Rohini Chakravarthy, a technology and investment leader, started her career in the field of venture capital back in 1999. Currently, she is the head of Enterprise Practices with NGP Capital. NGP is a global venture firm based in Palo Alto in Silicon Valley with offices in Europe and China. The firm has 7 investing partners, out of which 3 are women entrepreneurs. Prior to joining NGP Capital, Rohini was an investing partner at NEA (New Enterprise Associates), focused on software, systems, and technology investments. She has also worked in various leadership roles at Intel Corporation and Cisco.
From being one of 10 girls in her IIT Madras class of 280 students, to pursuing an MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and finally making her way into the venture world, Rohini discovered her leadership traits and triumphed in male-dominated Silicon Valley.
What do you typically look for in entrepreneurs when you make an investment?
The venture strategy for every investment firm is different. But typically, as an investor, we want entrepreneurs to be resilient and have the ability to think out of the box. Firstly, professionals who have experienced a problem in their own lives and have dealt with it are the most promising entrepreneurs. They have the intensity and the passion to follow their dreams and take risks. Secondly, every entrepreneur should have three main areas of focus: Product, Market, and Team. They need to be able to articulate their vision, why the right time to target their market is now, and what they think is needed to achieve the company’s goals. Lastly, they have to be able to identify the company’s future prospects. These questions, when answered well, make us confident decision makers. As venture capitalists we also want to ensure that founders can execute well on growth strategies. Venture capitalists’ success is directly tied to the entrepreneur’s success.
What is your leadership style? What attributes do you seek when building a team? In your role, how important is mentorship?
Growing a company requires great ideas, amazing people and access to resources needed to grow. I have always valued the experiences of people who have navigated a variety of challenges. I feel that my own accomplishment comes from creating winners, but for that, people should be capable of taking charge of their own journey. Good managers will make you do things that need to happen, but good leaders pull you out to explore beyond conventional strategies.
As an investor, these are the questions that drive me: are these founders driven by purpose, are they accelerated learners, and can they make a decision when I am not in the room? Finally, can these entrepreneurs work effectively under ambiguity?
No company can be built in a vacuum. It really does take a lot of people to shape, promote and substantialize a company. Outside input and feedback matters — not to make them change direction, but to help them refine their vision and path.
What do you think is one of the biggest mistakes that some entrepreneurs make? Do you have any advice on how to approach failure?
I think failure can largely be attributed to missed timing and misreading the market. Successfully timing the market is tricky and one can never read the market perfectly. I want entrepreneurs to be driven and passionate about their ideas. but they also need to confront the possibility of failure head on and seek guidance on various aspects of the business when needed – a slight change of strategy in marketing, building or improving a product, accessing the target customer base, etc. can also make a difference.
Did you ever hit a wall?
I was in the minority in a lot of situations and had to face uneven odds. At IIT Madras, I was one of 10 girls out of 280 students in the whole undergrad B.Tech batch. Part of the coping mechanism of overcoming these odds is to be really focused on what your goal is and how you are going to achieve it. In 2019 for example, I put together a conference of over 500 attendees and 65 speakers — our goal was to have 50% of the speakers be women. But we couldn’t achieve that. We finally managed to get 25% female speakers for the event, which is progress in the right direction and an improvement to the 10% of female speakers we had gotten for the event in 2018.
You’d be surprised to know how many people in my own surroundings questioned if I would be able to get that many women speakers without compromising the quality of the speakers.
Women tend to have a fear of the ask. What’s your perspective?
Everybody has a fear of rejection, which oftentimes results from how people in your environment perceive you. I feel that I have a little less fear of rejection compared to what I have seen in others. Women entrepreneurs are being asked questions about risk aversion and balancing work with family: “What will happen if this doesn’t work out and how are you going to manage?” Men are not questioned how they are going to manage their family and work. We need to be resilient and be smart about when to ask and how to ask and be patient enough to know that if we are going to be rejected, then it’s okay.
Your bio indicates that you have sat on multiple boards. As a woman, what is your perspective on the lack of representation of women on corporate boards?
I think for the last few years, we have seen a change, especially on public company boards. Recently, we passed the mark of 20% women on public company boards in California.
According to the Spencer Stuart report, 58% of the board members hired in 2019 were women. I have seen data that indicates that women CEOs are more likely to hire women board members. In our VC portfolio, 1/10th of our company CEOs are women and we recently hired a female CFO for one of our portfolio companies. There is movement, awareness, and acknowledgment of this fact. I think the process needs to be established, and we are already on our way!
Tell us about your family background and what your childhood days were like?
I grew up in Bangalore. My dad still lives in the house we grew up in and we feel well rooted in that community. My brother works in tech too and lives close by here in Silicon Valley. I married my classmate from IIT Madras and we have two boys. The elder one is in college and the younger one is in high school. Our third child is named Rocky, and he is a black lab.
Who influenced you the most growing up and why?
I had many influences, but my mother, who worked her whole life, was the biggest influence on me and was a pillar of our extended family — we were close-knit with lots of cousins, uncles and aunts streaming in and out of our house. Influenced by her work ethic, my first job was as a cashier at this small store when I was 10. My music teacher was a big influence as well. We were really close and I learned a lot about creativity and performance art from her. She was a great artist and an even better coach.
Do you believe that your South Asian heritage has influenced your leadership style in any way? If so, how?
Growing up in India, surrounded by Indian culture, our focus was on internal discipline. Routine was very important. One had autonomy to do anything while maintaining that routine and discipline. Growing up in a close-knit family, one learns that different people have different strengths and perspectives. If there is a conflict, one has to be able to handle that conflict in a constructive way. The diversity of our Indian society, the variety of languages, and cultural backgrounds makes one more receptive to new ideas.
What is one piece of advice you have for the young women entrepreneurs/ women VCs entering a male-dominated profession?
Know that it is your journey and that you own it. Trust your instincts without feeling the need to always explain them to the world. If you want to do something, go for it and be ready to stand by it, no matter what the consequences.
Networking is an important skill. Try to talk to and work with a diverse set of people. One does not know where the next piece of valuable advice may come from, or who can give you an idea that may change your world.
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Author Bio:
Sonal has worked in Strategy and Operations at Pitney Bowes Inc in India for five years. Aspiring to be a digital marketing professional, she is looking forward to advancing her career with an MBA degree at CSU East Bay. Sonal is also a PADI certified scuba diver, a resilient traveler and an avid animal lover.
