Chief Investment Officer

About VCMint VCMint is a founder-led fund backing venture-scale startups with private capital — fueling bold ideas and resilient founders at the earliest stages. We typically write $100k–$200k cheques at seed/early stages and selectively participate in growth to pre‑IPO opportunities. We are sector‑curious and founder‑led: we back teams building durable value and step in with practical help via our functional and domain advisor network. Rooted in Hyderabad with a national outlook, VCMint moves with speed, empathy, and conviction. Role Overview The CIO is VCMint’s investing engine—owning the funnel from sourcing → evaluation → diligence → execution → portfolio support. You’ll craft theses, build a high‑quality deal pipeline, run rigorous sectoral and company‑specific evaluations, orchestrate LDD/FDD with external partners, and activate our advisor bench to help portfolio founders win. You’ll work day‑to‑day with Aditya and Neelima, keeping our cadence fast, founder‑friendly, and operationally sharp. What You’ll Do 1) Sourcing & Thesis - Build and maintain a quality pipeline across seed/early and later‑stage (select growth/pre‑IPO) deals. - Develop and refresh thematic theses (fintech, SaaS, consumer internet, logistics, AI‑enabled ops, etc.). - Leverage your network (founders, angels, bankers, accelerators, alumni groups, operators) to find non‑obvious opportunities. - - Represent VCMint at ecosystem events; host small‑format founder circles in Hyderabad and beyond. 2) Evaluation & IC Prep - Run fast screens (team/market/traction/unit economics) and deep dives (market sizing, competition, moat, risks). - Build and audit financial models; scenario/cap table simulations; exit pathways. - Draft crisp Investment Memos with clear theses, risks, mitigants, and decision checkpoints. - Prepare materials for an efficient Investment Committee cadence. 3) Diligence Leadership (LDD/FDD/Tech/Commercial) - Define diligence scope; select/manage external partners for Legal Due Diligence (LDD) and Financial Due Diligence (FDD); commission tech/commercial work as needed. - Coordinate data‑room requests, red‑flag logs, and management Q&A. - Synthesize findings into go/no‑go recommendations with practical remedies and terms. 4) Transaction Execution - Support term sheet design, valuation rationale, rights, and protections aligned to founder‑friendly principles. - Coordinate with counsel on definitive docs; ensure clean close checklists and post‑close obligations. - Maintain accurate closing files; hand off smoothly to finance/ops for compliance. 5) Portfolio Support & Follow‑ons - Onboard each company into VCMint’s advisor network; drive targeted, time‑boxed help (hiring, GTM, ops, partnerships, governance). - Track portfolio health (cadenced updates, KPI dashboards, cash runway). - Prepare follow‑on cases; manage co‑investor communications. - Where relevant, take board/observer seats with a coach‑not‑cop ethos. 6) Finance, Reporting & Ops - Partner with finance on allocations, wires, compliance, and record‑keeping. - Keep pipeline CRM tidy; report on funnel metrics, cadence SLAs, and learning loops. - Build internal playbooks and a searchable knowledge base (theses, comps, benchmarks, term templates). Founder‑Friendly Communication Standard - Empathy first: default to curiosity and respect in every founder interaction. - Speed with clarity: first response within 48–72 hours; crisp feedback even when passing. - No black box: explain how we decide, what we need next, and timelines. - Value on every touch: intro, resource, or concrete suggestion—even when it’s a “no.” What Success Looks Like - Sourcing: Curate 400–600 quality opportunities/year; maintain a living map of priority themes. - Conversion: Advance 15–25% to deep dive; recommend 12-15 investments/year (mix of early and selective growth). - Diligence Quality: Every close accompanied by a clear red‑flag register and mitigants; zero avoidable surprises post‑close. - Portfolio NPS: Founder NPS ≥ 60; measurable advisor engagements per company per quarter. - Cadence: IC memos that enable decisions within 2–3 weeks from first call (deal‑dependent). Ideal Profile - Background: Ex‑founder/operator or investor with meaningful deal evaluation experience; comfort spanning seed to growth. - Networked: Credible access across founders, angels, bankers, and operators—especially within India (Hyderabad a plus). - Analytical: Strong grasp of unit economics, cohort/retention, marketplaces, SaaS metrics, working‑capital cycles, and path to profitability. - Diligence‑ready: Hands‑on with LDD/FDD scopes; ability to frame key questions and pressure‑test assumptions. - Execution: Structured writer (memos), fast modeler (Excel/Sheets), and organized operator (pipeline discipline). - Style: Hustle, bias to action, low‑ego; founder‑friendly communicator with high empathy. - Nice‑to‑have: Board/observer experience; prior term‑sheet negotiations; sector depth in fintech/SaaS/AI/consumer. Compensation & Setup - Competitive base + performance bonus tied to sourcing quality, diligence excellence, and portfolio outcomes. - Potential carry % across the portfolio - Open to entrepreneurial structures (e.G., transition from an operating role, flexible arrangement while building your next thing). - Tools/enablement budget for research, CRM, expert calls, and travel. Key Relationships - Internal: Founders (Aditya & Neelima), Finance/Compliance, Portfolio Success/Advisor Ops. - External: Founders, co‑investors, bankers, accelerators, legal/accounting diligence partners, expert networks.