INVESTMENT
INVESTMENT
BALA SRINIVASA
BALA SRINIVASA
MANAGING DIRECTOR
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Beyond the deck and the numbers, what’s the most important signal you look for during a first meeting with a founder?
I simply try to understand how a founder thinks. Its amazing how much you can get by focusing on this - its the core of who they are as individuals and how they they will operate through the ups and downs of building a successful business. There is no cookie cutter archetype here but as an investor its key for me to get a really good sense for the mindset of the individual we will partner with for a long period.
You have been in three distinct careers - Wall Street Analyst, two start-ups, and now as an investor. What is one common lesson across them?
Failing to see how much of one's personal success is due to the people and teams around them. Its very hard to list all attributes a successful leader or an iconic founder, but almost always, they have been fortunate have an amazing team that made them who they are. This is true across industries and also easily forgotten with revisionist history.
What is the most important value you want to embed in this firm's culture, and how do you actively cultivate it?
Trust is a value that means a lot to me and is the operating system of a venture firm. Founders stake their careers on our judgment and discretion; LPs entrust us with their capital, conviction, and long-term expectations. Inside the partnership, trust is what lets us debate hard, decide fast, and stay aligned. For me its the essence of being a firm that founders and our LPs want to associate with.
Beyond the deck and the numbers, what’s the most important signal you look for during a first meeting with a founder?
I simply try to understand how a founder thinks. Its amazing how much you can get by focusing on this - its the core of who they are as individuals and how they they will operate through the ups and downs of building a successful business. There is no cookie cutter archetype here but as an investor its key for me to get a really good sense for the mindset of the individual we will partner with for a long period.
You have been in three distinct careers - Wall Street Analyst, two start-ups, and now as an investor. What is one common lesson across them?
Failing to see how much of one's personal success is due to the people and teams around them. Its very hard to list all attributes a successful leader or an iconic founder, but almost always, they have been fortunate have an amazing team that made them who they are. This is true across industries and also easily forgotten with revisionist history.
What is the most important value you want to embed in this firm's culture, and how do you actively cultivate it?
Trust is a value that means a lot to me and is the operating system of a venture firm. Founders stake their careers on our judgment and discretion; LPs entrust us with their capital, conviction, and long-term expectations. Inside the partnership, trust is what lets us debate hard, decide fast, and stay aligned. For me its the essence of being a firm that founders and our LPs want to associate with.
Beyond the deck and the numbers, what’s the most important signal you look for during a first meeting with a founder?
I simply try to understand how a founder thinks. Its amazing how much you can get by focusing on this - its the core of who they are as individuals and how they they will operate through the ups and downs of building a successful business. There is no cookie cutter archetype here but as an investor its key for me to get a really good sense for the mindset of the individual we will partner with for a long period.
You have been in three distinct careers - Wall Street Analyst, two start-ups, and now as an investor. What is one common lesson across them?
Failing to see how much of one's personal success is due to the people and teams around them. Its very hard to list all attributes a successful leader or an iconic founder, but almost always, they have been fortunate have an amazing team that made them who they are. This is true across industries and also easily forgotten with revisionist history.
What is the most important value you want to embed in this firm's culture, and how do you actively cultivate it?
Trust is a value that means a lot to me and is the operating system of a venture firm. Founders stake their careers on our judgment and discretion; LPs entrust us with their capital, conviction, and long-term expectations. Inside the partnership, trust is what lets us debate hard, decide fast, and stay aligned. For me its the essence of being a firm that founders and our LPs want to associate with.
Beyond the deck and the numbers, what’s the most important signal you look for during a first meeting with a founder?
I simply try to understand how a founder thinks. Its amazing how much you can get by focusing on this - its the core of who they are as individuals and how they they will operate through the ups and downs of building a successful business. There is no cookie cutter archetype here but as an investor its key for me to get a really good sense for the mindset of the individual we will partner with for a long period.
You have been in three distinct careers - Wall Street Analyst, two start-ups, and now as an investor. What is one common lesson across them?
Failing to see how much of one's personal success is due to the people and teams around them. Its very hard to list all attributes a successful leader or an iconic founder, but almost always, they have been fortunate have an amazing team that made them who they are. This is true across industries and also easily forgotten with revisionist history.
What is the most important value you want to embed in this firm's culture, and how do you actively cultivate it?
Trust is a value that means a lot to me and is the operating system of a venture firm. Founders stake their careers on our judgment and discretion; LPs entrust us with their capital, conviction, and long-term expectations. Inside the partnership, trust is what lets us debate hard, decide fast, and stay aligned. For me its the essence of being a firm that founders and our LPs want to associate with.