To find the top 3% of venture capital consultants, check out Toptal. In as little as 48 hours, you can start working with freelance venture capital experts who have decades of experience working with everyone, from small startups to tech companies to investment banks to Fortune 500 companies. Many professionals who have profiles on Toptal have secured billions in funding for their clients. This platform doesn't charge a fee until you find the right person, so there's no risk involved for your business.
Guide To Hiring a Great Venture Capital Consultant
Startup companies hire venture capitalists to secure the funds they need for growth. These consultants typically partner with entrepreneurs and technical founders, bringing the expertise and connections new businesses need for sustainable business development.
What Are Venture Capital Consultants?
Venture capital consultants can help your company with financial statement analysis, risk management analytics, and finding interested investors. These individuals have industry experience, financial modeling skills, and expansive networks in the venture capital sector and can connect you with people and organizations that want to fund startup companies with impact investing.
How To Hire Venture Capital Consultants
Companies typically hire venture capital consultants on a freelance basis. Usually, these professionals work for a startup during the funding phase, in preparation to seek venture capital as well as during pitch meetings and through negotiations and final contract approval. You can engage them by paying an hourly rate, offering project-based compensation, or determining a set salary for the consultation term in question.
Skills To Look for When Hiring a Venture Capital Consultant
The person you hire should have existing knowledge of your industry, as well as the drive to learn as much as possible about your specific business. A consultant with post-university experience from top universities like the University of Chicago, Michigan State University, or Columbia University will be able to help you with product planning, resource planning, product development, and even reach angel investors.
Your venture capital advisor should soon be able to deliver your elevator pitch as well as anyone on your leadership team and be enthused about and engaged with the prospect of selling your startup.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire Venture Capital Consultants?
You'll find an expansive range of hourly rates among freelance venture capital consultants. For example, you can hire industry-professional experts for anywhere from $50 to nearly $500 per hour based on contract negotiations. Most sources estimate an average hourly rate of around $150 to $200 for freelance fundraising consultants, depending on their experience level and the project's complexity.
You might also want to find freelance venture capital consultants who charge a day rate. According to Aly Sterling Philanthropy, expect to pay about $1,500 to $2,000 per day with this type of hiring structure. According to data from Payscale, if you decide to hire a salaried venture capital specialist, the average pay for this role is about $73,000 per year.
Avoid working with venture capital consultants who charge a percentage of the funds they raise for your company. Doing so represents an ethical violation under the terms of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Where To Hire Venture Capital Consultants for Your Project
This guide provides insights your growing startup company needs to confidently hire venture capital consultants to reach early-stage firms and management consulting firms.
Why Hire Venture Capital Consultants
Common reasons companies hire venture capital advisors include:
- General facilitation and strategic support for fundraising.
- Research on specific purposes in the venture capital sector, such as the feasibility of launching an initial public offering.
- Access to their expansive investor network, including wealth assessment data.
- Establishing new and sustainable sources of capital funding.
Within these four key areas, the top venture capital consultants can facilitate everything from the granular details of a campaign to the company's high-level strategic fundraising approach.
How To Find a Great Venture Capital Consultant
Toptal ranks at the top of this list of the best sites to hire venture capital consultants because of its selective process. The platform only accepts a few of the professionals who apply to serve as experts on the site.
Bain and Company is another great place to hire venture capital consultants, particularly for companies wanting a well-defined, experienced approach to startup fundraising.
Finally, Coleman RG fills out the top three because of the platform's flexibility, providing affordable solutions for brand-new businesses that need expert fundraising insight.
Things To Consider Before Hiring a Venture Capital Consultant
Defining your company's capital fundraising goals in advance will facilitate finding a consultant with the right skills and expertise. When you have a plan in place, consider these questions as you assess potential candidates:
- Have they successfully consulted on venture capital campaigns in your industry or a closely related sector?
- Do they display comprehensive knowledge of capital fundraising, including the necessary investor network?
- What type of relevant career experience do they have? For example, many top venture capital consultants pursue this path after retiring from long careers as financial executives.
- Do they have industry certifications from professional organizations, such as the Association of Fundraising Professionals and The Giving Institute?
- Can they articulate their startup fundraising philosophy? Does it fit with your company's mission, vision, culture, and values?
- Do they have experience with remote consulting in the venture capital space?
- How do they bill for services, and does the provided quote fit your budget?
- Can they connect you with other top professionals to join the fundraising team for discrete purposes, such as pitch deck development?
- Are they prepared to maintain the utmost confidentiality when it comes to your company's intellectual property?
- Finally, is your company ready to bring a venture capital consultant on board?
Business owners know that it can be challenging to find the right talent, so use our list of top sites to guide your search for your next hire.