Overview
Being good neighbors – helping people, investing in our communities, and making the world a better place – is who we are at State Farm. It is at the core of how we operate and the reason for our success. Come join a #1 team and do some good!
HYBRID: Qualified candidates must live or relocate within a 180-mile radius of a hub location listed below and should plan to spend time working from home and some time working in the office as part of our hybrid work environment. HUB LOCATIONS: Bloomington, IL or Los Altos, CA
SPONSORSHIP: Applicants for this position are required to be eligible to lawfully work in the U.S. immediately; employer will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work authorization (e.g. H-1B visa) for this opportunity.
Responsibilities
The Ventures Analyst provides critical research, financial analysis, market intelligence, and strategic insights to support the State Farm Ventures leadership team. This role assists in identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing potential investment opportunities, strategic partnerships, and emerging technology trends aligned with State Farm’s innovation priorities.
The analyst will support investment diligence, market and competitive analysis, financial modeling, startup evaluation, and executive-level reporting. The role requires strong analytical judgment, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to translate complex data and market signals into clear recommendations for senior stakeholders.
Research, Analytics & Investment Evaluation
- Conduct market research, competitive analysis, and industry mapping to identify emerging technologies, market trends, and potential investment opportunities.
- Build and maintain market maps, company landscapes, investment theses, and thematic research across priority areas relevant to State Farm.
- Support evaluation of potential investments by analyzing business models, market size, competitive positioning, traction, financial performance, unit economics, valuation, and strategic fit.
- Develop financial models, valuation analyses, scenario analyses, and investment summaries to support diligence and decision-making.
- Analyze startup pitch materials, financial data, customer traction, fundraising history, and comparable companies to assess investment attractiveness.
- Synthesize internal and external data sources into clear insights, recommendations, and executive-ready materials.
- Monitor industry developments related to insurance, financial services, AI, climate resilience, mobility, claims, underwriting, fraud, customer experience, and emerging enterprise technologies.
Strategic Forecasting & Business Insight
- Build a strong understanding of State Farm’s business areas, strategic priorities, operational pain points, and customer needs.
- Assess how emerging technologies and startups could address business problems, create strategic value, reduce risk, improve efficiency, or unlock new capabilities.
- Translate market trends and startup activity into actionable insights for State Farm Ventures and internal business partners.
- Support strategic forecasting by identifying technology shifts, competitive threats, investment themes, and opportunities for innovation.
- Develop business cases for potential pilots, partnerships, and investment opportunities, including expected impact, risks, assumptions, and success metrics.
Relationship Building & Ecosystem Engagement
- Develop and maintain strategic relationships across Innovation, business units, external venture capital firms, startups, accelerators, incubators, universities, and technology vendors.
- Support sourcing and evaluation of startups through ecosystem engagement, market research, referrals, and thematic scouting.
- Represent State Farm within the startup and innovation ecosystems in a professional manner, helping identify opportunities for collaboration, investment, or strategic partnership.
- Coordinate with internal stakeholders to understand business needs and assess whether startup solutions are relevant, feasible, and actionable.
Project Leadership & Collaboration
- Lead or contribute to complex deliverables, including market scans, investment memos, diligence summaries, business cases, leadership updates, and board reporting materials.
- Coordinate content development and delivery of executive and board-level reporting to ensure timely, accurate, and insight-driven updates.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Scouting, Innovation teams, business units, finance, legal, technology, and enterprise risk partners.
- Manage competing priorities across research, diligence, reporting, and stakeholder requests while maintaining quality and responsiveness.
- Champion effective team processes, documentation, and analytical rigor to improve efficiency, consistency, and decision quality.
Qualifications
Required Skills & Qualifications
- Strong analytical and research skills, with experience in market research, financial analysis, competitive analysis, and business case development.
- Ability to evaluate companies, markets, business models, and emerging technologies using both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
- Proficiency with Excel or similar tools for financial modeling, data analysis, scenario analysis, and valuation support.
- Ability to synthesize complex information into concise, executive-ready insights and recommendations.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear presentations, memos, and leadership updates.
- Solid understanding of technology trends, startup ecosystems, venture capital, business processes, and enterprise innovation.
- Demonstrated project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders.
- Excellent relationship-building and networking abilities across internal and external stakeholders.
- Strong judgment, intellectual curiosity, and comfort working with ambiguity.
- Ability to identify key risks, assumptions, tradeoffs, and open questions in early-stage opportunities.
- Proficiency with data analytics, research, presentation, and productivity tools.
- Curiosity and eagerness to learn about emerging technologies, startups, insurance, and corporate venture capital.
Optional Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in venture capital, corporate venture capital, investment banking, consulting, corporate strategy, innovation, or startup operations.
- Familiarity with insurance, financial services, fintech, insurtech, AI, climate resilience, mobility, or enterprise software.
- Experience preparing market maps, investment memos, diligence summaries, financial models, or executive presentations.
- Experience using AI tools, market intelligence platforms, startup databases, or data visualization tools to support research and analysis.
- Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, economics, engineering, data analytics, or a related field.
Our Benefits
Because work-life balance is a priority at State Farm, compensation is based on our standard 38:45-hour work week!
- Potential starting salary range: $97,000 - $153,000 (Starting salary will be based on skills, background, and experience. High end of the range limited to applicants with significant relevant experience in CA.)
- Potential yearly incentive pay up to 15% of base salary
At State Farm, we offer more than just a paycheck. Check out our suite of benefits designed to give you the flexibility you need to take care of you and your family!
- Get Paid! On top of our competitive pay, you are eligible for an annual raise and bonus.
- Stay Well! Focus on you and your family’s health with our robust health and wellbeing programs. State Farm pays most of your healthcare premium, and we offer multiple healthcare plan options, including a high deductible plan. All medical plans provide 100% coverage for in-network preventative care, AND you and your family have access to vision, dental, telemedicine, 24/7 mental health professionals, and much more!
- Develop and Grow! Take advantage of educational benefits like industry leading training programs, top-notch tuition assistance programs, employee resource groups, and mentoring.
- Plan Ahead! Plan for those big moments in life with benefits like fertility/IVF/adoption assistance, college coaching, national discount programs, interactive monthly financial workshops, free financial coaching, and more. You can also start a savings account or consider financing through our State Farm Federal Credit Union!
- Take a Little “You” Time! You will have access to our generous time off policies designed so you can plan around holidays, family events, volunteering, or just to take a relaxing day off. With the opportunity to initially earn up to 20 days annually plus parental leave, paid holidays, celebration day, life leave (40 hours/year), bereavement leave, and community service/education support days, there will be plenty of time for you!
- Give Back! We offer several ways to give back through our Matching Gift Program, Good Neighbor Grant Program, and the Employee Assistance Fund.
- Finish Strong! Plan for retirement using free financial advisors and a 401(k) plan with company contributions of up to 7% of your salary.
Visit our State Farm Careers page for more information on our benefits, locations, and the hiring process of joining the State Farm team!