VC with 5+ yrs of exp - AMA

There’s very few who have continued to stay humble

I’ll leave my own fund out of this - but the following people have good cred:

1. Shekhar Kirani - Accel
2. Manish Khetarpal - Waterbridge
3. Samir Sood - Venture Highway
4. Rajan Anandan - Sequoia

Have heard great things about Shekhar and Rajan from all corners. Not hard so much about the other two. Need to read more

1. Meeting with new founders, speaking with portfolio founders and some expert calls / org building

2. Lean market is 8 hrs, active deal days can tax you up to 12-16 hrs - it’s about getting shit done

3. I like talking to people, VC is a sales job and I like to think I’m okay at it :)

4. It’s not so much time that goes into it, anymore, everything is in place - much harder for the junior folks

5. There’s evidence of success in both, but I think builders should continue as builders, builders as VCs are not as effective

Holy shit. 12-16 hour days. I’ve never worked 10+ hours in my life maybe :( respect 🫡

I would recommend you don’t - get your grounding in consulting/startup/IB before breaking in, you’ll be grateful for the training you get there and will have a better career start in VC

Is it okay if you invest in a startup once that ends up getting 7x valued more than what you invested by notable investors for follow-up rounds; learn tricks of the trade and then get into it? What are the chances of lending a good job and package at well reputed funds if you're a tier 2 college dropout?

Intend to continue as a VC, don’t have the stomach to startup as yet :)

It’s much much harder than what I would bargain for at this time in life

How old are you?

I would like to say none - but it would be very self-serving :)

I am sure all VCs think no investments they made are driven just by market sentiments, but you are playing in a field where valuations are getting spiked - now at a fund level, individual first check valuations do not end up making a large dent if it’s a unicorn so it’s fair

I think valuation wise everyone paid premiums in the bull market, but it can still all work out

Unless you did that Pre-IPO - then you might be in for getting royally screwed