Today’s incredible guest is Nikhil Basu Trivedi, an investor who has been on the leading edge of investing in dozens of startups just before they become the next big thing. His portfolio includes Canva, Hinge, DoctoronDemand and many more. We asked Nikhil about what sort of data points he looks for when analyzing markets, in order to time the next big thing perfectly for investment; and we dig into some of the biggest lessons he’s learned in the process.
About Nikhil:
Nikhil Basu Trivedi is Co-Founder and General Partner of Footwork, an early-stage VC firm focused on consumer technology and the consumerization of enterprise technology. Previously, he was Managing Director of Shasta Ventures and an investor with Insight Venture Partners. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in molecular biology and finance.
He writes at nbt.substack.com
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In this episode we discuss:
03:38 How does Nikhil define the “next big thing”
04:48 The biggest lesson Nikhil has learned
07:18 How to think about timing when to step in
10:05 The NFT wave and opening up of new opportunities
12:53 How to think about potential sizes of investment
16:57 Staying grounded in reality rather than being driven by hype
19:09 What Nikhil looks for in founders
20:36 Analyzing product market fit
24:59 Viewing competitors in the early-stage market
27:14 Enterprise trends post-pandemic that Nikhil is excited about
29:50 Thoughts on clean tech/ deep tech
32:34 Staying a generalist when investing
35:54 What to look for from Footwork VC
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