venture capitalism

and just like that, it's been four years since i left journalism, something that i thought was absolutely my only calling in professional life.

i'm turning three at the current firm i'm working with and i really wanted to come out of the woodwork to commemorate this milestone. it's called a milestone because i never expected three years to fly past just like that, especially when there are so many things i dislike about the venture capital space.

do i feel like i've fully transitioned from a journalist into a full-time VC? i'm not sure there's a good answer to this question, but try i shall. the journalist in me is still very much alive - i still get to be curious and sceptical. still writing, although mostly for in-house consumption.

one thing i enjoyed most during my days as a journalist was interviewing people from all walks of life to get a story - food delivery riders, F&B merchants, consumers of a certain product, former and current employees, high-ranking corporate executives, research analysts, academics - wherever the story brought me.

hence, one of my fears upon joining a VC firm was whether i would eventually lose touch with the real world. VC is a subset of private equity and typically, people in finance are rather full of themselves, to say the least. i don't say this without reason, having covered the private capital space since 2018.

but judging from where i am now, it's actually been the opposite. i get to work with founders - not just the shiny or pedigreed ones. i'm talking about the underdogs, founders who may seem rough on the outside but have brilliant minds in bridging real-world gaps across Southeast Asia. i also get to work with the clients they serve, who are often small-and-medium enterprises, and their employees - the backbone of the companies we've invested in.

seeing up close how businesses and the capitalist system work has made me even angrier about the inequality in wealth distribution. but that's a story for another day.

one thing this role has taught me is how to play chess - how to be strategic. not that i'm claiming to be particularly strategic these days, but compared to my reporter days where everything was execute, execute, go, go, go - i've learned to take a step back and think a few moves ahead before making one.

more importantly, i think i've found a true friend in my current employer. not once have i regretted joining him on this quest. if anything, i feel honoured and privileged that he decided to take me under his wings. i've learned so much about the world through him - that one can still be genuinely thoughtful and kind while building a career in this space.

i'm not sure if i'll stay in this space forever. but i've come to appreciate how working with the right people makes the journey so much more enjoyable. the past three years have also made me softer especially when it comes to dealing with founders - to be in their shoes and see things from their perspectives, not that i've stopped asking difficult questions. i've learned that it's okay to ask for help, that not everything i do will yield immediate results, and that sitting with uncertainty is part of the job. 

happy three years to me.