I invest in pre-seed companies that are building products & services that will benefit the bottom 99%. I like crazy ambitious people doing either totally crazy or completely boring things. These businesses typically fall into one of two categories:
- frontier technologies (AI, synthetic bio, etc)
- marketplaces
I prefer to invest very early, build a high trust relationship with the founder, then double-down when I develop high conviction in the founder & really understand the business. Typically, I am the smallest check on a founder's cap table, yet have the most inside information.
While I screen ideas based on the market & product, the thrust of my investment decision is driven by my assessment of the founder. I require no prior knowledge of a market or technology to make an investment decision (for better or worse), and am fearless about diving into new categories that might scare traditional investors.
I started angel investing in 2017 and previously ran a scout fund for Social Capital. I am currently the founder/CEO of Transform, a stealth AI company. Previously, I co-founded Dishcraft Robotics ($100M+) and SpeakerText (acquired). To date, I've invested in 24 startups. My most frequent co-investor is Cyan Banister and my strategy is comparable to Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund.
I will syndicate select deals when a) I have high conviction in the team & business, and b) I have the personal bandwidth.
