Taking A Data Driven Approach To Founder Evaluation with Paul Arnold @ Switch Ventures
Paul Arnold is the founder of Switch Ventures, a seed stage venture capital firm focussed on identifying the most talented startup entrepreneurs by taking a very data-driven approach to founders. Paul was a senior executive at AppDirect, helping build it from a small startup into the unicorn ($1bn+ valuation) it is today. He oversaw company-wide operations, built and led multiple teams, and learned what it takes for a startup to scale rapidly. Prior to AppDirect, Paul was with McKinsey & Company in Silicon Valley. He worked with C-suite, Board, and frontline employees to drive changes. In Today's Episode with Paul We Discuss: 1.) How Paul made his way into the world of tech and early stage investing? 2.) When examining the data on founders, what elements of pattern recognition has Paul found with regards to founders? 3.) What is Paul's take on follow on funding? Is it always obligatory for seed investors to follow on with their investments? 4.) How has Paul's investment decision making process changed with time and with larger cheque sizes? As a result, how important is valuation to Paul when deciding whether to make an investment? 5.) How does one's mindset shift when moving from angel to VC? What are the challenges and what does one need to remember? As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com and Paul's twitter page is here: www.twitter.com/paul_arnold