Although I’ve been an investor for over two decades, I wasn’t always a venture capitalist. In fact, I started my career in technology on the other side of the table — as one of the first engineering hires at an ambitious startup looking to grow. I’ll never forget the moment our fledgling company received our first substantial investment. When our CEO gathered our small team to share the good news in the form of the VC’s freshly-cut check, I was inspired by what it meant beyond mere funding: Someone believed in our vision so much that they were willing to help us keep building what we were creating.
