about

• Partner at NEA investing in AI Application Stack, Seed / Series A (bio)
• Prior to venture, 10+ yrs building tech startups as an operator
• Business Development exec at Uber and Twitter during hyper growth years
• Chief Operating Officer at Rival (acquired)
• Specialize in category creating products and building into greenfield markets
• Live happily in SF Bay Area with my family
• Berkeley undergrad, Stanford grad school, 4 years in DC / Policy in between

what motivates me

• Generating fundamental human progress through technology
• Working alongside clever, courageous, committed, creative people on a big mission
• Building iconic and enduring products that touch lives of millions of people daily
• Results. Making things happen in the world and seeing real impact
• Partnerships and collaboration, I truly enjoy making 1+1 = 3 with others
• Seeing people I’ve coached and worked with thrive and achieve their potential
• Solving seemingly intractable problems under pressure. Have the gray hairs to prove it

operating principles

1. When you commit, give it 200%. Bring a founder mentality regardless of title or tenure.
2. Be an honest broker. Trust and transparency go together, they forge real bonds.
3. Believe in the power of teams. Building high-performing teams is how you keep winning.
4. Top talent thrives in meritocracies, not mediocracies. Give people room to grow.
5. In negotiations, don’t play zero sum games. Grow the pie.
6. Failure is a feature, not a bug. Bounce back, learn, get better.
7. Debate until you understand each other. It’s more valuable than consensus.
8. Be present in conversations, especially 1-1s. Engage in active listening.
9. Emotional self-regulation is an essential skill in leadership. Do the work on yourself.
10. Say thank you and tell people you appreciate them. We’re not made of stone!

how I work with founders

before it’s obvious

Investing in exponential ideas at earliest stages

• First checks at inception, seed, series A
• Led by deep conviction in founder, product velocity, correct timing
• Founders building in emerging, near future markets
• First principles, high agency, relentless teams

Provide strategic assists on three fronts

• Technical founders finding 10x first business hires
• New distribution playbooks to stand out as category leader
• Developing early partnerships and partner ecosystem

before it’s inevitable

Selectively partnering founders at the early growth stage, when there is undeniable market pull and exciting product growth but the company isn’t inevitable yet. At this stage, it’s about dominating the category and building the team that will build a durable company. Inevitability comes from exceptional execution, scalable go-to-market and establishing a brand moat (not just VC heat). Assist founders on:

• Building business functions that drive growth
• Competition chess game and alliances
• Compound product strategy

Some things to read