I am thrilled to have Manish Patel, a GP at Nava Ventures who has led teams that have designed, developed, and scaled products with global impact from enterprise advertising systems like AdWords to consumer experiences like Google Maps.
In this episode, Manish Patel, General Partner at Nava Ventures discusses the importance of market conditions for startups, early-stage companies' challenges, and the critical role of founder-market fit in venture capital. Manish also reflects on the evolving landscape of AI, venture capital, the lessons learned from his investment experiences, and much more!
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How does Manish approach market sizing?
Is Manish willing to take market timing risk?
How does Manish prioritise between founder vs market?
How does Manish approach mentorship and supporting other entrepreneurs in the network?
What is your favourite business book? – Creative confidence
What is your favourite online tool? –Google Maps
If you could go back to when you started working, what is the one thing you would have focused on? – Raise a bigger fund
Timestamps
[00:04:10] - Stanford's entrepreneurial culture and its impact on Manish.
[00:06:15] - Manish's experience at Google, working on Google Maps and Adwords.
[00:10:30] - The role of market conditions in the success of startups.
[00:12:45] - Discussion on the impact of AI and platforms like ChatGPT on search engines.
[00:15:20] - Challenges faced by early-stage startups in today’s market.
[00:17:50] - Importance of being aware of market conditions as a founder.
[00:19:10] - The Series A crunch and its impact on startups.
[00:21:30] - Insights on raising Series A and the importance of showing results.
[00:23:00] - How venture capitalists provide mentorship to founders.
[00:25:00] - The significance of market sizing in venture capital decisions.
[00:27:20] - Discussion on how the best companies expand their markets.
[00:29:10] - Market timing risks and lessons on timing in startups.
[00:31:15] - Manish’s preference between new and experienced founders.
[00:33:00] - The role of venture capitalists in the success of founders.
[00:35:10] - Importance of board management in startups.
[00:37:30] - Areas where VCs and founders are often not aligned.
[00:42:15] - Discussion on founder-market fit and its importance in investments.
[00:44:30] - Reflections on missed investment opportunities in venture capital.
Manish’s Links
LDN– https://www.linkedin.com/in/manishpatelli/
Website – nava.vc
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
5-day email course: www.enterprisesalesexpertise.com
Newsletter:
Manish Patel from Nava Ventures on Navigating Venture Capital and the Future of AI