Vani Kola, Managing Director of Kalaari Capital, discusses the gender gap in Indian venture capital and explains the reasoning behind Kalaari's $10M CXXO initiative.
Insight
Kola: Most successful founders do not come from big-tech executive roles
“The so-called pedigree is not as important to me as the potential. So I'm assessing for the potential, but not your past is a small indicator of your future, especially for an entrepreneur, especially for a first time entrepreneur. Most successful entrepreneur…”
Insight
Kola: Clarity of insight builds great companies, not polished storytelling
“People confuse storytelling to clarity of thought, ok? Now you're gonna go all over the place when it is not clear for you that simple clarity of thought of insight, whatever that is. That creates great companies, right?”
Disclosure
Kola: Kalaari Capital's Fund I returned 2.7x; Fund II nearing 4x
“Our first fund, I returned to .7 X. Our second fund, we are returning close to four X. We've already returned to X. And so I know I, we are in the highest performance category. In the top 25, if not the top 10% of fund returns that we have generated from India”
Insight
Kola: No company succeeds when the founder is the sole problem solver
“No company can be successful if you are the only firefighter, if you are the only problem solver, if you are the smartest in the room, right?”
Insight
Kola: Capital is among the most misunderstood assets in startups
“Capital, which I think is one of the most, how should I say, misunderstood asset, often because we get emotional about money. In the startup ecosystem. Neither is money that important, nor is money that unimportant, right? To your success, you know?”
Disclosure
Vani Kola refuses late-night founder calls unless there is an emergency
“You use discretion to my time, and I refused to take his call at levin pm, and he said, well, you know, blah blah blah. I said, look, my family matters. This is not an emergency. It could, it can wait. If it was an emergency, I will hundred percent take your c…”