Emerging VC Talent: Edition 3, James Shecter

September 20, 2024

By Juliette Richert
The Artemis Fund believes technology can create prosperity for all. With offices in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Nevada, Artemis leads seed rounds for companies creating resilient families, individuals, and businesses across the US.
Welcome to my monthly interview series on emerging VC talent! We talk everything from gathering insights on emerging industries and tech, to venture dynamics, to career-best practices.
In the third edition, I interviewed James Shecter, Vice President at Fika Ventures. Fika Ventures is a Los Angeles based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 with over ~$350M in AUM. Fika invests across enterprise/AI, fintech, marketplaces, and health tech.
TL;DR: Key Takeaways
Hot Take: VC success isn’t just about financial acumen — it’s about mastering human dynamics. VCs act as much as mentors and therapists as investors.
Best Practices: Go beyond what’s asked of you — focus on marginal impact, strategic thinking, and strong documentation. Support portfolio companies by anticipating their needs and acting as a key resource.
Setting Up for Success: Immerse yourself in new industries by leveraging expert networks and direct outreach. Focus on building trust with founders and partners.
Future Outlook: The industry is facing significant existential challenges. While successful exits have remained steady, the rise in capital allocators has created more competition. Expect a paradigm shift as costs for MVP development and scaling decrease, reshaping how startups are funded and grown.

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Juliette: What was your first job?
James: My first paid job was selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the Jersey shore. I was 11 or 12 years old, so they were probably breaking some labor laws. They were paying me a couple bucks an hour tops, but I made the most out of the opportunity. The shop would make too many doughnuts, so I would get 2–3 boxes of doughnuts for free at the end of my shift. I would take those boxes and set up shop near my family home (well away from the Krispy Kreme location) and sell them to people who were finishing up their morning workouts. It was a pretty good markup since I was getting them for free.
Juliette: How do you spend your time outside of work? Can you speak to any professional applications or learnings?
James: I surf and I play guitar. I think both have a lot of parallels to VC investing. When you’re surfing, you’re watching other people catch waves, you’re looking out for where the waves are breaking, and you have to paddle to make your own waves. When it comes to our sourcing and thematic thinking, we’re looking for where the waves are going to be. When you’re riding a wave, there’s nothing better.
With music, there’s a ton of improvisation. One of my favorite bands is the Grateful Dead- 90% of the musical hours they’ve recorded aren’t scripted. They’re just jamming and riffing off each other. It’s similar to how we think about team dynamics: knowing who’s good at what, knowing who can set up the platform for a solo.
Juliette: Tell me more about your career path.
James: My career path followed a fairly traditional route: investment banking, private equity, and then business school. I spent a year in investment banking and two years in middle-market PE in NYC, where I gained insight into being a principal investor with real skin in the game. Along the way, I dabbled in angel investing and got exposure to entrepreneurship. The people-facing aspect of PE really intrigued me. When I returned to Philly for business school, I explored different avenues — whether that meant early-stage investing, operating, or founding a company. I wasn’t sure at the time where my career would be headed from there.
Juliette: What are some of the big skill leaps you had after joining the team at Fika Ventures?
James: My growth has been both qualitative and quantitative. Early in my career, doing 100% of the job meant doing 100% of what was asked. As I’ve become more senior, I’ve learned that doing only what’s asked means you’re only doing 50% of the job. Quantitatively, I’ve developed strong financial modeling skills, building complex models during my time in later-stage investing. However, I think true alpha generation hinges on honing qualitative skills.
I prioritize thinking ahead, making the right connections, and streamlining processes — skills that require intuition, foresight, and adaptability. While early-stage diligence might seem simpler on the surface, the decisions we make require deep insight and the ability to connect abstract ideas, which isn’t easily measured. Success comes from not just completing tasks but owning them, finding creative solutions, and constantly looking for ways to add value. These are skills our academic system often overlooks, but are critical professionally.
Juliette: From a qualitative perspective, what do you prioritize when looking at deals?
James: When evaluating a team or founder, I see a spectrum of characteristics, each with an ideal aspect and an adverse aspect. For example, storytelling: ideally, it enhances the pitch, but adversely, it can lead to a forced narrative. Inquisitiveness is great for uncovering risks but can also lead to indecisiveness.
VCs function as therapists a lot of the time. Psychological understanding and infusing that in the day to day is one of the best parts of the job.
Note: You can check out James’ in depth article on this topic here.
Juliette: How do you learn about a new industry quickly?
James: New topics, new themes, new verticals, new markets, we’re mired in that in venture more than any other industry. I start by talking to people who are actively building in the space I’m trying to learn more about. We tap into our expert networks and do outreach via LinkedIn and email. It’s helpful to drink from the firehose by tapping into people who really know the industry. For instance, we’re currently exploring the field sales sector — door-to-door roles in solar installation, security systems, pest control, etc., which employ 2–3M workers in the U.S. dedicated to these markets. It’s an industry I would have thought was dying, but I’ve been talking to a lot of folks in the space who’ve gotten me up to speed. There’s huge untapped potential for GTM and HR solutions for these workers.
Juliette: Where do you see the VC/PE industry going?
James: I’m concerned about the state and structure of early-stage VC, as it faces some existential challenges. While the number of successful exits and IPOs has remained fairly constant over the last 10–15 years, the number of capital allocators has exploded. This benefits top-tier managers, and puts emerging managers at a disadvantage. Anyone who got into this thinking it would be a cakewalk is sorely mistaken. It’s a 24/7 job — really more like 25/8. To thrive, we need the IPO window to reopen, interest rates to lower, and regulatory shifts that favor entrepreneurship.
Costs for MVP development, beta testing, and scaling are likely to decrease over time, which may require a shift in how venture funds operate. I see a potential paradigm shift in the way we fund and run startups. I recently saw a company automating startup shutdowns — counter-cyclical innovations like this are always exciting and show how adaptable the ecosystem is becoming.
Juliette: What best practices/skills do you think helped you earn your recent promotion?
James: High NPS from the founders I work with was key. The partner I work closely with could vouch for my impact, like spinning up a data room to help a portco leading a Series A raise, and acting as outsourced BD/glorified SDR for another. Persistence paid off, along with the deals I sourced and supported. But my ability to back our portfolio companies is what really stood out. Documenting everything was crucial in showing the value I brought.
Juliette: What’s the first company you fell in love with?
James: I think all the way back to middle school. I was enamored with Abercrombie & Fitch. It was aspirational, it smelled good, and as the middle school version of myself, I was very susceptible to that. They’ve had a great comeback in the last five years, but It was in their peak uncool state that I loved them.
Juliette: Tell me about someone you look up to outside of the VC industry.
James: My dad. He’s 81 years old and still working as hard as I do. He’s an incredibly present and loving father and husband. He’s able to compartmentalize a very demanding work life. To me, he’s what success is.
Juliette: Biggest learning or piece of advice?
James: “If you’re doing 100% of your job, you’re only doing 50%.” That was said to me during my first year in PE, and I didn’t love it at the time, but it’s stuck with me.
I focus on actions made at the margins — thinking about the incremental impact you can have over time.
It’s a mindset that keeps me always looking for what more can be done, though it also makes it hard to know when to call it a day.
Know an emerging VC talent I should feature? Send me a note on Linkedin.
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