Demystifying the ‘Talent’ role on the Platform team at VC firms

I recently joined the Platform team at FirstMark Capital as the second Talent Lead (shoutout LBL for teaching me your ways). I’m in my third week here and realized if I’m still learning the nuances of my role as a Talent Lead here, I’m not sure how I can expect anyone I am reaching out to know what the heck it is I do either…

I figured as I embark on this new, exciting phase in my career that it probably makes sense for me to briefly explain my new role to those who might not be familiar with it.

For starters, let’s be clear about what VC Talent teams are not. They are not like the recruiters you are used to working with — biggest difference being that they’re not getting paid by a startup to find you. They are also not investors, but work closely with the investment team. Talent Leads at VCs are however, responsible for finding and introducing the best people to the startups they’ve invested in, so they are actually an extension of the portfolio companies. At its core, the Talent function allows FirstMark to provide not only financial capital to their founders, but human capital as well. Dedicated and talented employees are what makes a company successful. Therefore my job is to know great candidates (in a multitude of disciplines ranging from engineering to marketing to sales) and make meaningful introductions to our portfolio companies so that they have the right people on their teams to foster growth, ingenuity and a strong culture.

The Talent function falls within what’s often called, the Platform team. When FirstMark financially backs an early stage venture, we don’t just leave them hanging and wish them luck. In addition to the partner joining the Board of the company, we have an entire team that is dedicated to providing highly valuable resources to the founders in an effort to do whatever we can to help them succeed in their early years and beyond. In addition to Talent, some other aspects of our Platform include building communities of professionals who can bounce ideas off one another, running public and private speaker series, introducing our portfolio companies to potential customers, and more.

TL;DR: So when someone from a Talent/Platform team at a VC reaches out to you, it’s probably worthwhile to connect, even if you aren’t looking for a new opportunity at that very moment. Get on their radars so that when you are looking to make a move, they can present you with high-touch, relevant company introductions. Plus, they also might invite you to a community group or an event from time to time, so that’s cool too :)

If you have any questions, comments or just want to get in touch, please reach out to me at rachel@firstmarkcap.com