Podcast Themes

Herminia speaks about the specific challenges facing professionals who are in time-greedy and identity-consuming careers. She provides some thought-starters for those professionals to take charge of the narrative and steer their journeys in line with their evolving life context.

Roopa talks about the flexible capital model at Omidyar Network (ON) and discusses how they do a combination of investing in tech enabled start-ups driving social impact and grants to organizations to impact a sector. She also discusses the unique characteristics of the next half billion in India that has access to the mobile phone and will come online in the next 5 years and how this presents a unique opportunity for these consumers and for businesses targeting them.

Transitioning from one industry to another are always fraught with uncertainty and risk. Leaders are straddling several sub-transitions – settling into a new organization, flourishing in a new space which requires a different set of skills and mindsets. Karthik talks about the common derailers that could come into play when Consultants or Bankers are transitioning into Venture Investing.

The first 30-60 days in any profession are often quite tricky. Hairline cracks can quickly turn into fractures if not handled carefully. Karthik talks about how he works with the incoming members and thinks about the early passage of play in the organization. He also talks about how he pre-empts the derailment risk by suggesting to interested individuals to seek certain prior experiences before venturing into Venture Investing.

In any profession, it is important to understand how to spend time on the right priorities. People often get consumed by the urgent and miss out on the critical. That pie chart looks different across professions. Karthik talks about how he spends his time as a Venture Investor and as an entrepreneur at Blume Ventures.

Karthik talks about what it takes to become a successful Venture Capital Investor. He also discusses the nuances across Angel Investing, Venture Investing and Private Equity Investing. Each of these often requires a different set of skills and strengths. People often club all these Investing roles into one large umbrella but there is a significant difference in the type of person that would enjoy and flourish in one versus the other.

As an entrepreneur who has built a business, how do you engage with an entrepreneur when you are an investor. Avnish talks about walking the tightrope of providing input while holding back as appropriate.

Avnish talks about the realities of VC investing as a profession and debunks some of the common myths around a “cushy lifestyle” that some people associate with the profession.

In Venture Investing, several years can pass before you realize the returns on your initial investment. Avnish talks about how investors can create a feedback loop in the interim and learn from the journey without having to wait for that long.