Jumping Into the Deep End

I’ve always been the type of person who’s never shied away from trying things that were really hard. When I was a kid around eight years old, I learned how to swim by jumping off a 20-foot diving board at the City pool. That was probably the wrong way to learn how to swim, but when I hit the water, I knew I had to figure it out despite feeling like I was about to drown. Fortunately, I made it to the edge of the pool and walked away a stronger swimmer.

When I think about this story, the feelings of fear, doubt, and drowning are similar to the emotions I’ve experienced since starting my firm, Serac Ventures , at the beginning of 2023. When you make the decision to build something from the ground up, you have to jump in (i.e., fully commit) often not knowing what will happen. I’ve always believed that if I stayed humble, worked hard, and avoided making excuses I could accomplish whatever I put my mind to. I also subscribe to the notion that fortune favors the bold and that despite all the setbacks one experiences, at some point something will work in your favor if you don’t give up.

For me and Serac Ventures, that was the day I met the team at Daraja Capital . Daraja’s founder, Raudline Etienne , struck me as a highly differentiated investor in our first meeting. Instead of jumping immediately into the mechanical details about my Fund, she wanted to learn about who I was and my “why” for building Serac. We spent the next several meetings discussing my long-term plans for the firm and the types of investors and companies I wanted to partner with. I’ve been around the financial services industry for almost 20 years, and the experience I’ve had with Raudline and the entire Daraja team has been the complete opposite of other investor meetings I’ve had (in a good way!).

On March 6, 2024, Daraja Capital announced that it had made a strategic investment in Serac Ventures (see press release here). I’m extremely grateful to have them as investors and partners as we grow the firm. I come from very humble beginnings so I thank God, my family, my work colleagues, and all of Serac’s investors for the opportunity to build a firm that I believe will make a positive and lasting impact on the venture capital industry.

While it’s challenging to build something new, I’m glad I get the chance to do it. My advice to others standing on the edge: If you can and are able, “jump in!” Like me, you’ll never know what you’re capable of until you step out of your comfort zone and dive into the deep end.

Cheers -KM