????大約一年半前,，我從柏尚風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司（Bessemer Venture Partners）辭職加入了Pinterest,。自那以來(lái),，我遇到過(guò)、也接到過(guò)一些年輕風(fēng)投人或MBA們的電話,，詢(xún)問(wèn)我是從風(fēng)投轉(zhuǎn)型到營(yíng)運(yùn)的心得,。迄今為止，我遇到過(guò)的最常見(jiàn)的問(wèn)題大概就是“你從風(fēng)投行業(yè)學(xué)到了什么真正有用的東西,？”

????是的,，我們今天就來(lái)聊聊這個(gè)話題。

????1.我學(xué)會(huì)了提問(wèn),。任何人都可以提問(wèn),。但如何提問(wèn)，并藉此發(fā)現(xiàn)一家公司商業(yè)模式的真相或者一位工程師架構(gòu)的妥協(xié),，是需要一些訓(xùn)練的,。風(fēng)投資本家花大量的時(shí)間提問(wèn)，因此懂得如何問(wèn)正確的問(wèn)題,。我轉(zhuǎn)型至Pinterest時(shí),，這項(xiàng)技能對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)極其重要。

????2.我學(xué)會(huì)了識(shí)人,。我在柏尚做第一次績(jī)效評(píng)估時(shí),，識(shí)人是我的一個(gè)弱點(diǎn)。現(xiàn)在,，我可以說(shuō)這是我的強(qiáng)項(xiàng),。風(fēng)投資本家需要經(jīng)常與創(chuàng)業(yè)者會(huì)面，需要建立自己的識(shí)人模式,。處在商業(yè)或企業(yè)拓展職位時(shí),，這項(xiàng)技能特別有用。但正如提問(wèn)一樣,，這類(lèi)橫向技能不管走到哪里都能用得上,。

????3.我學(xué)會(huì)了學(xué)習(xí)。風(fēng)投行業(yè)的人經(jīng)常要硬著頭皮了解新的領(lǐng)域,。你評(píng)估的每一家公司都有獨(dú)特的生態(tài)系統(tǒng),，需要你去了解。類(lèi)似的，科技生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的趨勢(shì)變化這么快,，一旦停止適應(yīng)和學(xué)習(xí),，人很快就會(huì)變成老古董，連什么是Snapchat都不知道,。這種持續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)的動(dòng)力能幫助你適應(yīng)新的環(huán)境和挑戰(zhàn)。

????但這三點(diǎn)也存在另一面：

????1.在初創(chuàng)公司中,，你必須回答問(wèn)題,。我在Pinterest很早就了解到的一件事是，我的提問(wèn)能力遠(yuǎn)超回答能力,。和提問(wèn)一樣,，回答也是一門(mén)藝術(shù)。鍛煉這項(xiàng)技能很重要,。

????2.我不知道如何解讀一個(gè)組織,。風(fēng)投公司往往是規(guī)模較小的合伙企業(yè)。雖然在我離開(kāi)時(shí),，柏尚已經(jīng)有了大約45人,，但每次我在辦公室里時(shí)，辦公室里從沒(méi)超過(guò)10個(gè)人,。隨著Pinterest從我加入時(shí)的30多人發(fā)展到了如今的200多人,，我必須學(xué)會(huì)如何理清公司的結(jié)構(gòu)。來(lái)自大公司的人們?cè)谶@方面當(dāng)然比我強(qiáng)很多,。

????3.我沒(méi)有專(zhuān)長(zhǎng)的領(lǐng)域,。風(fēng)投資本家很少專(zhuān)長(zhǎng)某一領(lǐng)域。當(dāng)然 -- 我很了解電子商務(wù)生態(tài)系統(tǒng),，我見(jiàn)識(shí)過(guò)大量的消費(fèi)公司和廣告科技公司,，但這都不比不上在谷歌（Google）工作幾年。但凡事總有個(gè)開(kāi)始...

????祝你好運(yùn)?。ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????本文作者薩拉?塔沃在Pinterest從事業(yè)務(wù)和公司拓展職務(wù),，此前6年就職于柏尚風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司。

????It's been more than a year and a half since I left Bessemer Venture Partners to join Pinterest. Since then, I've taken quite a few meetings and phone calls from junior VCs or MBAs asking about my transition from VC to operating. By far, the most common question I get from this bunch is something along the lines of, "Did you learn anything actually useful in VC?"

????Yes.

????1. I learned how to ask the right questions. Anyone can ask questions. But learning how to ask the right questions -- to use questions as a mechanism to uncover the hidden truth in a company's business model, or the tradeoffs in an engineer's architecture, is something that comes with training. VCs spend a huge amount of their time asking questions, and thus learn the craft of asking the right ones. This skill has been enormously valuable to me as I transitioned to Pinterest.

????2. I learned how to read people. In my first performance review at Bessemer, people judgment was one of my weaknesses. I'd now say it's one of my strengths. As a VC, you're constantly meeting founders and building your pattern recognition for reading people. This skillset is particularly useful when you're in a business or corporate development role but, as with asking the right questions, it's one of those horizontal skills that will serve you anywhere.

????3. I learned how to learn. In VC, you're constantly ramping up in a new area. Each company you evaluate comes with its own ecosystem that needs to be understood. Similarly, trends in the tech ecosystem turn over so quickly that, if you ever stop adapting and learning, you'll quickly become a dinosaur and won't know a Snapchat when you meet one. That drive to constantly learn will help you adapt to new environments and challenges.

????There's a flipside to these three though:

????1. In startups, you've got to answer the questions. One thing I learned early on at Pinterest is that my muscle for asking questions was a lot stronger than my muscle for answering them. As with asking questions, there's an art to answering questions well. It's been good to exercise this skill.

????2. I didn't learn how to read an organization. VC firms tend to be smaller partnerships. Although Bessemer was about 45 people when I left, I was never in an office with more than 10 people. As Pinterest has grown from 30-odd people when I joined to more than 200, I've had to learn how to navigate a company. People who have come from larger companies definitely have a leg up in this regard.

????3. I'm not specialized. VCs rarely specialize. Sure -- I knew the e-commerce ecosystem cold, met with countless consumer companies, and quite a few adtech companies, but that doesn't compare to spending several years working at Google. But you've got to start somewhere ...

????Good luck!

????Sarah Tavel works in business and corporate development at Pinterest, after spending six years with Bessemer Venture Partners.