Why I joined Obvious Ventures

A few years ago, plant-based meat substitutes weren't great, but they were edible and for those of us that don't like to eat meat, they were quick meals, or substitute entrees at barbecues. But then, Beyond Meat came around, and because the taste was an improvement in every way, the world changed and showed a growing wave of plant-based food which might substitute or improve upon what we eat today.

I think venture capital is the most interesting segment of finance because the investments go into products and services that are incipient or don't even exist. The money that we provide companies goes into changing how the future could be, sometimes in dramatic ways. All other segments of finance provide money to companies at different stages and to scale something already in the world (not that these can't be similarly impactful). Mergers, acquisitions, private equity – they all deal with things that already exist, and considering 'what could be' doesn’t strain the imagination in quite the same way.

To me, being in this segment carries an implicit responsibility: if each start-up represents a vision of the world as it could be, as financiers, each dollar we contribute makes that world more likely to come into being. Returns can be generated in many ways, but I think it takes style and skill to generate returns from that which make things demonstrably better. Vishal, James, and Andrew have been investing this way since the beginning of Obvious. Their real financial contributions over the years show a strong commitment to shouldering that responsibility, which set them apart for me as a VC firm. At Obvious, we call this world positive investing and we believe that re-imagining trillion-dollar sectors will lead to top quartile returns.?

When I started looking for the next step in my VC career, Obvious was one of my dream picks, so when the offer came, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this team. I'm still thrilled, and am excited to now be a part of the mission.