Changing Gears and Joining Steadfast

I am excited to share that I am joining Steadfast Capital as Managing Director and Head of Venture Capital.

13 years ago, after serving almost a decade in operating roles, I made the decision to enter venture capital so that I could partner with and support extraordinary entrepreneurs who dare to change the world. As the late Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” I realized when I began my journey into venture capital back then, and continue to believe today, that everyone has a story inside them aching to break free. In the same way, there is also an entrepreneur in all of us. My privilege and duty as an investor is to help passionate entrepreneurs develop their story for the world, and build durable and iconic companies in the process.

Over the last decade, I have met thousands of amazing entrepreneurs who have inspired me with their stories, passion, dedication to their vision and relentless pursuit of their goals against all odds. I consider myself lucky to have partnered with incredible visionaries who have invited me to be their war partner, friend and ally on the path to achieving their lifelong goals. Thank you Manny Medina (Outreach), Eugenio Pace (Auth0), Mohit Aron (Cohesity), Chuck Dietrich, Dan Bomze (MileIQ), Alessio Alionco (Pipefy), Guru Hariharan (CommerceIQ), Eric Winquist (Jama Software), Aviel Ginzburg (Simply Measured), Adam Schoenfeld, Sameer Kazi, Mitch Grasso, Liz Wessel, Kate Johnson, Vishal Jain, Joe Freed and many others who have put their trust in me to ride shotgun with them and remind me every day why I love what I do.

These last ten years as an investor have also changed my views on a lot of subjects — on markets, on what it takes to build great companies, what constitutes a great CEO and founder, the role of venture capital and the role of venture capitalists. Yet the one thing that never changed and continues to be my North Star is that there is nothing else I’d rather be doing than rolling up my sleeves and fighting for these entrepreneurs, challenging them to bring their (and my) best every day, supporting them in the darkest days and ultimately playing a small role in partnering with them as they pursue their passions. I realized early on that my true passion is to fuel entrepreneurs’ passions and help them become the best version of themselves.

Venture Capital has always been about bringing opportunity to talent — talent that is fully distributed and diverse. I have dedicated my career in venture to finding and investing in that talent. As an Indian-Canadian-American and a first generation immigrant, this profession has allowed me to meet the best minds across the globe. It has enabled me to invest in and partner with the underdogs who have the courage of their convictions. I am in awe of the entrepreneurs with whom I’m privileged to interact and partner. Over time I realized that the courage I was drawn to did not see the boundaries of early stage, mid stage and late stage as currently delineated in venture capital. More importantly for me, I realized I was drawn to that courage irrespective of stage of investment, and that I believed that with my technical background, operating experience in sales, and venture experience in early and late stage investing, that I could move the needle in a small way for many of these entrepreneurs across all stages. Further, I realized that my personal energy and fulfilment as a VC comes almost completely from my interactions with these courageous CEOs and founders who aspire to grow from first time founders into professional CEOs of public companies, and that I want to be a true partner to them throughout that entire journey.

This is the reason I am so excited to join Steadfast and lead their venture practice. Steadfast was founded by Robert Pitts, Jr. who spent many years at Tiger Management before founding the firm in 1997. For the last 23 years, Rob and the Steadfast team have grown the firm from a startup to ~$10B AUM by making long term bets in public markets, backed by fundamental research and an unwavering support for the companies in which we invest. After meeting Rob and the rest of the Steadfast team, I was struck not just by what he and his team had achieved but also by how. Everyone on the team I met through the course of the last few months exuded the cultural values I have always found to be the hallmark of great institutions and one I wanted to be a part of — moral integrity, grit, a relentless pursuit of excellence, teamwork, humility and mutual respect. It was also clear that both of us felt deeply passionate about our desire to invest earlier in the lifecycle of these companies and to provide significant value-add to the next generation of entrepreneurs as they scale their companies and themselves. I couldn’t refuse this amazing opportunity that will allow me to double down on my own passion for finding, investing in, nurturing and championing the vision of the entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow.

As part of Steadfast, I will lead our efforts to invest in the best entrepreneurs across all stages, from product-market fit to growth, to pre-IPO and beyond. As a team, we will:

• Lead with the courage of our convictions (not just capital)
• Compete with abundance and availability for our entrepreneurs (not scarcity)
• Be prepared in every interaction
• Bring our best selves everyday
• Showcase our network and hands-on, nuanced GTM experience to help companies scale effectively and efficiently
• Aim to set a high bar for the entrepreneurs who are our true customers and who deserve a partner who fights as hard for them as they fight for themselves

That is my promise!

I also wanted to express gratitude to my partners and colleagues at Trinity Ventures who gave me the opportunity, support and encouragement these past 10 years and a platform that always put people first. In particular, I am grateful to my mentors Larry Orr and Noel Fenton who showed me that being a good human being and a great investor are not mutually exclusive. A big thank you also to my Limited Partners who supported me and believed in me over the years.

Looking forward, I will continue to be based in the Bay Area, will be opening an office for Steadfast in the coming months and will hire a team of investment professionals who are passionate, have a deep sense of empathy for the entrepreneurial journey and want to join me in my mission to bring opportunity to talent and invest in the best minds of tomorrow.

If you’re an investor (or looking to be one) and believe you can add value and values, I would love to talk to you (karan@steadfast.com). If you’re a founder and entrepreneur who is changing the way we live and work, I would love to hear from you and fight for you. Let’s go!