Quick answer
Nicole DeTommaso is the founder of VC Demystified, a media brand and weekly newsletter that explains how venture capital works, and of VCD Fund, a pre-seed fund backing student and alumni founders. She spent six years at Harlem Capital, rising from part-time intern in 2020 to principal, and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in venture capital. A first-generation college graduate from Columbia, she broke into VC by pitching herself with a 10-page “Why Me” deck. Her audience across LinkedIn, X and her newsletter is more than 175,000 people.
When Nicole DeTommaso asked Harlem Capital whether it would ever hire her full time, the answer was no, not for another year and a half. So she spent two weeks building a 10-page presentation on why the firm should hire her anyway. She presented it to the team, and, she says, the offer came the next day.
That was 2020. Six years later, DeTommaso has gone from intern to principal, been named to Forbes 30 Under 30, and built one of the larger audiences in venture capital education. Today she runs VC Demystified, a media brand and newsletter for aspiring investors and founders, and has launched her own pre-seed fund. On @nic_detommaso on TikTok, she breaks down how the industry really works.
Key takeaways
- Nicole DeTommaso is the founder of VC Demystified, a media brand and weekly newsletter that makes venture capital easier to understand.
- She spent six years at Harlem Capital, starting as a part-time intern in 2020 while working in investment banking and rising to principal.
- She landed her first full-time VC job by pitching the firm a 10-page “Why Me” deck, after being told it was not hiring.
- She was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in venture capital and is an NVCA Rising Star and a first-generation Columbia graduate.
- She now runs VCD Fund, a pre-seed fund focused on student and alumni founders, and reaches more than 175,000 people across LinkedIn, X and her newsletter.
Who is Nicole DeTommaso?
Nicole DeTommaso is a venture investor and the founder of VC Demystified. According to her website, she spent six years as an investor at Harlem Capital, an early-stage firm with a mission to invest in 1,000 diverse founders over 20 years, before going full time on VC Demystified and launching VCD Fund, a pre-seed fund focused on backing student and alumni founders.
She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in venture capital, an NVCA Rising Star and a first-generation college graduate from Columbia University, where she studied economics. Her Forbes 30 Under 30 profile also describes her as Latina and LGBTQ+, and notes that she was the first intern at Harlem Capital to source a deal the firm invested in.
How did Nicole DeTommaso break into venture capital?
DeTommaso did not grow up knowing what venture capital was. After Columbia, she spent about four years in investment banking, where, she says, she was ranked number one but “had no idea what I was doing there.” At 25, she saw Harlem Capital announce its first fund on LinkedIn, and that was how she learned the industry existed.
She cold-messaged former Harlem Capital interns and took them out for coffee, then joined the firm as a part-time intern while still working in banking full time. When she asked about a full-time role, she was told the firm would not be hiring for 18 months. But Harlem Capital’s next fund came together sooner than expected, and she saw her opening. “So I spent two weeks creating this why me deck,” she says. “I presented it to the team, and the offer came the next day.” Her advice: “If the door isn’t opening for you, give them a reason to open it.”
I got a job in VC by pitching the firm with a 10-page Why Me deck
What did she do at Harlem Capital?
Over six years, DeTommaso rose from intern to principal. In a TikTok video marking the end of that chapter, she says she evaluated tens of thousands of deals, held thousands of calls with founders and supported more than 35 portfolio companies on a monthly basis. She also ran Harlem Capital’s intern program, which she says more than 145 people went through.
Her Forbes profile credits her with contributing to 15 seed-stage deals by early 2023 and producing research on diversity in venture, including reports on diverse founders in Web3 and on Black and Latina women VC investors.
How I made my way into venture capital
What is VC Demystified?
VC Demystified began by accident. DeTommaso started posting online in 2022, sharing what she was learning, because she realized that “venture capital is a black box and most people who don’t have connections don’t even know that it exists.” Posting nearly every day grew into a following that her site now puts at more than 175,000 people across LinkedIn, X and email.
