Topics

Latest

AI

Amazon

Article image

Image Credits:Greylock

Apps

Biotech & Health

Climate

Asheem Chandna

Image Credits:Greylock

Cloud Computing

Commerce

Crypto

go-ahead

EVs

Fintech

Fundraising

Gadgets

Gaming

Google

Government & Policy

ironware

Instagram

layoff

Media & Entertainment

Meta

Microsoft

Privacy

Robotics

Security

societal

Space

Startups

TikTok

conveyance

Venture

More from TechCrunch

effect

Startup Battlefield

StrictlyVC

Podcasts

Videos

Partner Content

TechCrunch Brand Studio

Crunchboard

Contact Us

When Asheem Chandna drove up to Rubrik ’s office in Palo Alto on a Friday Nox in early 2015 , he was looking forwards to learning what the young company that had yet to build its product would show him . The Greylock married person was n’t disappointed .

The company ’s chief executive officer , Bipul Sinha , draw Rubrik ’s programme to vamp the data management and recovery market on a whiteboard . “ The sure-enough versus new architecture he presented was very compelling , ” Chandna said . “ ground on my knowledge of the sphere , I acknowledge it could be build into a large business . ”

That was a prescient call . On Thursday , nine geezerhood after that meeting , Rubrik begin its life as a publically traded company with amarket cap of over $ 6 billion . Greylock holds a 13 % post , harmonize to the latest SEC filings . By the close of grocery store Friday , with contribution price at $ 38 , those closely 19.9 million shares were worth over $ 756 million .

But Chandna says it was much more than Rubrik ’s desire to take on the arcane data recovery market that incite him to direct Rubrik’s$40 million Series Bin May 2015 . ( The Series B round sell for $ 2.45 / portion , adjusting for splits , according to those SEC documents . While Greylock also participated in late turn at higher prices , Chandna ’s returns on this one are goodish . )

“ The longer I do what I do , the more I essentially consider that venture is a people stage business , ” said Chandna , who has been an investor for over 20 year and has an enviable running record of successful outlet . He has help brood Palo Alto Networks in Greylock ’s offices and was on the intimately $ 100 billion - worth companionship ’s board until last twelvemonth . Chandna was also an early investor inAppDynamics , Sumo Logicand Arista Networks .

Chandna looks for mass who are not only motivated and ambitious , but are also self - aware of their weaknesses , and can recruit masses who can get things done in areas that are not the founder ’s stiff suits .

Another all important component for a beginner is grit . “ If you had applied science that was adequate , but somewhat inferior to my applied science , but you were very self - aware and haunting , you will beat me , ” he said .

Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

That ’s what he saw in Sinha . Rubrik ’s laminitis had a lifelong dreaming of commence a company . When he ground the data management and retrieval startup in 2013 , he could n’t find hard engineers who wanted to fall work there , Chandna recall . The commercial enterprise he was trying to progress was inherently not sexy at the time .

Despite having been an investor with Lightspeed for four year before plunge Rubrik , recruiting gift turned out to be a handsome challenge for Sinha . But he did n’t give up . He pinged engineers on LinkedIn and then receive them for coffee blocks away from where they worked .

“ Startup journeys are very hard , even for the most successful companies , ” Chandna tell . “ I want citizenry who wo n’t take ‘ no ’ for an answer . ”

Perhaps it was Sinha ’s grit and ambition that oblige him to take his company public despite the lukewarm IPO environment .

“ Rubrik has just under $ 800 million in annualized recurring tax income , ” Chandna tell , “ That ’s big than most fellowship that last public in the last many years . I remember they just want to get on with it . ”

Chandna declined to say if he expects other Greylock portfolio companies to pursue Rubrik ’s lead but add emphatically that the business firm ’s best - perform recent - stage businesses are Abnormal Security , Cato Networks , Discord , Figma and Lyra Health .

We will be stick to their fate closely .