PS#016: The Interview Series – Different Types of Case Studies

Almost every VC interview process will contain some form of a case study.

Unless, of course, you’ve taken control of the process yourself – for that strategy, check out my free course on How to Land a VC Internship.

But, back to the case studies.

VC’s use case studies to approximate how you’d perform on the job. They are looking to see your thought process, venture skills, industry knowledge, and communication style in action.

Today, I’m going to outline three different types of case studies you’ll see in your interview processes.

Let’s dive in.

Case Study #1: Build an investment thesis and present multiple investment opportunities.

This is a common case study structure, especially at the analyst and associate level where you’ll be spending most of your time sourcing and reviewing new opportunities.

VC firms are looking for individuals who have a process or playbook for breaking down a new space. Senior investors will often have an associate or analyst research a new area to see if it makes sense from an investment perspective.

This research will include outlining the competitive landscape, reviewing the potential market opportunity, understanding the customer base, etc. If you’d like to learn more about this and how to build an investment thesis, check out my 6-step guide.

Once you’ve built your thesis, you’ll pick the best investment opportunities that you’ve identified. If possible, try to avoid the more obvious companies. If you play it too safe, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to present a unique or differentiated opinion.

Remember, these investors do this for a living, so if you can provide them some new and interesting opportunities, that will go a long way.

Case Study #2: Present an investment opportunity.

The main difference between this case study and the previous one is the level of detail that you’ll need to provide in your presentation.

A lot of firms will let you propose your own investment opportunity as your case study. This a full-blown microcosm of the role. They will be grading across several different aspects…

• Thesis construction

• Sourcing capabilities

• Relationship building

• Due diligence approach

• Investment structuring

• Communication style

Every one of these factors are core skills for the eventual job. Demonstrating that you understand and can perform across these aspects will be critical.

I plan to spend more time talking about each of these skills in future issues of Preferred Shares. However, if you’re already in the thick of interview processes, I highly recommend checking out my two Sand Hill Prep courses.

Case Study #3: Decide whether or not to invest in a presented investment opportunity.

The last type of case study is where the firm presents a startup and asks for your approach to evaluating the investment opportunity.

In terms of depth and detail, this is similar to case study #2, but often goes a layer deeper.

Usually, the firm will be able to provide a significant amount of detail on the startup to see if you’re able to perform some of the standard diligence and analysis. They will often ask for you to value the company and propose a structure for the investment.

Of the three case studies, this one is the most focused on your technical abilities (i.e., performing due diligence and structuring an investment). In the other two case studies, you’ll usually need to make assumptions about the more detailed and confidential data on a startup. However, in this case study, the firm will provide that level of detailed information.

Similar to case study #2, I recommend checking out my two courses at Sand Hill Prep if you’re already deep in interview preparation mode.

At the end of the day, it’s about showing the right process, not the right answer.

Venture is a boom or bust industry. Most of our investments don’t work out. As a result, most of our theses, assumptions, and decisions are just flat out wrong.

These case studies are not about getting the “right answer.”

With most investments, we won’t know whether we were right or wrong about it for years, sometimes decades.

So, what are these case studies really about?

It’s all about showing the right process. If you can do that, you can do this job.