Keyframe is growing its investment team! Since Jan 2020 - our portfolio has gone from 0 companies to >20. And we're looking to double that. And then double it again! But we can't do it alone so we're growing our team with a number of investing roles - starting with at least one Associate. Read more below.
Apply here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaminbirnbaum_energytransition-hiring-activity-6899386676175876096--HQb
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to ben@keyframecapital.com
The opportunity...
Keyframe is an investment firm that focuses on solving capital markets challenges to unlock growth and propel innovation.
We are currently expanding the team up to invest out of a new ~$500m fund, focused primarily on energy transition and related themes. In your role as an Associate, you will work on the team investing this fund, as well as help manage Keyframe’s existing roughly ~$1B of existing positions.
We dive deep into industry segments to identify and invest in future winners regardless of stage - and then leverage our team’s deep experience in capital markets, special situations, complex private financings, and corporate partnerships to structure investments in whatever way creates the most value for the company and situation. Our private investments range from standard venture capital and private equity, to bespoke credit structures, and everything in between. In each industry where we focus, we cover everything from early stage private through late stage public, and keep an open mind about what might be an investment opportunity. We leverage the infrastructure of a larger investment firm so that we can execute on more complex structures and in public markets with an institutional backbone.
With a target investment size of $10-30MM, we provide a unique match of the team and infrastructure of a multi-billion-dollar asset manager, with the entrepreneurial flexibility of a smaller firm.
Some additional facts:
We launched our first fund in Jan 2020, and hope we’re at the beginning of building something big!
We’re currently an investment team of six.
We leverage a 17 person infrastructure team (trading, offices, IT, accounting, etc.) of a larger firm
We currently have 20 companies in our private portfolio. Check out our blog for a sampling of investment analyses and press releases.
We’re quite often board directors of portfolio companies. You’ll have substantive opportunities to work with the management teams that you cover.
What you’ll do...
33% of your time: thesis and market development
You’ll be regularly seeking out and consuming information about the markets where Keyframe focuses, or could be focused, to build out unique and proprietary points of view on why an industry segment is interesting to invest in
Market and landscape: given the breadth of Keyframe’s mandate, we’re regularly trying to understand market segments from disruptor through incumbent, map their relationships to one another, and then understand how these relationships will change as technology, regulation, and other disruptions shift market behaviors. You will dig deep into a handful of markets at a time and continuously try to hone this understanding.
Out of the market maps you build, you’ll canvas the market to build relationships that will help the firm source investment opportunities (the entire firm is doing this, you’re not on your own here).
33% of your time: investment structuring and diligence
You will leverage Keyframe’s flexibility to fit into interesting market opportunities that align with firm theses. Whether these come from a company’s proposal or ours, you’ll make sure that they have sufficient definition and alignment to become actionable.
You will create and execute diligence plans. Activities will include expert reference calls, site visits, team interviews, financial model due diligence, and coordination of legal, accounting, HR or other professional services due diligence.
You will prepare investment process documentation (i.e. investment models) to be able to present your work to the Keyframe investment committee
33% of your time: portfolio engagement
You’ll engage with a selection of Keyframe portfolio companies to make sure that Keyframe understands and considers their strategy, hiring, business development, and future financing needs
You’ll attend company board meetings, industry conferences, and other company events
Internally, you’ll maintain Keyframe’s valuation models, and fulfill any administrative requirements related to position management
What you’ll learn...
The learning curve on your job will start high and stay high.
Everyday in every conversation you’ll learn something new. As you do so, you’ll develop all of the skills to command various types of investment processes and drive results from an investment portfolio.
You will develop quantitative and qualitative skills across investment diligence, modeling, structuring, negotiation, legal documentation, and portfolio operations. Keyframe has no functional work siloes, so your exposure to every step of the process will be high, and given that Keyframe invests in a wide variety of company and deal types, you’ll have exposure to these steps for making investments in venture equity, private equity, public equity, corporate debt (public and private), and project finance. The firm will increasingly rely on your work as a key input to reach investment conviction. You will learn what it feels like to be a principal in high stakes business decisions, and ultimately you will be - either as you’re promoted throughout Keyframe’s ranks - or prepared with these skills for wherever you go next in your career.
You will be very actively engaged with stakeholders outside of Keyframe, and will learn how to effectively engage with CEOs, CFOs, board members, and other investors. You will come out of those experiences having developed executive level communication skills and seasoned deal-making sensibilities. The more you can identify opportunities to add value to the markets where Keyframe is engaged, and communicate and operationalize them, the more likely we (and you!) are to be viewed as a preferred partner for the most unique and attractive investment opportunities. You’ll learn how to flex this muscle to win.
You will be supported, managed, and mentored by experienced investors, Board members, and executives. While it will undoubtedly be hard work, you will be rewarded with continuous learning, development, industry exposure, and promotion opportunities.
Why you’ll win...
An ability to hit the ground running. That usually looks like 2-5 years work experience in a related field (at a high growth startup, consulting, investment banking, or something technical related to energy transition).
You intuitively understand business equations. You don’t need more than a few pieces of information about a business model to envision its margin profile and operating leverage in your head.
You’re effective at quickly synthesizing information - whether it’s quantitative or qualitative.
You have endless curiosity. When you have a question, you’re just absolutely dying to ask it.
You sweat the details, simply because you know they matter. You don’t need someone to inspect your work.
You’re competitive. You’re accustomed to winning and just cannot stand losing. You like to set goals for yourself and you constantly exceed them.
You’re an active listener, and take remarkable notes.
You know what you know, and what you don’t. You’ll be clear about fact versus interpretation, and won’t feel pressure to pretend to know anything that you don’t. You’re comfortable identifying gaps in your knowledge and asking for help.
You take incredible pride in your ability to communicate. No matter the medium, you’re very confident in your ability to craft and deliver a message. You don’t require oversight to communicate professionally and respectfully.
You want work to be fun, and dynamic. Because you’re fun and dynamic. You care about culture. You want to work in a place that enables you to get the most out of your enterprising nature and have a blast while you’re doing it.
Additional information...
Competitive salary and target bonus. Opportunities to outperform target bonus will exist.
Comprehensive benefits, including: healthcare (medical, dental, vision), retirement, commuter, in-office gym, in-office meals, an endless supply of Girl Scout cookies, holiday parties, non-holiday parties, spontaneous fun, a quarterly firm swag refresh, and an invitation to the firm’s annual trip.
Expectation of travel up to 10% of the time to various investor and industry conferences, and occasional visits to Keyframe target or portfolio companies
Attractive PTO policy
For more information, feel free to reach out to ben@keyframecapital.com
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