Venture Investment Associate / Manager

As part of our collaboration with The StepUp Ventures (TSUV) for pre-seed and seed deals, TSUV is looking for someone to own the entire deal cycle: sourcing founders, building the thesis, running diligence, pitching at IC, supporting portfolio companies as they scale, and driving exits.

The Investment Associate/Manager to join The StepUp Ventures for a full-time position based out of Bangalore. S/he will report directly to the CEO and Board, and own the full deal cycle: building/refining the investment thesis, sourcing exceptional founders, writing and pitching the memo at Investment Committee, helping the company scale and orchestrating exits.

JOB DESCRIPTION

• Develop/Refine sector thesis, market maps and competition analysis to direct where we hunt and identify new opportunities early
• Build a strong, proprietary deal pipeline of early-stage startups through founder circles, accelerators, demo days and ecosystem events; maintain the deal tracker accurately
• Run founder meetings and initial screening of deals; shortlist high-fit opportunities
• Carry out detailed diligence of shortlisted startups, covering business model, financials, cap table and references, and build/ present the Investment Memorandum to the IC
• Present and defend investment recommendations at IC and support deal closure
• Coordinate with counsel on term sheets, SHA/SSA and definitive agreements; support the compliance team with post-closing regulatory filings
• Be the founder’s first call post investment on metrics, GTM, hiring and follow-on raises; drive regular portfolio monitoring and reporting
• Own a sector or a part of the acceleration program and take up special projects
• Represent The StepUp Ventures at incubator / accelerator / demo day events and meetings; travel as required
• Leverage AI tools across sourcing, research, diligence and portfolio management to make investment processes faster and sharper

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• CFA Level 1 cleared (mandatory), MBA in Finance
• Overall relevant finance work experience of 3-5 years as an ex-founder / early startup team member, or in VC / accelerator investing, including hands-on exposure to budgeting, financial analysis and strategic planning
• Invested in 2-4 deals end to end, or been close enough to the full process to run it independently with minimal guidance
• Strong ability to read a deck and financial statements, form an independent view post stakeholder interaction and articulate it in a crisp, persuasive investment memo
• Ecosystem native with an existing founder, operator, incubators, acceleration and co-investor networks
• High agency and an AI-first way of working

What you get: IC exposure from day one, end-to-end ownership, and fixed pay plus variable pay and ESOPs.

COMPENSATION

• Combination of fixed salary and performance-linked variable pay/ESOP
• CTC: Market-competitive, based on relevant experience

ABOUT THE STEPUP VENTURES

The StepUp Ventures is a leading startup launchpad and India’s first Bharat-focused incubator, empowering early-stage entrepreneurs with mentorship, market access and funding opportunities. Through our acceleration programs and investment partnerships we deploy up to ₹1 Crore per startup, and we stay with founders well beyond the cheque. For details, please visit www.thestepupventures.com. We work closely with Mount Judi Ventures to build a seamless investment funnel, from early-stage to follow-on funding.

APPLICATION

If you are interested in applying for this job, send your CV with a one-page note on one early-stage startup you’d back today (why, and the biggest risk) to raja.singh@thestepupventures.com with the subject "Application for Venture Investment Manager" on or before 30-Nov-2026

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