1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,400 Tell me about your vision. 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:07,120 My vision is to help founders of startups 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:13,360 and other high-growth leaders to juggle everything with joy. 4 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:17,020 And what I mean by that is they have a lot to do, 5 00:00:17,020 --> 00:00:21,040 a lot on their minds, and a ton of responsibilities. 6 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,440 And so how can they not just magically give up on those things 7 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:27,600 or pretend they're not there? 8 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:32,360 But how do they create the conditions 9 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:37,720 and create the life they want to have joy as a juggling adult? 10 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,520 Can you tell me more about that, Vijay? 11 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:43,840 Yeah. 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,880 I always say WTF is my coaching. 13 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:51,760 And by WTF, I mean for the folks I work with 14 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,560 to be wealthy, thriving, and free. 15 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,520 And that means not just financial success, 16 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,800 but non-material wealth, like a feeling of abundance. 17 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:10,600 It means thriving in the sense of their business, which 18 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:12,520 they are quite integrated. 19 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,000 That's part of their identity, is 20 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:21,280 growing in a way that also generates satisfaction 21 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:22,520 for them. 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,140 And then finally, free, in that they have independence 23 00:01:25,140 --> 00:01:28,920 and they have choice and they have autonomy in their life, 24 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,480 as well as the mastering purpose that they seek. 25 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,240 And so that's, I think, really at the core there, 26 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,240 to be wealthy, thriving, and free. 27 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:41,720 Thank you for sharing that. 28 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,240 If I were to ask you, Vijay, where 29 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:49,440 did this vision of helping entrepreneurs or startups 30 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,960 come from? 31 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:58,360 I have had the experience of starting a couple businesses 32 00:01:58,360 --> 00:01:59,640 of my own. 33 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:04,880 And while I've been a founder, I've also subsequently 34 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,400 been a leader in a venture studio. 35 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:14,480 I have been at one of the leading venture capital 36 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,000 firms investing around the world. 37 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,880 And I've seen this in different cultures, industries, places, 38 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:28,320 over many years, that whether you're looking at people 39 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,080 incubating a business in an accelerator 40 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,760 or in your portfolio, of which we have in my previous firm, 41 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:41,360 we had made 1,2800 investments, this is really important. 42 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:47,560 And helping to coach and help people 43 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,320 is an unlock for value, not just as an investor, 44 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:57,000 but as a stakeholder in those organizations. 45 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,400 And so I want to help people find that rhythm 46 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:08,840 and that holistic success, regardless of what 47 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,520 their business category is. 48 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:17,800 Because across stages and across industries, 49 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,440 the issues are pretty consistent and often the same. 50 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,840 What would you say, Vijay, is your why of what you do? 51 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:33,560 What's my why? 52 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,280 I have been either an entrepreneur and a founder 53 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,440 or a service to entrepreneurial leaders in one way, shape, 54 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:47,960 or form for the last 25 years. 55 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:50,680 There's something I believe very deeply, 56 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,200 that this is the way in which we change lives, change 57 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,520 the society, create prosperity, create growth, change, 58 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,240 introduce innovative new technologies, 59 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:02,600 and do all these things. 60 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,320 And whether actively involved in it myself 61 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:11,080 or helping maximize the potential and the outcomes 62 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,600 for the people doing it is really important. 63 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,680 And so that's been true since I was in college 64 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,840 and I got introduced to working in tech 65 00:04:20,840 --> 00:04:23,240 when I was working in New York early in my career, 66 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:29,720 when I was working microfinance in developing context 67 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,400 in West Africa early in my career, 68 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:39,880 or later being a part, as I said, of different startups 69 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:46,640 and starting them as well as investing and supporting others. 70 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:51,720 That is a consistent thing is to be ultimately a service 71 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,040 to entrepreneurial leaders. 72 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,120 When would you say that you came to the realization 73 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,120 throughout your journey of that that was your why? 74 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:12,080 When was it like, oh my gosh, this is what I want to do? 75 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:18,920 I think it was something when I was asking myself, 76 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:20,760 should I start another business? 77 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:22,800 Do I want to invest in them? 78 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,160 Do I want to support them in some other way? 79 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:30,240 I realized just the energy that came from spending time 80 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:35,400 with people and thinking constructively about how 81 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:36,640 to support their success. 82 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:45,800 And so that happened probably around the pandemic. 83 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,200 I realized the thing I had been doing very naturally 84 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,840 and consistently, it was like, I was 85 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:57,240 really like, was this, this was the why. 86 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,560 And it's like the thing you do and the common thread 87 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,960 across that became very obvious. 88 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:08,000 And it shaped how I wanted to then double down and be 89 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,360 doing more of that, both in my previous role 90 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:15,200 and then now as I focus full time 91 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,080 on being an executive coach to startup founders 92 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:24,080 and other high growth leaders and startups. 93 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,840 What were you currently doing in that time 94 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:29,560 that you decided, like what you said you were investing 95 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:30,840 or trying to think about? 96 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:35,240 Yeah, so at the time I was leading corporate innovation 97 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:41,440 and partnerships for a firm, 500 Global, 98 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,160 which is one of the most active VC firms in the world. 99 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,360 And we were starting incubation programs and accelerators 100 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:49,960 and things like that around the world, 101 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:53,920 working with different companies and had 102 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:58,320 the pleasure of seeing different types of startup programs 103 00:06:58,320 --> 00:06:59,760 really blossom. 104 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:04,760 And subsequently, we had the opportunity 105 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:10,840 to start a portfolio value group. 106 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:15,000 And that was going to help those founders thrive. 107 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,600 And I was asked to do that. 108 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,880 I was very excited to do it at the time, 109 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:22,000 but I kind of wondered why. 110 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,800 And people kept saying, you're always just doing this. 111 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,600 You're always helping the portfolio. 112 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:29,960 You're always there. 113 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,880 It's always a yes as opposed to just being available 114 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,680 and just doing these things that you do naturally 115 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:41,920 that other people sometimes think of as work 116 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,240 can sometimes be your calling card and professionally 117 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:51,840 your impact without even knowing it. 118 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,640 And so that ended up shaping the decision 119 00:07:55,640 --> 00:08:00,080 to take that opportunity and subsequently helping 120 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:08,320 affirm this lifelong trajectory of focusing on how to support 121 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,960 and be of service to entrepreneurial leaders 122 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:15,000 and certainly that's helped my own entrepreneurial journey 123 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:15,640 too. 124 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:17,000 Thank you for being here today. 125 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,480 I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. 126 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,120 I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions 127 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,360 as these episodes continue to move forward. 128 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,080 This is going to get more and more fun. 129 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,000 We'll have more and more engagement as well. 130 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,040 We'll invite people to participate in the show. 131 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,400 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 132 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,120 Have an excellent time building out your vision 133 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:41,400 and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.