Chicago Ventures leads investments in early-stage software startups.
We believe enduring companies can be built anywhere, by anyone. We serve as active, operationally-involved partners during a company’s earliest days.
(You can read what portfolio company founders have to say about us here.)
We are hiring an Investor to help us fulfill our mission of serving as the leading partner to founders building companies in non-coastal markets. This role will span a number of functional areas within the firm, including deal sourcing, portfolio support, and fund operations. We are looking for a self-directed individual who can both adapt and bring clarity to unstructured environments.
We’ve invested in 100+ tech companies across healthcare, financial services, insurance, supply chain/logistics, manufacturing, education and more. Our portfolio includes high-growth companies including Sunbit, project44, SpotHero, G2, Aeropay, and many others.
Our team is made up of former startup founders and operators, and we function much like the companies in which we invest. We are self-directed, hard working, resourceful, ego-less and personally invested in what we do.
We lean on our operating backgrounds to take a hands-on, partnership-based approach to working with our portfolio companies, providing operational support in the form of business development, talent acquisition, follow-on investment partners, peer mentorship and industry expertise.
The reality of venture is that most functional responsibilities are shared. We all source new investment opportunities. We all help our founders build great companies. We all update the CRM.
How this team member allocates their time across the core functional areas of the business (described below) will differ over time. Our expectation is that this person will move seamlessly across fund functions as they familiarize themselves with our operating model.
This Investor will report directly to a Partner but will work closely with all members of the Team. The title will be Associate or Senior Associate, depending on the candidate’s level of experience.
Venture capital is an apprenticeship business without an ideal prerequisite. We don’t expect candidates to have fully-formed skillsets perfectly suited for their role. Rather, we are looking for competencies that we believe correlate with success in these roles.
A few qualifications that we will look for include a demonstrated interest and respect for entrepreneurship, exceptional analytical, communication (written and verbal) and project management skills, high aptitude for building strong relationships and working autonomously, a team-first mentality, and an inherent sense of accountability.
To that end, we’ll be prioritizing candidates who can exhibit skillful relationship building. This doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll prioritize the extroverts; it means that a successful candidate will showcase a gregariousness and ability to meet founders, build respect, and foster community and relationships.
Candidates should be Chicago-based or willing to relocate. Candidates are expected to have 3+ years of professional experience.
Complete the short form here. We look forward to hearing from you.
Chicago Ventures prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, ability status, family or parental status, and age.
