Sarah Romanko sat down at a table to meet a founder at a conference for founders and investors in Austin, TX. The founder looked at her, looked around, and asked: “Where’s the VC?”
It wasn’t the first time she’d heard it.
Too young. Too female. No finance degree. She even had braces at the time, her second round due to jaw surgery in college. People at events would assume she was still a student.
“People would tell me, ‘You don’t look like a VC. You don’t act like a VC. You’re really nice. You’re very ethical,'” she says. “Like this isn’t the typical profile when we think of someone who’s a VC.”
Or it didn’t used to be.
The Grind Before Venture Institute
Long before she got into venture capital, Sarah was used to being underestimated.
After her IQ was tested growing up, her parents were told she would never succeed in college.
She proved them wrong. Sarah graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas Summa Cum Laude with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Her major was business administration with a concentration in innovation and entrepreneurship. She was part of the Collegium V Honors Program, the Davidson Management Honors Program, and completed a capstone project to graduate with Major Honors with Distinction.
Things like this only made her more determined.
“I may not be smarter,” Sarah says, “but I can work harder than everyone.”
And that’s exactly what she did. She set her sights on venture capital: an industry where she’d be even more underestimated. She didn’t look the part. She didn’t have the right background, the right resume, or the right connections.
But she had the right hustle. She worked full-time in real estate to pay her bills while chasing her dream in her spare time.
LinkedIn became her secret weapon. She started with zero connections and grew it to 4,000 by the time she applied to Venture Institute. She was not a natural at it. She hated social media. She didn’t even have Instagram until college, and later deleted it. But she saw LinkedIn as a way to get her voice out there.
She didn’t stop there. She got part-time jobs in venture wherever she could. Nine of them: UTD Seed Fund. RevTech Ventures. Moonshots Capital. Laconia’s Venture Cooperative. An advisory board at a VC firm.
She was sourcing startups, learning everything she could, doing whatever it took.
“I was like, what can I do that no one else has done in order to get a job in VC?”
When she saw a LinkedIn post about Venture Institute, she didn’t hesitate.
In her application, she wrote: “My goal is to break into VC full-time, and I will do whatever it takes to make this happen. Every bit of my free time goes towards pursuing VC.”
Why Venture Institute
Sarah was immediately interested in the program.
“I love being part of things before they’re known,” she explains. “That’s why I love working in venture.”
But what really spoke to her was one line in the post: “You don’t have to have a traditional background.”
“That spoke to me,” she says. “It’s a place where I feel valued even if I’m not the same as everybody else.”
She applied. She got in. And she decided to go all in.
“You Only Win When Your Teammates Win”
Sarah didn’t just participate in Venture Institute. She approached it with a philosophy that set her apart.
“I only want to compete with myself and not compete with other people,” she explains. “Venture is a team sport. You only win when your teammates win.”
So she focused on helping everyone in her cohort. She went above and beyond on every assignment. She showed up to every session. When they asked participants to make a LinkedIn post or refer people to the program, she did it enthusiastically.
“I was like, I’m going to go all in and have as much fun as I possibly can because this is my passion.”
The week that stuck with her most was LP fundraising.
“We did this really detailed research on how do you find LPs? What are the different types of LPs? How do you reach out to them? What makes a good LP?”
Two and a half years later, she still turns to those notes when she gets stuck.
“If you can fundraise and source, from what everyone has told me, you will be unstoppable in venture.”
The Messy Road After
Sarah’s path after the program wasn’t linear. It was messy.
After completing Venture Institute, she was selected for a residency at Dash VC. It went so well, she extended it. Then, in February 2024, she left for what she thought was her dream role at a VC firm in Austin.
Three months later, it fell apart. The firm didn’t raise its fund as intended. Back on the job market, months of rejection followed. Application after application. Door after door slammed in her face. More people saying she didn’t look the part.
“There were times where I was crying,” she says. “I was questioning everything. People told me it wasn’t possible. That I was making the wrong decision. That I should just try to get a stable job.”
The connection to Decile Group helped. Geek Ventures was part of VC Lab Cohort 4, and the Decile team knew Sarah would be a great fit.
“It may seem like a linear story, but it was hard to get here,” Sarah says. “But the sacrifices I made to get to this point were so worth it.”
LinkedIn Was Her Way In
LinkedIn wasn’t just “nice to have” for Sarah. It was essential.
When she started Venture Institute, she had 4,000 followers. Today, she has over 23,000.
“If it wasn’t for LinkedIn, I honestly don’t think I would have gotten a VC job. And that’s me not exaggerating.”
Her content strategy is simple: Post about startups she’s met (with permission), events she’s attending, speaking engagements, interesting people she meets, and promoting events others send her. Day in the life. Authentic, unedited selfies that are fun but professional.
“When I do cold outreach to founders, they’re more likely to take a call with me because I have a presence on LinkedIn,” she says. “It’s easier to get speaking and judging events. A lot of my opportunities are now inbound.”
For anyone trying to break into VC, Sarah repeats the same advice: LinkedIn matters more than you think. Build your presence. Be authentic. Show up consistently.
Advice for Future Applicants
Sarah’s advice comes from real experience. The kind that includes tears and late nights and people telling you it’s not possible.
Show your personality. “Don’t try to make your application sound how you think it should be. Don’t try to sound like ‘this is how a VC should sound.’ Show your personality. Looking back, my Venture Institute application showed who I was. I’m really proud of it.”
Just apply. “Take the chance. Because if you don’t take the chance, you’ll regret it more than if you apply and it doesn’t work out.”
Focus on yourself, not others. “What can I do to be the best person I can be? Everyone has a unique skill set. As soon as you worry about the noise, it gets really hard.”
Help others without expecting anything. “It’s what you do when no one is watching. Those are the things that really matter.”
Be ready for the work. “Venture is hard. You have to be prepared to work long hours. But if you love what you do, it’s worth it because of how fulfilling it is.”
Don’t rely on AI for the work. “Do NOT use ChatGPT to complete your assignments. AI is important in VC, but if you’re using it to complete assignments you’re supposed to be learning from, that’s the issue.”
Your Turn
Sarah was told she didn’t look like a VC. She’s now at her dream job at Geek Ventures with over 23,000 LinkedIn followers.
Venture Institute Cohort 6 is now accepting applications.
The Decile Group develops industry-leading offerings to transform venture capital into an ethical force for good in the world, including VC Lab, Decile Hub, Decile Partners and Decile Capital.
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