Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape.
This week we are joined by Ravi Viswanathan, Founder and Managing Partner of NewView Capital, a growth and secondaries focused fund founded in 2018 with over $2.2 billion under management. NVC invests in technology companies through both direct investments and curated portfolio acquisitions, pairing funding with significant operational support. Focusing primarily on growth-stage companies, the NVC portfolio includes Plaid, Duolingo, Forter, Hims & Hers, MessageBird, and Scopely.
Ravi brings a wealth of experience around growth and secondary markets to the conversation, and it was really fun to discuss both of those areas in detail, particularly in light of the change in the markets over the last year.
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About Ravi Viswanathan:
Ravi is an experienced company builder and dedicated partner to entrepreneurs and investors. In 2018, Ravi raised $1.35B to architect an innovative portfolio acquisition of 31 companies from NEA to found NewView Capital (NVC).
Prior to founding NVC, Ravi was a General Partner at NEA, where he oversaw investment in enterprise software and fintech companies and co-led the firm’s Technology Venture Growth Equity effort. His investments of note include Braintree (acquired by PayPal), MuleSoft (acquired by Salesforce), GlobalLogic (acquired by Apax Partners), TeleAtlas (Euronext: TA, acquired by TomTom), Cyence (acquired by Guidewire), Acquia (acquired by Vista Equity Partners), Scout (acquired by Workday), Plaid, and Forter. Ravi spent several years at Goldman Sachs in the Private Equity Technology Practice before joining NEA. He began his career in consulting at McKinsey & Co and as a scientist at Raychem Corporation.
Ravi holds an MBA from Wharton, a PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of California Santa Barbara, and a BS in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the Chair of the Wharton Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.
In this episode we discuss:
01:29 How the 2022 downturn compares to 2000 and 2008
03:20 The effect of market conditions on growth investing
06:51 Why VCs keep making the same mistakes in bull markets and factors that lead to the most recent one
09:22 What led to the launch of NVC in 2018
13:24 How Ravi sold the unique structure of NVC to founders and LPs
15:55 Team building through the transition into NVC
18:51 How Ravi managed communication around his conviction to close
20:45 Navigating different LP considerations when putting together NVC
23:38 What the next 6-12 months will look like in the venture markets
28:06 State of the secondary markets in 2022
32:15 The stigma of selling positions early as managers and LPs
35:50 The types of firms that are well-positioned for success in the current market
I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Ravi. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.
Ravi Viswanathan of New View Capital on the secondary and growth markets, and raising a unique $1B+ (modified) GP led secondary fund I