The first investor for ambitious and relentless technology founders

My family has migrated across the globe in search of better opportunities. My grandparents emigrated from India to Kenya under British colonial rule, and my parents later relocated from Kenya to the UK during the great Asian exodus. I was born in Nice, France, and had several other pitstops through Munich, Boston, London, and New York before landing in San Francisco. Like many founders, this journey tested my adaptability and resilience, shaping the perspective I bring to venture capital today.

My obsession with technology started at a young age, inspired by my father who worked in the semiconductor industry. His work would take him around the world, and he would always greet me with the latest prototypes for me to test out. This product-first mentality is something that I still take pride in when evaluating new investment opportunities.

Driven by curiosity and tenacity, I began my venture capital career at 23, honing the craft of investing under the mentorship of some of the most prolific investors of our time, many of whom are now investors in our fund. Throughout this journey, I had the privilege of working closely with a select group of companies, including Gong, New Relic, and Wavefront, as they grew from their earliest stages into enduring industry leaders. This experience often prompts the question, 'What do you look for when investing?' I look for the same spark that founders look for when they start a company, which is that moment when you start to dream about a possible product or experience. It torments you to the point where the only way forward is to bring it to life.

My proudest achievement has been the privilege of backing multiple successful founders across different ventures, a number I am excited to grow in the year ahead. As a career institutional investor, I am deeply passionate about partnering with founders as a trusted advisor, supporting them through every stage of their company’s journey.

I was born in Malaysia. Growing up in an Indian household in Kuala Lumpur, my fascination with technology started at a young age. I was surrounded by family members who were engineers who often talked about new technologies and their impact on society. However, I never truly understood what they meant until university.

At the National University of Singapore, I joined a one-year work full-time-study-full-time entrepreneurship program in Sweden. While working and studying, my friends and I organized a startup conference, Hej2007. It was the conference where Spotify introduced itself, and countless other founders who spoke ended up selling their companies to Apple, Google, etc. If only I knew about investing back then!

At this point, my entrepreneurship journey began – and it never stopped. Since then, I lived in multiple countries and had the opportunity to work, invest, and advise hundreds of tech startups. My goal in the decades to come is to continue leveraging my operating experience to support founders at the earliest stages. I live in New York City with my family and pet pupper, Couscous.