The VC Brief
The VC Brief is your weekly 5-minute breakdown of startup trends, funding rounds, and market moves — explained in plain English. No jargon, just what matters.
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For those who don't know me, my name is Victor Vasquez. I am an 18-year-old college student attending the University of South Florida, starting in January 2026, with a major in Finance. I recently graduated from FAU High School in May 2025.
For about a year now, I've had a strong interest in pursuing a career in venture capital. Coming to that decision wasn't so fast, though. Here's a brief (pun intended) rundown on how I came about that decision:
Since my 5th-grade year, I had wanted to become an aerospace engineer after watching SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets land safely back on Earth. Watching such a feat that was deemed impossible just 25 years before excited me. Now, to be fair, as a 5th-grader, I was mostly thinking just about how cool it was, and nothing much else, other than that I wanted to build rockets as an adult.
Starting middle school, I joined the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program, as well as the school's FLL Robotics team. While the activities I participated in felt miniature and "kiddy-like", I knew I was building important fundamental skills: problem identification and solving, teamwork, and planning.
Getting closer to high school, I was admitted to FAU High, a program run by Florida Atlantic University that allows its students to participate in full-time dual enrollment starting in 10th grade. Other than the fact that we were given the option to graduate high school with a bachelor's degree and without paying thousands of dollars for it, attending this school was an absolute blessing. As high school students, we were allowed to sit alongside undergraduate (and sometimes even graduate) students in classes, conduct full-blown research and publish papers, create our own class schedule like any other college student, AND, my personal favorite, we could get food whenever and wherever we wanted.
By 11th grade, I'd taken several engineering courses and even conducted research. I was also part of an FRC Robotics team where we got real hands-on experience building massive robots that compete against each other. After all this experience I was getting, I realized that the thought of being an engineer excited me, but actually doing it didn't sit right with me.
I ended up going down a spiral, constantly asking myself questions like, "What am I doing with my life? Am I going down the right path? Will I ever be happy with what I do? Will I ever be successful in my life?". Thankfully, after a lot of thinking and talking with the people closest to me, I realized what mainly made me so excited for engineering wasn't just the thought of putting together a piece of impressive machinery; it was the thought of bringing ideas to life. Just like Elon's rockets, every invention and piece of technology started with an idea and a bet. A bet that the idea is worth sacrificing effort, time, and money.
It was then that I learned about venture capital, money that investors provide to new or growing businesses that they believe have strong potential. When I began to dive deeper, I became more and more interested in what a venture capitalist does. Not only providing monetary aid, but also marketing, connections, and guidance. Most importantly, they help support and bring ideas to life. Exactly what I am passionate about.
And now I'm here, hungry, driven, and ready to do what it takes to grow into this career. That said, I know I still have so much to learn. Because of that, I decided to start a weekly newsletter where I can guide other young (and of course old) entrepreneurs to learn more about being a VC and what is happening currently in the industry. All in broken-down, simple terms, no fluff.
It wasn't long ago that I was in a position where I had no idea what I was doing. Heck, sometimes I still feel that way, but at least now I have a guide for where to take my next steps. But that wouldn't be true if it weren't for the people I had to guide and support me throughout my life so far, and I hope I get to be a guide and support for those who are in the same stage as I am through this informative newsletter. So join me in learning about venture capital, what it takes to become a venture capitalist, and cover the latest news in the industry!