the town. A Patagonia vest and a pair of Allbirds might as well have been Superman's cape when it came to investing. The ink was barely dry on a deal before startups were raising another round, doubling their VCs' investment (on paper) along the way.
Even Wall Street got jealous of the eye-popping returns — again, on paper — that VCs were getting on. The hedge fund Tiger Global tried bullying its way into the space.
And then it all came crashing down.
VCs are on pace to raise $200 billion this year, which is about half of what they did in 2021. AI is the only bright spot in the startup community, making it incredibly crowded.
Meanwhile, exit opportunities — a chance for VCs to cash out — are few and far between. Eye-popping IPOs are a thing of the past, and acquisitions are a lot harder with high interest or at a much lower valuation than they once were.
To be sure, some VC complaints feel a bit overblown.
One Bay Area partner told Sri junior investors need to meet dozens of companies a week. Another lamented about constantly cold emailing founders.
While I imagine that's not necessarily fun, it does seem like a standard requirement for someone trying to find young companies to invest in. Soon-to-be unicorns aren't going to fall into your lap, even if it might have seemed that way before.
But the rub for many junior employees, sources told Sri, is that the work isn't leading to a pay off in the form of an investment. There are too many VCs vying for too few startups worth backing.
That's led to what feels like a lot of busy work and a lack of upward mobility, as funds aren't keen to promote when new deals aren't coming in.
Even if the industry faces an exodus of disillusioned junior employees, they'll likely still be a fresh crop eager to step up into the open spots that still remain.
Back when VC was booming in 2021, investment banks' juniors were complaining about long hours. A few years later, Goldman Sachs, one of the banks at the center of drama, saw a record number of applicants for its internship.
3 things in markets
- Forget the polls. The stock market can predict the election. Since 1928, the S&P 500 has had an 83% accuracy rate in predicting election outcomes. Market performance in the three months before the election is the key indicator to watch, with positive returns benefiting the incumbent party.
- Jamie Dimon sounds off. The JPMorgan CEO isn't buying the Fed's goal of getting inflation down to 2%. Also, according to Dimon, we're overreacting too much to the daily fluctuations of the market. (Sorry, Jamie, but it's my job.)
- Palantir + Microsoft = $$$. Wall Street was loving a partnership between the companies to offer AI and analytics to US government agencies. Palantir's stock finished the day up more than 11%.
3 things in tech
- Instagram wanted to get younger, so it looked to a rival for some help. Meta's Instagram ran ads on Google's YouTube to try and draw more teen users to the app. The result is an arrangement that helps one company by boosting its competitor.
- Dell is cutting jobs as it pivots to AI, but work will be easier for those who remain, according to an exec. The company is putting AI in four core areas, including software coding. An exec said AI will make jobs easier and more fulfilling, and some employees said they were excited about the implementation. Others doubted how useful it would actually be.
- Are you in Charging Cord Hell? Don't worry — you're not alone. Apple's ongoing switch from Lightning to USB-C charging cords has wreaked havoc on cord owners everywhere. Despite having tons of different cords, it can feel like you never have the one you need.
3 things in business
- Elon Musk draws first blood in his war with advertisers. The advertising trade group The World Federation of Advertisers is "discontinuing" activities for its Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative in the wake of an antitrust lawsuit filed by Musk's X. The billionaire's fight with the ad group is just one of several wars he's waging — he's also battling Grimes, Sam Altman, and the UK Prime Minister.
- Google quietly scales back AI search results. AI Overviews made a splash when it debuted this spring due to its tendency to generate odd or incorrect answers ("Eat glue!"). A new study found that a shrinking proportion of searches are generating AI Overviews, and the ones that do appear are much briefer.
- These VCs — and their wallets — are unburdened by the context. Tech investors raised over $135,000 in a Zoom fundraising party for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. They hyped up the VP and made plenty of jabs at Andreessen Horowitz's Trump boosters.
In other news
- CrossFit Games suspended after competitor drowns during the swimming contest, CEO confirms.
- Paramount's TV networks are collapsing in a $6 billion hole.
- Sequoia invests in Reflection AI, a startup founded by Google DeepMind alum, at $100 million valuation, sources say.
- Apple's AI features could cost you more than you think.
- Ukrainian troops were seen pushing 6 miles into Russian territory, and the Kremlin can't decide if it's a 'large-scale provocation' or 'under control'.
- 42 downturn-resistant stocks to help you sleep at night: Bank of America.
- Eventbrite is laying off 11% of its staff.
- Inside the Alaska Airlines blowout: staff describe loud bangs, 'whooshing air,' and other chaos.
- The case for HIIT: Why short, intense workouts are so good for your fitness and longevity.
- David Copperfield accused of trashing his $7 million NYC penthouse in new lawsuit.
- Middle East wealth funds are scrambling to rescue their big bets on the future.
- Banks are restricting employees from donating to the Harris-Walz campaign. Here's why.
- The AI industry has a major problem: the real-world data used to make smarter models is running out.
What's happening today
- Disney holds its D23 Expo in Anaheim, California.
- Breaking, or breakdancing, makes its Olympic debut with the b-girls gold medal battle.
- Tropical storm Debby is forecast to hit North Carolina and Virginia. It's forecast to dump 10 to 20 inches of rain on the region.
The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.