New adventure at D20 Capital: The culmination of a nonlinear journey
Last month, I started a new role as a General Partner at D20 Capital, an investment firm based in San Francisco that is backed by Doosan Group. D20’s mandate is to invest in innovation that is revolutionizing traditional industries, starting with construction and manufacturing — industries where Doosan has a strong global presence via affiliates like Bobcat and Doosan Infracore.
D20 Capital is yet another bold bet for Doosan. Enabled by support from both top management and the founding family, hard earned capital is being committed from a capital intensive business. D20’s independent mandate and streamlined decision-making processes represent Doosan’s willingness to sacrifice control in return for success. Operating as an independent VC firm will enable us to back brilliant entrepreneurs who are pursuing tech driven innovation in old world industries, via both capital and the might of a leading conglomerate.
So how did I end up at an investment firm in Silicon Valley backed by a Korean conglomerate?
Since my first day as an engineering freshman at the University of Illinois 19 years ago (!!), my career path has been highly non-linear — a scatter plot of sorts whether based on geography, organizational size, or operational mandate. The irony is that those closest to me will attest that my personality leans more towards stability seeking than adventurous. Despite that, it turns out that D20 is my 7th job, and D20 represents a culmination of my various journeys. A full circle.
A bullet point version of my path thus far to illustrate this point:
- Electrical Engineering undergrad at UIUC: I spent my 4 years as an undergrad assuming that I was destined to get a PHD in EE and become a professor. Perhaps because my heart wasn’t set on it, I took classes in various engineering disciplines. Dabbling, more than specializing. I did write a thesis in the field of power electronics — a field that was considered a bit stale back then, but now critical due to the rise of battery powered vehicles and devices. The natural next step was a Master’s in EE in the U.S…
- Master’s in EE at Seoul National University: In an 11th hour decision, I decided to go to Korea to get my M.S. I was advised that if I ever want to be a professor in Korea, it’d be good to have some roots in Korea and to establish a network. I learned how to succeed in a purely Korean organization and learned the technology of millimeter wave radio-frequency sensors — a topic that was somewhat niche back then but is now very hot due to the rapidly rising potential of autonomous vehicles. The natural next step was to continue my research in a PHD program…
- PM at Samsung Electronics: In another 11th hour decision, I decided to scrap my plans towards academia. In the extensive research and thesis writing process, I realized that becoming highly specialized in a field was not for me. There are certain people who thrive in digging deep, in perpetually asking ‘why’ and in evaluating problems from a myriad of different angles. That wasn’t me. It took me >6 years to realize that, and I joined Samsung Electronics as a product manager in the mobile processor team that would go on to produce the ‘brains’ of the first iPhones and Galaxy smartphones. In this process, I learned an immense amount about how large organizations work, and how individuals working in dozens of small teams can collectively create products that were minor technology miracles. My broad interactions with startups also piqued my interest in venture capital for the first time as I noticed the difference in ‘swagger’ between startups with lots of funding vs. those living on the edge. The natural next step was to rise up the Samsung Electronics corporate ladder…
- Executive Staff for JY Lee: I received a call at my desk one day and was politely asked to go to headquarters in Seoul to interview. I asked what the interview was for and when they wouldn’t tell me, I declined. One stern call and many interviews later, I found myself in the office of JY Lee, then Vice Chairman and now de facto head of Samsung Group. I learned at the highest level about the reach and power of a large conglomerate along with the intricacies of powerful business families.
- MBA at Columbia: I went to business school aspiring to land a position in venture capital in the U.S. My aspiration was quickly shot down by friends and mentors who wisely advised that my background gave me no competitive advantage in breaking into the tiny world of venture capital. The pragmatist that I am, I put the VC dream on hold and chose investment banking as the learning experience that would set me up for VC down the road. And then in another hard pivot, I realized that my personality meshed much better with consultants and found myself recruiting for consulting jobs.
