Empowering Early Stage Founders with Breakthrough Ideas

Serendipity has been a theme in my life. I found myself at Neotribe not because I forged a path into venture capital but because fate came knocking at my door. As Neotribe’s newest Partner, I am humbled by the opportunity to reflect on the past and eager to embark on the adventure ahead.

Neotribe is a different firm. A firm that aspires to add value to the entrepreneurial community whether we partner together or not. We’ve published our values and use them as guideposts in how we operate. We also pursue a diversified sector approach that mirrors my curiosity - enterprise IT, computational biology, robotics, web3 - any project with a deep technical component gets us excited.

I’ve had the opportunity to shape the Neotribe story from our first fund. We’ve since gone on to raise two more. Over the years, I’ve strengthened my own appetite for disruptive technologies, innovative business models, and contrarian thinking. I bring a product-first mindset to discussions with our founders. This is especially important at the early stage as your primary objective is to identify proof of value. I also bring go-to-market expertise as discovering how to scale your business beyond founder-led sales is your second objective. Where I’ve seen companies falter is when they fail to prioritize these objectives or reverse their order.

I am inspired by entrepreneurs pursuing audacious goals and aim to partner with them to bring their vision to life. We’re on the lookout for people with curiosity, grit, and confident humility - individuals who get excited when challenged and those who can simplify topics they’re obsessed with. In its purest form, venture capital aspires to invest in individuals and projects with asymmetric upside and to support ideas that traditional institutions would be too risk-averse to finance. If we do our job well, founders have the opportunity to create hundreds of jobs, produce enterprise value, and bring novel technology to market. The gravity of the opportunity keeps me humble and motivated.

The job of a venture capitalist, however, does not scale. I strive to invest my time in service to the entrepreneur. To do that, I build an honest and transparent relationship with every entrepreneur such that we can ruthlessly prioritize the objectives at hand. I aspire to develop a relationship with our entrepreneurs and build a preview of how we might work together most effectively. Only then can we help a founder realize their vision and work through strategic priorities for the company – whether rethinking a pricing model, architecting a pivot, or hiring a key executive.

Neotribe’s value extends beyond the individual. When we earn the opportunity to partner with an entrepreneur, we bring the entirety of our tribe to the table. We bring our firm’s shared value system and diversity of perspectives. We’re able to help with tactical and strategic work. Together, we’ll offer insights on how to approach customer discovery, prioritize features on your roadmap, and close your first customers.

Venture capital is the practice of embracing uncertainty and seeking out serendipity. I look forward to our chance encounter and can’t wait to hear your story.

Get in touch with Neeraj Hablani at neeraj@neotribe.com.