After joining venture capital firm Main Sequence six months ago, I can honestly say that it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.

So for those of you who are considering making a change, in particular those who wish to come join the Australian venture community, here are five reasons why you should press that apply button this minute:

# Get a seat at the table creating the future

Want to create a fairer and more thriving startup ecosystem?

Want to create the giant companies of tomorrow while solving big impactful problems?

Being part of an investment team affords you the opportunity to find and back impactful startups you believe will make a difference to create a brighter future for everyone.

# Real relationships

Deeptech, like every industry (whether they say it or not), is actually all about people.

Getting to know a wide range of folk from around the world from all different backgrounds (investors, founders, scalers or advisors) and building trusting relationships is key. I’m not talking about going to a conference and collecting 300 business cards (who even has them anymore?), I’m talking about building thoughtful quality relationships over time. This is partnership building suited to almost everyone, not just extroverts.

# Be heard

Discussions are always more engaging and rewarding when folks can challenge each other’s thinking in a respectful way. Sharpen your skills on how to share your conviction with others. Be delighted by the experience of a meritocracy, where everyone has to defend their belief in their founders, and everyone in the team (including you, new associate) make the end result better.

# The ultimate T

Being a deeptech investor allows you to hone the ultimate ‘T’ shaped generalist skills , where the vertical bar on the letter T represents the depth of your skills and expertise in a single field that you bring, coupled with the horizontal as your breadth or ability to collaborate across disciplines and learn investing skills, operational scaling, and thesis (challenge) domain areas. Learn from some of the best in the business who have founded, scaled or invested in billion dollar companies.

# Be Inspired

The humbling experience of being able to make your life’s work, about helping others succeed at their life’s work.

There are lots of reasons why you might look to change jobs or careers. I hope these five have given you something to think about in terms of why venture could be for you.

Ready to hit apply?

If you’d like to apply to join Main Sequence, we are growing our team and have 2 x associate roles open.

If you want to hear more about venture life and happen to be in Adelaide this week, catch me at Aurora & _Southstart conferences.

Still want to learn more? Here are some short reads about venture life:

• Sneak peak on associate life with Stella Xu’s first month account
• Henrik Sanchez’s lessons from 2.5 years as an associate
• Discussions on how to break into venture such as Afterwork’s excellent interview with a bunch of rising stars about their journey
• Gabs Munzer’s 2021 open letter to applicants which gives a look into the firm culture and what to expect from the interview process.

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