Today VC Demystified is a media brand built around the VC Demystified newsletter, which reaches more than 9,000 readers. It covers how to break into VC, fund structure, deal flow, cap tables, term sheets and fundraising, for three audiences: aspiring VCs, founders and working investors. She also offers one-on-one coaching, and she says she has helped people land roles at top firms. Her site calls it “the largest community for the next generation of venture.”
What is her advice for breaking into VC?
Across her videos and interviews, a few lessons repeat:
- Be creative when the door is closed. Her Why Me deck is the example: show a firm what you would bring before it asks.
- Test it before you quit. “You don’t have to quit your job to break into VC,” she says. Angel investing, scouting, internships and advising can all prove you are a fit first.
- Optimize for learning, not logos. Your first VC job shapes the investor you become, so she warns against choosing the biggest name over the best learning environment.
- Build a name for yourself. In a 2023 interview with BR Venture Fund, she put it bluntly: “You do not have a choice, you have to build a brand.”
- Have a point of view. Her favorite quote, she told BR Venture Fund, is “Have strong opinions loosely held.”
What does she teach founders about fundraising?
DeTommaso also writes for founders, with a focus on helping them think like investors. Some of her recurring points:
- Protect your equity. Founders often own a modest share of their company by the time it goes public, she explains, so selling too much early can cost them later.
- Know what you are signing. She warns that some startup financing, like convertible notes, works more like a loan than equity, and founders should understand the terms.
- Understand the investment memo. VCs write memos to make the case for a deal internally, so founders who anticipate those arguments have an easier fundraise.
- Expect herd behavior. “This ecosystem runs on FOMO,” she says. A startup can be rejected by 30 investors and then have 10 firms competing to get in, even though nothing about the business changed.
A startup can get rejected by 30 investors and suddenly have 10 firms fighting to get in
How much founders own at IPO
What is VCD Fund?
In October 2026, DeTommaso announced she was starting a new chapter after six years at Harlem Capital. Her website describes it: she is now full time on VC Demystified and has launched VCD Fund, a pre-seed fund focused on backing student and alumni founders.
It fits a view she shared in a recent video, that at the earliest stages investing works best as “a byproduct of what you’re building,” with capital paired with the unique access a builder already has. For DeTommaso, that access is a community of people trying to get into startups and venture, many of them students. She is part of a wave of investors teaching in public that Booked Impact has covered, alongside Shruti Merchant, Sydney Singh and Areen.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Nicole DeTommaso?
Nicole DeTommaso is the founder of VC Demystified, a venture capital education brand and newsletter, and of VCD Fund, a pre-seed fund. She previously spent six years at Harlem Capital and was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in venture capital.
How did Nicole DeTommaso get into venture capital?
She joined Harlem Capital as a part-time intern in 2020 while working in investment banking, then landed a full-time role by pitching the firm a 10-page “Why Me” deck. She received the offer the next day.
What is VC Demystified?
VC Demystified is Nicole DeTommaso’s media brand and weekly newsletter. It explains how venture capital works for aspiring investors, founders and VCs, and reaches more than 175,000 people across LinkedIn, X and email.
What is a Why Me deck?
A Why Me deck is a short presentation a job candidate makes to pitch themselves to a firm, laying out what they would contribute. DeTommaso’s 10-page version helped her land her first full-time VC job.
Does Nicole DeTommaso still work at Harlem Capital?
No. In October 2026 she shared that she had left Harlem Capital after six years to focus on VC Demystified and launch VCD Fund.
What is VCD Fund?
VCD Fund is Nicole DeTommaso’s pre-seed fund, focused on backing student and alumni founders.
Follow Nicole DeTommaso
Learn how venture capital works from Nicole DeTommaso on @nic_detommaso on TikTok and in the VC Demystified newsletter. Find resources and coaching at VC Demystified.
This profile is based on Nicole DeTommaso’s public TikTok videos, her VC Demystified website and published profiles, including Forbes and BR Venture Fund. Booked Impact did not interview her, and she did not review this article before publication.
Read us often? Make Booked Impact Live Editorial a preferred source in Google Search and see our reporting more often in Top Stories.
