How can you use your past experience to excel in Venture Capital?

In my journey with Decentralized Labs (DCL), I've had the privilege of navigating the complex and ever-evolving landscape of AI, blockchain, and data technology. This experience has honed my ability to understand and anticipate market trends, a skill that is crucial in venture capital. Just as a sailor uses a compass to navigate the vast ocean, a venture capitalist uses their understanding of the market to steer their investments towards promising opportunities. My past experience has equipped me with this compass, enabling me to identify startups with high growth potential and make informed investment decisions.

When I started trading in commodities, the first step is to check the market for a specific type of commodity that the buyer is looking, then I check the ff. factors: price, quality, time of delivery, payment method and security. When those factors are in place and accepted by the buyer, I am guaranteed 100% the deal will close.

I have transitioned from marketing to entrepreneur to student to VC and that has equipped me with a valuable skillset and knowledge that I can leverage in venture capital. Marketing experience helps me understand the market and customer needs, Branding and messaging, storytelling, pitching and presentation skills, and written communication, amongst other aspects of business. Entrepreneurial experience gives me a firsthand understanding of the day-to-day operations and challenges of startups. This firsthand knowledge can be immensely helpful in evaluating investment opportunities and providing practical advice to portfolio companies. Having walked the path of an entrepreneur myself, I can empathize with the challenges faced by founders.

Venture capital is not just about investing in companies; it's about investing in people. Throughout my career, I've learned the importance of building strong, trust-based relationships. Whether it's with my team, our clients, or our investors, I've always prioritized open communication, mutual respect, and shared goals. In the world of venture capital, this translates to building solid relationships with founders and entrepreneurs. Like a gardener nurturing his plants, a venture capitalist must nurture their relationships with entrepreneurs, providing them with the support, care, and resources they need to grow.

Beyond providing capital, a venture capitalist's role is to add value to their portfolio companies. My experience as a founder and CEO, who works mostly very closely with early-stage startup founder has given me a deep understanding of the challenges startups face and the support they need to overcome these hurdles. I offer strategic advice, share my network, and provide hands-on support to help startups scale and succeed, which is more important than the technology investments we make. Ability to add tangible value is what sets a great venture capitalist apart from a good one.

“Good” investors don’t just cut checks; they add value! While cash is certainly the lifeblood of any startup, early companies need more than just money. ??They need advice ??They need connections ????They need hires Top investors bring an battery of experience, networks, customers, etc because they’ve likely experienced the virtuous cycle of adding value 1?? investor add major non-monetary value 2?? portfolio company tells all their friends 3?? investor gets better deal flow 4?? investor gets improved reputation, more connections, etc 5?? and so the virtuous cycle continues Look for investors that don’t just hand out money; look for those that add value!

The more diverse experience you had in the past, the more useful it is for the venture capital domain. Professionals who had corporate experience, startup experience, fund raising and exits, wealth management, have higher chances to be successful. The diverse experience helps professionals to process the various metrics critical for venture capital investments. Also an ongoing learning and unlearning process keeps the experience valid for changing times.

Any investor evaluating a potential startup for investment needs to understand the market, how the company will get its initial customers, understand the industry landscape, financial forecasts, evaluate risks, and gauge the team building the company. In a nutshell, having varied professional experiences can be extremely helpful when in venture capital. There is no single skill set required to get into VC. As a VC, you need to be able to add value to the companies in your portfolio. You can only do this having excelled in your profession and with years of experience in a myriad of roles supporting the growth of a company.

I use my experience to go further and not to receive achievements. I would assist and contribute to every new interesting and mind taking goal.