About Me

My mission:

To increase total software output by supporting entrepreneurs building technical tools for technical people

My most popular essays:

• Why We Will Never Have Enough Software Developers (Popular on Reddit)
• Enterprise Software Monetization is Fat-Tailed
• Companies Rarely Grow Into Their Valuations
• The Developer Productivity Manifesto
• Remote Software Developers Earn 22% More Than Non-Remote Developers (#1 on Hacker News)
• High Retention = High Volatility
• You Don't Understand Compound Growth

More about me:

I'm a geek at heart.

I've been fascinated by technology for as long as I can remember. I spent countless hours as a teenager building computers (currently rocking a 7700K 8700K / 7800 980 Ti 1080 Ti 3090 combo), coding up websites (R.I.P. PHP), and finding ways to game Google search (SEO is not what it used to be though). These days I spend just as many hours doing statistical analysis in Python, toying with neural networks (highly recommend Stanford's deep learning-based NLP class CS 224N and computer vision class CS 231N), experimenting with open source software, and advising startups on product and growth initiatives.

I love applying rigorous analytical frameworks and mental models to tough problems at the center of technology, business, and life. In the last few years I've been exploring developer productivity tools, application infrastructure, and machine learning in the enterprise.

I'm a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where I work with companies like Redpanda, Materialize, and others. I spent four formative years investing in growth-stage technology businesses at ICONIQ Capital, where I sourced and co-led investments in leading B2B software and internet companies like GitLab, Epic Games (Fortnite), ezCater, and Brightwheel and and additionally invested in others like Age of Learning, Alteryx (AYX), Fastly (FSLY), Relativity, SurveyMonkey (SVMK), and Uber (UBER). My first gig out of school was Technology, Media, and Telecommunications investment banking at J.P. Morgan.

I got my MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. As a grad student, I worked at Confluent as a product manager, took advanced computer science courses, and served as Co-President and Vice President of the Venture Capital and Tech Clubs, respectively.

I studied Economics at Yale University. While there, I worked at McKinsey & Company and on campus as a Student Tech, helping my fellow students solve their most dire computer problems.

I was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30 Venture Capital and Venture Capital Journal 40 Under 40.

Connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter.