The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.
Gadi Borovich decided to leave one of the most innovative universities in the world to become a venture capital investor. At 20, he started working at funds such as XX and WeFunder and, after having invested in more than 40 startups, he decided to start his own venture capital fund.
Today, Gadi is Managing Partner of Antigravity Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in vertical software startups based on Artificial Intelligence.
In this episode, we talk about:
- What makes Minerva such an innovative university
- His strategy for getting his first job as an investor
- And how he handles impostor syndrome when surrounding himself with such successful people, at his young age
We also talked about:
- What the fundamental steps are for launching a venture capital fund
- How to connect with potential Limited Partners
- And his decision process for whether or not to invest in a startup
This was a special conversation because I interviewed a good friend from whom I have learned a lot, and it was the first episode we recorded in person in my studio in San Francisco. So swing by our YouTube channel to check it out. Now, I’ll leave you with my conversation with Gadi from Antigravity Capital**.**
Youtube Timestamps*
[00:00] - From Uruguay to San Francisco
- How did Gadi get into the fascinating world of startups?
After leaving high school and before moving to San Francisco, he lived on a kibbutz in Israel.
- What lessons did he take from that experience?
- What made him not stay in Israel and decide to study in the United States?
Gadi arrived in San Francisco through Minerva, a university with a model truly different from the traditional university.
- What is Minerva and what are some of the things about the program, methodology, or students that would surprise most people to know?
Eventually, he decides to leave the university.
- Gadi tells us the story of how he got his first job at WeFunder
Gadi is one of the Latinos who best understands the “culture” of Silicon Valley.
- For someone who would like to come to Silicon Valley to look for opportunities. What does he think they should understand about the people and the culture?
- Does it seem to him that the way of doing business in San Francisco is more transactional than in Latin America?
Many founders in Latin America or in smaller cities in the US feel that the ease with which a founder based in Silicon Valley can raise capital is “unfair.”
- Gadi has invested in founders with this profile. What advice does he give them for connecting with investors or advisors in Silicon Valley?
- What does he recommend for validating that spending the money to come to Silicon Valley makes sense, before making the trip?
[32:11] - Lessons from Fundraising
It is often said that before raising a venture capital fund you should work at a fund, start a company, or operate. But the best investors have in common that they entered the industry through very different paths.
Gadi’s story follows that line, since he has a very particular trajectory.
- What motivated him to launch his own venture capital fund at such a young age?
- How important is it to have a prior track record as an angel investor or at other funds, for success in raising your own fund?
- What are the fundamental steps someone should follow if they are considering starting a venture capital fund?
Gadi has talked with at least 100 or 200 potential investors in his fund.
- How does he approach and engage with potential Limited Partners? What channels or strategies have worked best for him to find them?
- What does he think these Limited Partners look for in a venture capital fund?
Daniel has said that having experience as an operator gives him a more pessimistic perspective when evaluating companies, and that having a partner like Gadi, young and with a radically different mental framework, allows him to find those flashes of optimism needed to get excited about a startup.
- How would Gadi describe the decision process by which he convinces himself and gets excited about investing in a startup?
[01:15:21] - Quick Questions Round
- If he looks 10 years into the future, what is the most extraordinary vision for Antigravity Capital?
Episode Mentions
You can find Gadi on LinkedIn
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