The Next Level Fund (NLF or the Fund) at Morgan Stanley (the Firm) seeks to position the Firm as a leader in generating long-term capital appreciation through privately negotiated venture capital investments in early-stage companies with female or diverse members of the founding team.
The team achieves this objective by delivering the Firm’s resources to portfolio companies and by building our external credibility as a financial services firm that is invested in driving positive commercial outcomes for female and diverse founders.
The Fund makes investments in early-stage technology-enabled companies in the technology, consumer/retail, financial technology, healthcare and media/entertainment industries primarily located in the United States, and Canada, with annual recurring revenue of at least $1MM and a valuation of at least $10MM.
The Vice President or Executive Director will be an integral member of the senior investment team for the Next Level Fund, working with the partners to build and manage a portfolio of investments and to develop the investing skill set of highly motivated junior investment professionals. Responsibilities include:
-Investment selection, due diligence, negotiation, closing, ongoing governance, and potential exit of the portfolio companies
-Evaluation of company financial forecasts and detailed valuation analyses as prepared by junior team members to better inform investment decisioning
-Lead presentations to the Investment Committee, Limited Partners Advisory Committee and other fund constituents in support of the existing portfolio companies and new investors
-Manage industry / sector / company analyses developed by junior team members to ensure a growing pipeline of investment opportunities and research areas
-Manage the day-to-day activities and interaction with portfolio companies, including:
-Building and maintaining relationships with founders, supporting various management, strategy and funding matters, as necessary and relevant
-Collaboration with other MS constituents and relevant groups from a mentor/assistance/introduction and potential vendor analysis perspective
-Establish and monitor KPIs, overseeing valuation analysis and company forecasting as a Board Director or Board Observer
-Build and maintain relationships with relevant entrepreneurial ecosystem members including Venture Capital firms, Angel Groups, Accelerators and Corporate Partners
-Collaborate across business units in the sourcing of potential investment opportunities
-Engage and provide support as necessary to the other initiatives on the team
The ideal candidate will have significant experience with the early-stage venture capital investment process and be capable of leading and managing multidimensional investment projects. Required skills include
-Entrepreneurial spirit
-Exceptional analytical skills with a demonstrated knowledge of corporate finance, investment principles, financial products and securities
-Strong financial modeling skills
-Ability to guide junior resources in conducting the appropriate analyses
-Strong time management and organizational skills, with the ability to handle a significant workload and work well under pressure to deliver high quality outputs for internal and external clients with a range of differing priorities
-Excellent writing, communication and presentation delivery skills
-Extensive experience managing projects with minimal supervision, in addition to sound judgment and the ability to operate independently, while developing more junior resources to drive efficiency and scale for the team
-Proactive self-starter and creative problem solver with a passion for further developing the multicultural ecosystem across traditional and impact investing in the venture capital space
-Commitment to delivering the highest quality work product with strong attention to detail and the ability to execute
-Ability to effectively prioritize and handle multiple tasks
-An understanding and passion for analyzing a business from an investor’s perspective
-10-12 years of relevant experience in venture capital, growth / private equity, investment banking, corporate finance, strategic investments; prior investing experience preferred
