Navigating Founder Challenges

The Tech Trek

In this episode, Amir welcomes Sandeep Bhadra, General Partner at Vertex US, to discuss early-stage founders' challenges and the critical support they need. The conversation covers the loneliness of the founder's journey, the importance of coaching and mentoring, and the dynamics of candid discussions between investors and founders. Sandeep emphasizes the significance of understanding distribution and managing teams with different expertise. The episode also delves into the art of pivoting, testing ideas, and the necessity of being patient while finding the right market fit.

Highlights:

01:44 Challenges and Psychology of Founders

04:35 Importance of Coaching and Mentorship

06:28 Balancing Vision and Reality

12:24 Skills and Gaps in First-Time Founders

16:18 The Art of Pivoting and Lean Experimentation

Guest:

Sandeep Bhadra is a General Partner at Vertex Ventures US, where he focuses on early-stage investments in enterprise software, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity. With a strong background in venture capital and a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford, Sandeep brings deep technical expertise and business acumen to his role. Before Vertex, he held roles at Menlo Ventures and helped lead investments in several successful tech startups. Sandeep is passionate about partnering with visionary founders to help them scale and grow their companies.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandeepbhadra/

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Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)