Investment Associate, Lakestar
Growth
Venture capital firm
Job no longer available
Venture capital firm
21-100 employees
Job no longer available
21-100 employees
Company mission
To support exceptional founders building transformative businesses in Europe and beyond.
Role
Who you are
- You have 3–4 years of experience in investment banking, venture capital, private equity, or a similar role, with a track record of evaluating and executing growth-stage investments (Series B+)
- You have led or significantly contributed to rebuilding business plans for Series B+ companies, demonstrating a deep understanding of financial modeling, unit economics, and market scalability
- You possess exceptional analytical skills and are able to challenge and validate key KPIs, and critical growth metrics, with confidence and accuracy
- You’ve gained experience as a board observer or have worked closely with executive teams, providing strategic insights and monitoring performance at a high level
- You bring strong financial modeling and presentation skills, enabling you to assess complex opportunities and clearly communicate your insights
- You are passionate about the UK and broader European tech ecosystems, staying well-informed about emerging trends, innovative companies, and sector dynamics
- You are a skilled communicator and relationship builder, able to adapt your messaging for diverse stakeholders and foster meaningful connections
- You thrive in high-pressure, dynamic environments, balancing resilience, curiosity, and a results-driven approach with the humility to walk away from deals that don’t align with Lakestar’s strategy
What the job involves
- This role demands a high degree of analytical rigour and strategic insight into the unique challenges and opportunities faced by growth-stage companies
- You will play a pivotal role in assessing financial performance, scalability, and market dynamics to support decision-making at this critical stage of company development
- Beyond deal execution, you will contribute to refining investment theses in high-growth sectors and drive Lakestar’s presence in the UK and beyond
- Conduct comprehensive market research and sector deep dives to identify high-potential Series B+ companies, analyzing industry trends, competitive dynamics, and market opportunities
- Build and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified leads through active sourcing, outbound efforts, and leveraging Lakestar’s network, data analysts, and market insights
- Evaluate inbound opportunities by assessing key business performance metrics, including scalability, unit economics, and growth potential, to identify alignment with Lakestar’s strategy
- Perform rigorous first-level due diligence, including financial modeling, growth metric analysis, and market penetration assessments, to determine investment viability
- Prepare investment materials such as valuation models, exit scenario analyses, and structured summaries to facilitate decision-making throughout the investment process
- Present and discuss opportunities during deal flow meetings, contributing strategic insights to help the team prioritize and execute on the most promising growth-stage investments
- Actively cultivate relationships with entrepreneurs, build the fund’s reputation as a collaborative advisor, and establish key relationships on behalf of the fund
- Represent Lakestar at conferences, being able to pitch Lakestar to different stakeholders, be it founders as well as other investors
- Support in organising events/dinners with key people from the ecosystem
- Hold some accountability for monitoring KPIs of portfolio companies with your Investment Partner
- Attend board meetings together with your Principal/Partner and support with board material preparations
- Actively promote portfolio companies and make intros to other VC funds or potential customers
- You will own and execute end-to-end projects which will not always be directly related to the daily business of investing and portfolio management, i.e. improve existing internal processes, introduce new software tools or ways of collaboration
Application process
- Applications are open until 15th February
- The first few weeks of February will be an application review period, from which a few cohorts of candidates will be called forward for interviews
- Interviews are typically held in 4 main blocks: a) short get to know chat b) deep dives c) onsite case study d) final partner interactions
Salary benchmarks
Our take
Focussing on seed, early and growth investing in the tech sector, European venture firm Lakestar has amassed a portfolio of successful early-stage recipients including Builder.ai, Blockchain, and Neko Health.
The firm is led by Klaus Hommels, who is known for his savvy early investments in the likes of Spotify, Facebook, and Zoom. The track record of this NATO innovation fund chairman adds plenty of credence to Lakestar’s reputation.
Interestingly, in 2023 the company invested in fintech company Swan, bucking the trend of dwindling fintech investments in that year. This investment, paired with the founder's wealth of experience, indicates that Lakestar strategises beyond the current business cycle, allowing it to make moves that can lead to long-lasting and successful companies.
More recently, the company closed its €228M Lakestar Continuation Fund I, reinforcing its commitment to backing standout portfolio companies. With support from major institutional investors like Lexington Partners, the deal balances liquidity for early backers with long-term upside. It's a bold move but one that positions Lakestar well to keep driving growth and innovation across Europe's tech landscape.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Leadership
Klaus Hommels
(Chair)One of Europe's leading business angels and venture capitalists. Started their career at Bertelsmann, before joining AOL Germany in 1995 as a board member. Was also a venture partner of Benchmark Capital Europe.
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