Why Forum Ventures: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Forum Ventures Overview

Forum Ventures is a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage B2B SaaS startups. Their investment focus is on B2B software companies that can achieve high growth.

They  provide funding, mentorship, and a community to help these young companies succeed. Forum Ventures takes a founder-centric approach, prioritizing the needs of the entrepreneurs they back.

Forum Ventures has guided 450 founders of software companies that sell to other businesses (SaaS) through the fundraising process. Their step-by-step approach has helped these founders secure funding from well-known investors like A16z, Bessemer, and Backstage Capital.

Karen Page, Sean Glass, Allen Gannett, and Collin Gutman founded Forum Ventures in 2014.

Forum Ventures AUM

There is no publicly available information on Forum Ventures’ assets under management as of writing.

Forum Ventures Interview Process & Questions

The interview process at venture capital firms can vary, but here’s a general idea for what to expect at Forum Ventures:

• Prepare for 4-6 rounds of interviews.
• Early rounds might involve HR or junior team members, with senior investors taking over at later stages.
• The entire process can take several weeks, unless it’s “on-cycle” or “on-campus” recruiting

Expect a mix of questions assessing your fit with the firm (fit), your past experiences (behavioral), and your knowledge of the investment industry (technical/investment).

If you’re looking for excellent resources for your interview preparation, consider checking out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Why Forum Ventures

“Why do you want to join this firm?” is one of the most frequent and crucial interview questions.

If you’ve done some networking, this is an excellent opportunity to mention anyone you’ve met at the firm and the positive impression they made on you. Additionally, listening to interviews with the firm’s founders or investors can provide valuable insights.

For example, here’s an interview with Michael Cardamone, CEO at Forum Ventures:

More Interviews

• Discussion with Bocar Dia of Forum Ventures
• SaaStock interview with Michael Cardamone, CEO at Forum Ventures

Forum Ventures Case Study

Interviewees typically encounter a case study during interviews, as firms use them to evaluate both technical skills and communication abilities.

At firms like Forum Ventures, case studies usually center on financial modeling and investment recommendations. For junior positions, a cold calling case study is also commonly included.

Need help preparing for case studies? Check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Forum Ventures Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, Senior Associates at Forum Ventures have (median) total pay of $128K per year, while there’s no recent data for analyst and associate hires.

Figures may vary depending on your level of experience, education, and other factors that the firm considers.

Senior Associate

Forum Ventures Careers, Jobs, & Internships

To explore open positions at Forum Ventures, visit our job board, which lists all available roles for them and similar firms.

Forum Ventures Portfolio & Investments

According to Crunchbase, Forum Ventures has made 414 investments across five funds. Some of their notable deals include OptiFab, Lilac, and Arkra.

Notable Transaction: Allen Control Systems

Allen Control Systems (ACS), a defense technology company, is revolutionizing drone warfare and battlefield economics with its counter-drone robotic gun systems.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, ACS also has offices in Alexandria, Virginia.

The company was founded by CEO Steven Simoni, CTO Luke Allen, and COO Mike Wior. Simoni and Allen, both former U.S. Navy nuclear engineers, met during their service.

On April 18, 2024, ACS, based in Austin, TX, secured $12 million in Seed funding to expand its operations and development efforts.

The funding round was led by Craft Ventures, with participation from Forum Ventures and Rally Ventures.

Next Steps

If you want to apply as a professional investor at Forum Ventures, I would recommend checking out my Growth Equity Interview Guide first.

This self-paced online course will help you increase your chances of securing your target role as it tackles the commonly asked topics and concepts during interviews.

See what’s inside the course and start learning today!