VC Associate Job Description

JOB SUMMARY

Role: Investment Professional (VC Associate)

Location: San Francisco, CA

Compensation: Competitive within the VC industry

Start Date: Summer 2025

JOB DESCRIPTION

This investment professional will focus on supporting the fund’s investment activities in the retail and financial services industries. She/he will work closely with and as an integral part of our small and collaborative team of investment professionals (which will total 5 with this addition).

Primary responsibilities will include:

  • Involvement in all aspects of due diligence on new investments (business analysis, industry thesis, sourcing investments, competitive landscape, business/pricing model, and financial modeling / deal structuring)
  • Building proprietary industry executive and start-up founder relationships
  • Reading/reviewing business plans and pitch decks
  • Working in a strategic capacity with Commerce Ventures’ existing portfolio companies as needed
  • Preparing market analyses and presentations to drive investment decisions and for engagement with the firm’s extensive network of corporate relationships
  • Investment professional will participate in and be asked to contribute to weekly internal meetings in which new investments and portfolio companies are discussed

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Candidates should have up to 3 years of total prior work experience including at a minimum either of:

  • +1 year of full-time work experience at a top-tier investment bank  
  • +1 year of full-time work experience in strategy, business development, partnerships or corporate development 
  • Any work experience that demonstrates the drive, skills and character required to be successful in a demanding, entrepreneurial and dynamic work environment.

Qualified candidates likely also meet the following criteria:

  • Self-starter with superior work ethic and uncompromising personal integrity
  • Highly analytical with an interest in sifting through, and identifying trends within, large volumes of data 
  • Basic understanding of financial modeling and accounting
  • Demonstrated ability to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment with limited supervision (including proactively seeking guidance when needed)
  • Passionate about personal development and career mentorship
  • Wants to be part of a highly collaborative team, where we all strive to win together
  • Excellent interpersonal and networking skills with an ability to develop and maintain effective business relationships
  • Undergraduate degree from a top-tier institution, and a demonstrated track record of both academic and professional success
  • Currently located or interested in relocating to San Francisco, with the expectation of working in person 4+ days per week as part of our focus on strong, in-office culture

Please note that while interest and experience in the retail and/or financial services industries – either directly as an employee or through transactions/consulting – is preferred, it is not mandatory.

ABOUT COMMERCE VENTURES

Commerce Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in technology companies innovating across RetailTech, FinTech, and InsurTech. More broadly, the fund is focused on the Commerce Continuum – Shop (Retail / Commerce), Spend (Payments / Credit), Save (Banking / Investing) and Secure (Insurance). Our team has 60 years of combined venture capital, corporate strategy, deal-making and startup experience in our focus areas. The CV investor base is composed of some of the most relevant / strategic institutions, financial investors and individuals across the financial services and commerce eco-systems.

Our five funds combined represent more than $400 million in committed capital across five funds from strategic investors across the commerce and financial services markets.  The firm is actively making new investments from its $160M 5th fund which it raised in 2024.

To date, the firm has invested in over 100 portfolio companies, including category leaders, such as Bill.com (B2B Payments – BILL), Marqeta (Issuing Payments – MQ), Forter (Fraud Prevention), MX (Digital Banking), Kin (Homeowners Insurance), Vestwell (401k infrastructure), Socure (Identity Verification – unicorn), Kevel (Retail Media Networks), Canary (Hotel Mgmt Software), Trove (reCommerce) and Narvar (E-commerce SaaS – unicorn).

If you are interested in this role – please send over a note & resume to [email protected].