Every industry has its own mental model. Venture capital is usually explained with a funnel or a flowchart: source deals → diligence → investment → exit.

That’s accurate enough. But it doesn’t capture what venture capital actually feels like. In reality, it’s a bustling ecosystem.

Founders are building products. Associates are buried under pitch decks. Partners are debating investments. Recruiters are making introductions. Lawyers are marking up term sheets. Operators are helping portfolio companies hire. Customers are buying software. Bankers are preparing exits. LPs are funding the next generation of firms.

Everyone is moving at once.

So I wondered: what if you mapped venture capital like a Richard Scarry Busytown book instead of a PowerPoint slide?

The result is this illustration:

Download the hi-res with my complements.

My goal wasn’t to document every corner of the industry butrather to create something that rewards exploration; a map you can wander through, discovering familiar scenes and inside jokes along the way.

You’ll find Founder Village, where startups are born. Deal Flow Market, where opportunities are discovered. VC Headquarters, where investment decisions are made. Portfolio Support Park, Customer City, Exit Harbor, the LP District, and the flywheel that keeps the entire ecosystem turning.

It’s a reminder that venture capital isn’t really a linear process. It’s a network. A city. Thousands of people creating value simultaneously, with relationships and reputation connecting everything together.

I also realized something while making it: some ideas are easier to understand as pictures than as prose.

I’d love to hear what you notice first—and what neighborhood you think deserves its own map next. More soon!