This is great and your step-by-step on how to "do the work" of a VC Associate was super comprehensive. I can personally give perspective on this from 2 angles:

1. I work in venture capital and if someone had sourced deals like this in my thesis area and wanted to chat with me about several of the best ones- I would take that meeting. It's valuable to me as I'm always looking for good deals and I want to meet this person with such strong hustle.

2. "Just start doing the job you want" is the right advice. I wanted to work in a Startup Studio when I graduated from university in 2016 but I didn't have the right connections, didn't go to the "right" school, and didn't have the luxury of taking an unpaid internship. So, in my off time, I started a blog and a community dedicated to talking about Startup Studios and - it worked! The blog/ community got acquired and I am now Head of Platform for a Startup Studio called Untapped Ventures!

Anyways- great article and true advice.