Meet Blume’s Latest Cohort Of Investment Analysts

We onboarded our new Analyst team over the last few weeks here at Blume. This is Blume’s fourth Analyst cohort, with our alums currently making us proud across the larger ecosystem.

Analysts play a special role at our company. The world of Venture Capital looks exciting from the outside, but often hides the long hours, deadlines and piles of research happening behind the scenes. There’s often no real playbook and we rely on the individual hustle, gumption and determination of our analysts to find their path in the VC world. They are our very own bloodhounds, in a sense, sniffing out for the next big win from the ecosystem, in addition to supporting our existing companies.

We had a record-breaking 500+ applications and invited 8 for final interviews, for 3 open roles. Our process may have seemed a bit extensive to the candidates, but being a small, tightly-knit team, we are very intentional about who joins and adds value to our work and culture.

Fun facts about our applicant pool:

• 10 applicants are the first in their family to pursue a higher education
• 12 Half-marathoners
• One high-stakes Poker Player
• One lover of post-impressionist Russian Literature
• One participant in the Bharat Biotech Vaccine trials
• National level cricket, swimming and athletics winners
• One certified percussionist from Trinity College, London
• Multiple high-altitude trekkers, meditation enthusiasts, musicians and power lifters!
• 52% of our applicant pool were women

As excited as we are to have found our analyst candidates, we recognise, appreciate and celebrate the diversity of applicants and the increasing desire for young professionals to choose Venture Capital at this point in their careers.

In their own words, our three new analysts share what they enjoyed about the process of applying for these roles, and what they learnt about Blume in the process. We tried hard to keep the focus on the candidate during the interview rounds and really showcase what the Blume culture was through each interaction they had. While credentials and past experience definitely matter, what we were looking for was intention, motivation and a desire to learn and grow – which are very hard to cull out from a one-page document.

Amal Vats

What were you expecting when you applied for this role?

The broad expectation was multiple case studies and a lot more interview rounds, as is the norm with a lot of other VCs. I always felt that it only made sense to have more rounds if the questions being asked or the conversations were different but did not find that to be the case when I heard about the processes from colleagues in the network. Blume stood differently from those processes. What surprised me was that each of the interviews was different and very interviewer-dependent. Each of them focused on very different parts of my personality and resume, which surprised me when I compared it to a couple of other processes. There were almost no conversations about the technicalities of my previous projects. Instead the questions were focused much more on my soft skills, along with indirect questions from my experiences which could contribute to my work in Blume in a healthy manner.

Swathi Dhamodaran

What was your reflection on the company as you progressed through the rounds?

Having heard a bit about analyst roles in the ecosystem I applied thinking that this would be a stint that had a very templated set of expectations and requirements. I did expect a big part of my job to be around sourcing and preliminary analysis. What I did not anticipate was how organic and tailored they wanted this to be for each analyst. Blume is a fund that you hear of even when you just dip your toes into the ecosystem. Having heard about them over the last 3 years, I did have some knowledge of the investing style, experimental nature of the fund, and the founding story. My core reflections around the fund were whether I would be able to find my groove in the startup ecosystem and find multiple points of leverage to make an impact in the future. As the rounds progressed in specificity, it was the fact that I was finding people whom I wanted to be around that made it apparent that I wanted to be here over the next set of years. Whether it was with different styles, personalities, outlooks, and background I was excited by the exposure I would be getting both inside and outside the fund. The part that is hardest to gauge about a VC fund as an analyst who is just beginning to navigate through an ecosystem is finding an intersection of fund style that you can relate to, a culture of apprenticeship, and at the same time the autonomy to develop your own style. The more I reflected over the different rounds, the more I felt like my sweet spot was with Blume.

Jatin Madhra

What surprised you during the interview process?

My expectations from the role were clear that it will include scouting, deal flow management, meeting new people, connecting with founders, creating industry reports, analyzing trends, and helping companies under our portfolio grow. I felt very comfortable and connected with all the people I spoke with in the interview process. The first point of contact from the last day of closure was full of great experiences. The primary thing that came across me in these interviews was that everyone in the team is super humble and grounded. For them, process and people matter equally. 

They join Blume at an exciting time when we are grappling with questions around new workplace norms and cultures, and seeing a dramatic shift in the relevance of Venture Capital towards fuelling the next generation of growth in India. We’re thrilled to have them on board and look forward to their contributions!