Why IVP: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

IVP Overview

IVP (Institutional Venture Partners) is a venture capital firm which focuses on growth equity investments and later-stage companies. Founded in 1980, IVP is one of the oldest VC firms.

The firm primarily invests in the media, software, insurance, cloud, industrials, manufacturing, cybersecurity, enterprise, consumer, and SaaS sectors. IVP specializes in industry rollups, venture growth investments, founder liquidity transactions, and select public market investments. The firm only makes a few (~12 to 15) relatively large fundings per year.

IVP is located in Menlo Park, California and has regional offices in San Francisco.

Reid W. Dennis is the founder of IVP. He began his investing journey while being employed as Analyst at the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company in 1952. During that time, he formed an informal network with carefully selected investors which later on was called angel investors.

In 1974, Dennis created Institutional Ventures Associates (IVA) and secured funding by enlisting six institutions including American Express. Using his personal wealth, Dennis founded the IVP afterwards.

IVP AUM

According to the most recent public record, IVP has $7 billion of assets under management.

IVP Interview Process & Questions

The interview process can have changes for each candidate as the firms see fit. But if you interview at IVP (or similar firms), you can generally expect the following:

• There will be 4 to 6 rounds of interviews
• Junior investment professionals or the HR team will supervise the initial rounds, while the more senior staff take care of the later rounds
• The entire process could extend for multiple weeks (unless it is “on-cycle” or “on-campus” recruiting)

Interviews at IVP will most likely be composed of behavioral questions, fit questions, and technical / investing questions.

For in-depth interview preparation resources, feel free to check Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Why IVP

One of the most common and crucial questions that interviewees encounter is the “Why this firm?” question.

If you’ve made connections during your networking efforts prior to the interview, make sure to mention whoever you’ve met and how they left a really positive impression on you.

Also, it’s advisable to familiarize yourself with the firm to provide relevant answers. For this, I suggest you listen to interviews with its founders, investors, and high-level personnel.

To start, here’s an interview with Reid Dennis, Founder of IVP:

More interview

• Jules Maltz, General Partner at Institutional Venture Partners, talks about entrepreneurship through the lens of venture capital

IVP Case Study

Case studies almost always show up during interviews because it’s one of the tools that firms use to assess their candidate’s level of technical knowledge and communication skills.

Most case studies at IVP revolve around investment recommendations and financial modeling. But for junior roles, a cold calling case study may be required as well.

Better prepare for case studies with the help of Growth Equity Interview Guide.

IVP Salary & Compensation

As per Glassdoor’s record, you can earn an estimated total pay of $137,203 per year if you’re an analyst at IVP. If you’re an associate, you can make around $147,837 per year. Though, you have to keep in mind that these figures may vary depending on your level of experience, qualifications, and education.

Analyst

Associate

IVP Careers, Jobs, & Internships

To apply at IVP, head over to our job board where we feature open roles for IVP and other similar firms.

IVP Portfolio & Investments

Since its founding, IVP has made 370+ investments and manages seven funds according to Crunchbase. Some of their notable deals include Cortex, DeepL, and Jasper.

Notable Transaction: Volt

Volt is creating the infrastructure needed for global instant payments. Today, Volt’s open payments gateway enables PSPs and merchants to secure process transactions between accounts held at over 5,000 banks in the EUI, UK, and Brazil.

On June 21, 2023, Vold announced that it had received $60 million Series B funding led by IVP.

Currently available across the EU, UK and Brazil, Volt plans to bring its payment solutions to the Australia and US market.

Vold aims to use the funding to expand their network of acceptance and reach and improve their product suite while creating a stronger product and engineering teams.

Next Steps

If you’re looking to join the IVPs team, make sure you’re well-prepared to stand out from dozens of highly qualified candidates. For this, I highly recommend you check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

This self-paced online course will help you impress your interviewers during the hiring process and increase your chances of getting picked for the position you’re applying for.

Get the course and start learning all that you need to ace your interviews!