Every argument clarity score on this site is built from rows on this page. Each
question and answer was assessed with names hidden, the host's own answers included, on
four things from 1 to 5:
directness (does it answer the question asked), coherence (do the ideas follow),
precision (concrete details and clear references), compression (says a lot per word). The weighted
mix (30/30/25/15) is the exchange score. A person's published score averages their exchange
scores on raw tape only, at least 8 of them, shrunk toward the cohort mean.
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Answered produced feed
D 5 · C 5 · P 4 · Cm 4 4.60
Q So how'd you get into this? So people listening right now who might be, like, 1819 in college, wanting to follow your path, how'd you get in?
A Yeah, so I, I grew up in the Valley, um, and always had a very strong interest in tech, and coming out of school, I went to undergrad at UC Berkeley, and so it was also, You know, kind of remained very close, uh, to the value of a lot of the cool stuff going on there. Also had a very strong passion for finance. Um, and I think the last key component that was also key for me to get into investment banking is that I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. Um, and thankfully investment banking keeps a lot of those options open for you to be perfectly candid. Um, but it's a, it was a great kind of initial career path to, to cut my teeth a little bit.
AI assessment note: “key component that was also key for me to get into investment banking”
Answered produced feed
D 5 · C 5 · P 4 · Cm 4 4.60
Q Okay. So you moved up to an associate position after that. It's now 2014. So you're with GCA for four years. You moved to New York City. Why did you decide to leave GCA to then go to Canaan?
A Yeah. So I had a great run with Savian, um, awesome firm with great people and got to work on a lot of very interesting deals. The experience was very unique in the sense that, you know, I wasn't at a city or JP pitching Google and Amazon every other month, um, without a lot of deals getting done. I was kind of middle market working on very exciting deals like a bit true. Um, but throughout that process and working in the private capital industry, I, you know, got to know a lot of different VCs, um, and understand how they thought about the world. And so the, the move over to Canaan from Savin was actually a pretty natural because the relationship was there.
AI assessment note: “move over to Canaan from Savin was actually a pretty natural because the relationship was there”
Answered produced feed
D 5 · C 4 · P 4 · Cm 4 4.30
Q So just to be clear, the, the position you're in, uh, you're in now, how do you actually move up the ranks? Is it literally the job you're doing in terms of bringing new deal flow and the kinds of companies you're bringing? Like, how do you out hustle other people where you are right now at Canaan to To work together and kind of advance.
A Yeah. So I, it's for me to do a really good job. It's bringing in awesome companies like bell ops for us to invest in. And, um, you know, hopefully they're successful and, um, you know, that's kind of the venture model we invest and we spend a lot of time financially and strategically with companies and, and try to try to build value for them. So if there was one thing I would say, that's it. Um, as you look at, um, You know, each venture firm individually is some people don't promote at all. And, uh, they kind of only hire our companies. Um, so it really kind of depends. These are usually kind of two to three year roles, uh, and then folks move on from there.
AI assessment note: “bringing in awesome companies like bell ops for us to invest in”
Answered produced feed
D 4 · C 4 · P 4 · Cm 4 4.00
Q So explain to us, to us, those of us that don't understand how it works. You, your title on LinkedIn right now at Canada is quote unquote investor. How to like, what are the different titles like analyst, investor, managing director, like what's it mean? And what's your next step ideally?
A Yeah. So Um, venture firms get very unique with this. Um, at Canaan, we, we started analysts and we go associate, then principal, then venture partner, then general partner. Um, most firms don't have an analyst role. It kind of starts at associates. So I'm kind of a, you know, a mid, mid-level-ish, mid-lower-level-ish, um, investor at Canaan. Um, you know, and, and generally speaking, what do I want to do next? You'll see people Uh, kind of move up. You'll see people go work at companies. Um, and sometimes you'll see people go back to, uh, go back to school and usually be school. Um, but it really, it really kind of depends on that individual and the firm that you're at.
AI assessment note: “at Canaan, we, we started analysts and we go associate, then principal”