- Consultant at McKinsey: I was one of very few associates who actually enjoyed the job. I worked on really interesting projects such as a massive capital deployment project at a large semiconductor factory, a leading telco’s acquisition fueled growth strategy, and a large tech merger. I had horse-blinders on in positioning myself to make partner. While some of my peers discussed ‘exit strategy’ from the world of consulting, I turned down recruiter calls as I knew that the McKinsey career progression was what I wanted to do…
- VC at Formation 8/Formation Group: I was contacted by Formation 8, which at that time the media dubbed as ‘the hottest VC since Andreessen.’ Was this really happening? After folding on my VC aspirations just four years prior, this opportunity had fallen on my lap. I moved from NYC to SF and quickly learned about the world of startups and venture capital. My experience after joining the firm was bumpy, and a partnership with a promising lineup of funds with collectively ~$1.5B in AUM, quickly dissolved. But at the end of the day I learned about a certain way of investing, had the privilege of partnering with many talented entrepreneurs, quickly expanded my previously limited network in Silicon Valley, and also learned about the world of Limited Partners and raising capital.
- VC at Amasia: In the process of the unfortunate ending of the Formation 8 experience, a mentor I frequently sought out was Ramanan Raghavendran, a VC industry veteran and a founding General Partner at Amasia. And so when Ramanan and John asked me to join them on their journey, I jumped at the opportunity. At Amasia, I learned about the importance of prudent investing and the levers to do so via valuation sensitivity, capital pacing, and capital efficiency. I also learned from a seasoned investor, who has been through both the dotcom bust and the great recession, the vital importance of fiduciary duty and ethics. I also learned about the immense potential, as well as the nuanced challenges, of bridging Silicon Valley innovation with large Asian markets.
Through this meandering journey, I’ve accumulated the learnings and experiences conducive to helping build D20 Capital. I’ve been at two Silicon Valley VC firms with extremely different investing styles: one with a General Partner with very limited experience and one with a General Partner with almost 30 years of investing experience. I’ve been a part of a new VC firm being set up and a successful VC firm shutting down. I’ve pitched to countless fund investors (LPs) and have been pitched to by countless startups. I’ve spent massive amounts of time and energy trying to help U.S. startups in Asia and Asian startups in the U.S. I’ve worked shoulder to shoulder with Fortune 100 C-level execs in the U.S. as a consultant and in Korea as an executive staffer. I’ve also been in the trenches with engineers in building a highly complex semiconductor product. I’ve worked in Seoul, New York, and now the SF Bay Area and in the process have gotten deep into power electronics, radio-frequency engineering, semiconductors, operating systems, SaaS, virtual reality, media, and payments.
A common question one is asked in any industry, but perhaps a bit more in venture capital, is ‘what is the best path to get into this industry?’ There has been much discourse, ranging from ‘you must have been an operator’ to ‘the easiest way is investment banking.’ The thinking I respect the most is from Fred Wilson’s post on the ‘Investor VCs and Operator VCs’ — ‘there is no right way.’ I’ve always answered that my path has been non-linear and not the path to emulate in pursuing a career as a VC. At times I’ve felt behind to those who have been lifers in my industry. But there are clearly merits, and perhaps a strong need, for investors with diverse backgrounds. In his new book, Range, David Epstein makes the case for certain advantages that generalists like me have vs. the specialist that I aspired to be 20 years ago. In particular, Epstein writes about research from Philip Tetlock, the renowned researcher on the subject of forecasting. Here, ‘foxes’ are generalists and ‘hedgehogs’ are specialists:
In Tetlock’s twenty-year study, both foxes and hedgehogs were quick to update their beliefs after successful predictions, by reinforcing them even more strongly. When an outcome took them by surprise, however, foxes were much more likely to adjust their ideas. Hedgehogs barely budged. Some hedgehogs made authoritative predictions that turned out wildly wrong, and then updated their theories in the wrong direction. They became even more convinced of the original beliefs that led them astray. “Good judges are good belief updaters,” according to Tetlock. If they make a bet and lose, they embrace the logic of a loss just as they would the reinforcement of a win. That is called, in a world: learning. Sometimes it involves putting experience aside entirely.
VCs emphasize ‘pattern matching’ and ‘muscle memory.’ This has certainly worked out extremely well for many investors out there. But in this rapidly evolving world of technology, there are undoubtedly uncharted waters as new technologies arise, the world gets smaller, and technology penetration accelerates in industries slow to adopt tech innovation. We collectively as a team have a lot to learn and a lot to build. We’ll make investments in entrepreneurs who make us look good, and we’ll also make mistakes. When we do, hopefully we’ll have enough diversity of thought to update our theories in the right direction. I’m excited for the journey that lies ahead for D20 Capital — it will inevitably be non-linear, but undoubtedly we’ll learn a ton from being in the trenches with passionate entrepreneurs pursuing ambitious innovations.
