Our next guest in the profile series is Lola Wajskop, a Principal at Hummingbird Ventures. Having recently been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 2023: Finance, Lola is a generalist investing in early-stage tech entrepreneurs globally. In the interview, Lola talks about finding her first VC internship, the daily routine of a venture capitalist, and the skills that make you a better investor.
A: First of all, could you tell us about how and why you chose to enter the VC industry?
L: It was an accident. To give you a bit of background: I grew up in Belgium, studied electrical engineering there for 5 years, then went to LBS to do one year of management. When I wrote my applications, I thought I wanted to work in tech. After a year of working with startups and accelerators at LBS, I decided to do an internship at a startup, so I went onto AngelList – a platform to find jobs, mostly used in the US, but also in Europe. It just so happened that Hummingbird (my fund) was advertising there, which is very unusual for a VC – they usually do not advertise on the internet. They had an ad for an associate, which I clearly wasn’t, as I did not even know what VC was and I was just a student.
So, then it was like Tinder: we had a match, then we had a chat, then we had a coffee, and then they explained VC to me (I did not know the language, not even what the letters stood for). I really loved the two partners I met; they gave me an internship somehow, so I worked with them for a few months. When the time came at the end of summer to decide what I was going to do, I decided to work for them. That is the official story.
The non-official story is that they actually did not give me a job at the end of my internship, because I had mentioned that I had an offer at Facebook. They clearly thought: if she is interested in Facebook, she will not be interested in us, because we are so widely different. So, they said no. Then I emailed them a long piece saying that I realised this is really what I want to do, and, in the end, I got the offer and started on the day of my graduation in 2017.
A: It is really interesting how you found the job! The whole process tends to be covered in mystery for students. So, either based on what you went through or what you would look for now if you were hiring an analyst or an associate to join your team, could you shed some light on the process?
L: Of course! So, I was really lucky to have the internship to understand what the job was about. I think it is very difficult to make a blind decision to join a VC firm, because the day-to-day is a little bit opaque. I think the reason they hired me is because of my engineering background, which was unusual, as most applications they had were from people in finance. I also come from a family of traditional non-high-tech entrepreneurs; so, when I was talking to the partners, they realised I was not romanticising entrepreneurship. I had a lot of respect for entrepreneurs, but I was not interested for the wrong reasons. That is probably why I had a shot in the first place. Then they tested me for a few months…
So, the process is very fund-specific. Hummingbird is early-stage, we invest at pre-seed and seed into everything everywhere in the world, which is unusual. The way we build our team is a reflection of that. All of my colleagues have completely different backgrounds: some are neuroscientists, some have a business background, some are physicists – we just look for people who are different from who we already have in terms of nationalities, interests, and so on. We are also very opportunistic in terms of hiring, as we never have a specific job we are looking for. We are just looking for passionate, hungry, self-driven (we are remote) individuals who are ready to go out there in the wild.
A: I love that you use the word outsiders as well for your team – very welcoming! So, this may be person-specific, but what skills do you personally rely on in your day-to-day as a VC?
L: It is a people business. You have to find creative ways to source founders. Then, you need unique ways to assess the companies and win the deals. Finally, you need to bring value to the companies you invest in. Each VC will have different ways of doing things: aside from shared values of the fund, we all have the liberty to have our own style. My most important skill is the ability to read people quickly; when we meet the founder for the first time, we will ask unusual questions and get to know them in a way that is different from other investors. We have low investment frequency, so we do 2-5 deals in a year. Therefore, every company we invest in needs to have the potential to become huge. We are looking for founders with those ambitious who have what it takes to get there. My task is to figure that out in a 30-minute call, so I have to get creative with the questions I ask.
Another trait is: I care more than others about the people, the companies and my team. I do a lot for supporting and onboarding new members of my team, and I am also in touch with my portfolio companies 24/7. I think caring a lot is a great way for an investor to have an edge. It is very intangible, it’s not like a certain Excel spreadsheet skill…
A: Oh, I am not a STEM person, so I am thrilled to hear how important the softer people skills are!
L: In early stage, for sure. I think as you go up to Series A, B and plus, you start leveraging other skills. You just need to know your craft.
A: My next question is: as an investor, have you had any challenges or failures that allowed you to grow?
L: So many. I always warn people before they join the industry: it is a real challenge to not have any output to your work. I spend my days chatting to people, hoping that one of those conversations may lead to an investment one day. It is all very up in the air. So, it can be draining having to engage in 5-10 meetings per day without many moments that fill up your tank. In a startup, you get to frequently hit milestones that boost your energy. As an investor, it is more long-term, so I have seen many people get their batteries depleted. Of course, when you complete a Term Sheet, you get a rush, but that does not happen every month. So, everyone deals with this challenge differently: for example, some may do writing or creating content to get a sense of completion, because in venture you are never done…
Another challenge, which is a bit more fun, is: nobody tells you what to do. Every day I wake up and I have meetings that I have scheduled, but if I discover that you are an amazing entrepreneur, I suddenly have to reorganize my time to prioritise you. Every day you have to reassess how you spend your time and that can be tiring, as you are your only resource allocator in life.
A: Out of curiosity, what are your techniques or tactics for discovering these amazing entrepreneurs?
L: I am a generalist, which is not what I recommend: I think constraints are good. I am too far into my journey to start artificially limiting myself, but I am biased too, as I have a portfolio. Therefore, I now have a stronger opinion on spaces they operate in.
As a fund, our thesis is on founders. I get excited by people, and I think humans are a great proxy for businesses. A good entrepreneur will select a big market and an interesting problem. I will often try to engage with interesting people who are not founders, as they may one day build something – it is a lot of serendipity. All you can do is plant seeds here and there, and some day you may harvest something.
A: Really interesting. Any last piece of advice for our students?
L: Pay attention to why you are interested in VC and understand it deeply. I know it may look shiny from the outside, and I do feel grateful and privileged, but if it is the shiny things that interest you, it may not be what you think.
And on the question of “What makes a good VC?”: who knows. For 10 years, you are living with no certainty, which is challenging for the ego. There is no clear way to know if you are good or not.
A: Thank you so much!
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