For the Love of Venture: A Reflection
There’s something about the end of the year. Seasons may shift, but my days don’t change. Yet, I’m sure for many, the introspective bug amongst us tends to be more active as the year comes to a close.
I’m sitting in a café in Bombay, lo-fi music in the background amongst the holiday chatter, and a ‘slower’ work week that allows me time for reflection. I think about my newsletter, and which founder I should feature as our first in 2023. The dialogue with myself soon drifts away from a founder feature to something more deeply personal – my role as an early-stage investor.
Ever since joining Hummingbird, it’s mostly been go-go-go (in a good way). But it took me some time to get to this role in venture and there are learnings that I’ve picked up since I started mid-way through 2021. It only makes sense then to share these with you.
If you’ve been following my blog, expect a different structure to today’s piece. This is more of a reflection and introspective take on what it means to be an early-stage investor and my sheer appreciation for the work I get to do every day. Treat it as something you’d find in someone’s journal – almost meant to never be published.
Cheat Code for Learning
The velocity of information around us increases exponentially. The internet has democratised and reduced the marginal cost of information to effectively zero, and even the curious-minded often struggle to stay in the loop.
One of the immediate realisations I had when starting at Hummingbird was the sheer privilege of the role of an early-stage investor. We’re curious people and have the chance to spend 90% of our days speaking to smart founders often working on moonshot ideas that will transform the way we work, think, and operate. In just 30 to 45 minutes, we are made privy to insights that take founders weeks and months to accumulate. Our source of information is people that are dedicating their lives to solving for a specific pain point.
I remember my first call with Vikalp and Deepak from Eka Care. They are solving for digital health adoption in context of the government’s UHI initiative, and in our brief chat, they summarised not just their mission, but why previous attempts at solving for health adoption in India failed, why this time is different given the tailwinds from the government’s involvement, and the proprietary insights they had that will ensure they win. As investors, we are lucky to be in a role that allows us to access this dialogue.
Teachers, Leave Them Kids Alone
Another part of the job that I cherish is how much unlearning is required; a beginner’s mindset prevails, consistently. My definition of what makes a ‘great entrepreneur’ for example, has been challenged to a large degree. The more obvious signals point to over-indexing on credentialism – logos and schools. These ‘signals’ are important, as it usually guides you towards people that have been in the room with the highly ambitious; yet, I’ve been surprised to find myself raptured by the unconventional. The misfits, the dropouts, the scrappy, yet exceptionally mature, those near delusional in their self-belief, and uncapped in their level of ambition.
I’ve come to learn that for some, schools and large companies create a safe, protected environment, that forges professional instincts that seek only certain levels of risk. Not so much the zero-to-one level of risk required to create a $1B company. In the non-linear, unconventional misfits, I’ve seen a pattern where they know that their solution will exist in the world. They don’t allow the obstacles, or regulations, or preconceived notions of how things should be, deter them. They see a better world and go build for it. Open up your phone and review the most-used apps: likely Uber, Spotify, or if you’re in India, Cred. The founders of these companies – not the most cookie-cutter – envisioned the end state of their business and built for it. As I write this, Parth from Vance comes to mind instantly. He had the self-belief to leave Stanford, move to Mumbai, and is now building a global bank for Indians living abroad. A difficult feat and an idea that is asking for scepticism. Whenever we discuss the product or expansion efforts, he simply assumes - through his conviction in his and the team’s ability to execute - that regulation and adoption will be solved for. He just knows this is a problem that exists and he is the founder that is going to solve it for all Indians.
This is not an ode to dropping out or trying to stand out from the pack; finding the ‘right’ founder requires a mix of insights, and this is just one heuristic I have observed positively. This learning – which will continue to be challenged – has pushed me to lean in and trust my intuitive muscle much more. For some investors, their ‘a-ha’ moment to make an investment comes from a novel business model, or a unique market, but for me, it’s that conversation with a special founder, where I almost lose my sense of self as they describe their life’s mission. A little naivete and dreaming goes a long way in investing in breakthrough companies.
Not a Special Snowflake
My ‘why’ for entering this business stems from my ardent love for the craft of entrepreneurship. The notion that there are a handful of people in this world that day in and day out dream up how things can or should be, and strive to make their visions a reality. Typically, against all odds and against convention.
I’ve worked in environments and roles that would fit the textbook definition of a professional launchpad. The kind of career path that grants you prestige, the generalised skillset, and optionality. You take this job, and you can do anything after. Many of these roles are in the field of banking and consulting. On the other end of the spectrum, you have the creators – those building from scratch - the musicians, painters, writers, and entrepreneurs. I'm well aware then, that early-stage investors sit right in the middle. We enable creation but don’t create. We don’t just give ‘strategic’ advice, we have skin in the game. All said though, we are not the most special, and our business would be redundant without founders.
I see my job then, to provide unconditional support, to continue to gather and share insights from evolving markets and the competition, and communicate the uncomfortable truths. But sometimes I struggle. My passion for the craft might come in the way of my ability to be intellectually honest with the founders I work with. This perennial tussle of push and pull, demand and support, is an impulse I struggle with almost daily. I can find myself getting to a point where I know my exact role and play it to the tee. But for now, I am a work in progress.
Thank you to Nynika Jhaveri and Rahul Sanghi for reading and editing my drafts.
v well written :)