“VC is about the allure of the unexpected“
As Partner at Beringea – a venture capital firm with roughly $800mn under management across its funds in the UK and the US – Maria Wagner co-manages the equity investment team in the UK. From helping to manage the UK funds and its ten-strong investing team, to networking, deal execution and sitting on seven boards – Maria’s job requires a veritable smorgasbord of skills and experience. Here Maria tells Level 20 what life is like in the VC fast lane.
Q. Do you have any specialisms?
Beringea is a generalist investor, and we like to keep it that way because technology is constantly and rapidly evolving, and we don’t want to be tied to a particular trend or sector. For example, software-as-a-service (SaaS) has been a very attractive sector for VCs in the last few years. But with the current recession, SaaS companies are growing more slowly, so our most recent investments have been in consumer-facing companies. The opportunities shift quite a bit, and we like to be agile.
Q. What piques your interest when doing a deal?
If an opportunity seems disruptive – the company is trying to change an industry or practice that’s old school – it always stands out. Ultimately, though, remarkable entrepreneurs are the key. I’m particularly interested in resilient founders who are self-aware about their strengths and weaknesses, because they tend to build a complementary team around them which helps them scale the business. Also, an ability to hire well at the early stages is a great indication that the founder can inspire others and transmit their vision, which helps in sales and marketing also.
Q. What gets you up in the morning?
The allure of the unexpected. On any given day, you could meet an amazing entrepreneur or one of your portfolio companies may have closed a great deal or you learn about a new subsector with exciting investment opportunities. And that’s what gets me excited every day – the endless opportunities and the constant learning in the ever-changing tech ecosystem.
Q. What’s the playing field like for women working in venture capital?
There’s more women at the senior level now than when I started in the industry ten years ago, although there are still only a few of us. The increasing pressure from Limited Partners to see more women in VC firms will hopefully make the change happen quicker. At the junior level, things have improved significantly, but there’s still a long way to go.
Q. ‘She can have it all’ – myth or reality for women in your industry?
In my opinion, everyone has 24 hours in the day, and they can decide how they want to spend those hours. In the VC world, there’s generally a lot of flexibility with how you spend your time or when to take meetings – unless it’s crunch time for a deal or a crisis.
A lot of people talk about “work-life balance” – I view it as more of a pendulum that swings between professional and personal time. So at most points in time, the pendulum is unbalanced and leans more towards one side or the other. If a portfolio company is going through a crisis or you’re in the middle of a deal negotiation, you’ll naturally spend more time at work. If a child is sick or going through exams, you’ll spend more time at home. But over time, there’s a rhythm that works. The “balance” may not exist in any particular day but it can over a month or a year.
Q. What do you find the biggest challenge working in VC?
New technology is constantly emerging, and there’s no end to the knowledge you can gain, the number of companies you can meet, or people you can network with. So it comes down to brutal prioritisation in terms of how to allocate your time. It comes down to prioritising when and where you spend your time and being stringent about this – dedicating yourself to what’s most important. Because ultimately it’s quality over quantity that’s key.
Q. Have you had any mentors or role models during your career?
When I first started out in private equity, there was a partner in my firm who was a great investor, had three children and was also running marathons. In my eyes, she had worked out how to combine family life with an investment career – although I don’t know how she managed it all behind the scenes. But she served as a role model to me as she showed me that it was possible to combine both in the industry.
Q. What advice would you give women following in your footsteps?
Personally, I think that working in venture capital is a great career path and I highly recommend it. I feel honoured to have this job and to be working with incredible people on daily basis. The nature of the work gives you flexibility to combine it with a family life if you wish to do so. But you need to have support at home (whether it’s a partner, a grandparent or a nanny) and understanding colleagues at work to make it all work. It’s not easy and it’s a constant juggle but it’s doable and in my view, it’s worth it.
