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When Urvashi Barooah applied to MBA programs in 2015 , she rivet her applications around her dream of becoming a speculation capitalist . She got resist from every schooltime , and was say she was being unrealistic about her expectation in the venture diligence — but she did n’t let that deter her .
Now , nine years later , Barooah , 33 , is getting advance to partner at Redpoint . She joined the firm as an familiar four geezerhood ago , and has served as a principal since recent 2021 . Silicon Valley - based Redpoint is currently investing out of its $ 650 million 9th monetary fund . Barooah is now one of the firm ’s three partner focused on other stage .
Barooah told TechCrunch that in some ways those business schools were right to tell her she was being unrealistic about her goals . She knew it would be hard to break into the relatively small-scale diligence with no internet or contacts in Silicon Valley , but she ’s happy she did n’t listen to them .
“ I was n’t dissuade , but it did find kind of impossible at one point , ” Barooah said . “ I was so removed from it . I did n’t know the reality on the soil . I just knew what hoi polloi wrote about in the papers . ”
Barooah grew up far away from Silicon Valley in Guwahati , a pocket-sized city , by India ’s standards , sandwich between Bhutan and Bangladesh . Both her parent ran their own businesses . Her dad take to the woods a chemical business , while her mamma design and sold furniture .
“ My parent , maturate up , asked me , ‘ what form of patronage do you want to start ? ’ That is what the most successful the great unwashed in India did , ” she aver . “ They always encourage me to forge my own route and take off my own company . I thought about that for a long time but there was nothing that sex me . If there was no idea that I was passionate about , the next best matter I could do was lick with founders . ”
In 2017 , Barooah applied to U.S. business schools again after working as a consultant , and had better fortune . She landed a spot at Wharton and pronounce she catered all of her social class and additional curriculars around learn everything she could about the venture manufacture . She started talking to entrepreneurs , developing an investment dissertation and cold - calling VCs to pitch it .
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After an estimated 50 moth-eaten calls , she land an internship at New York - free-base Primary Venture Partners in 2019 . She got another at Redpoint shortly after and was able to commute that into a full - meter function and has been there ever since .
While growing up with enterpriser parent did n’t introduce Barooah to pretend capital , she cogitate her upbringing urinate her a better VC . She said go out their day - to - day triumphs and failures helped show her just how arduous it is to run a business and how to range with the punches when things do go ill-timed .
“ They always fought against the betting odds and did what was necessary to keep their patronage going , ” Barooah said . “ [ They taught me ] this estimation that you have to keep moving forward despite all odds and that it was supposed to be toilsome . If one of my party has a setback , I know that it is just par for the course and something that can be overcome . ”
Barooah ’s portfolio include Dune Analytics , an Ethereum - concentrate platform for making on - mountain chain information approachable ; Offchain Labs , a startup that help companies scale with Ethereum ; and The Rounds , a delivery service focused on sustainability , among others . She has two new investments that have yet to be announced where she ’ll be taking control panel seats too .
The first few years as an investor taught her that the best VCs are pliable and uncoerced to be where the market is tell them to go . She pass her first few year back blockchain and crypto company , but now she ’s spend most of her fourth dimension on vertical SaaS startups employ AI .
Barooah said she ’s excited to keep expanding her portfolio and look forward to this new role as collaborator and being there for the founders when they necessitate help .
“ I started my journey in speculation four years ago and hump nothing , ” Barooah said . “ Over these four years , I ’ve shaped my judgment on what a good caller is . It ’s not something I have perfected by any way , but I have a few more successes than I did when I first join . That gives me more confidence to take on more contrarian bets , and in VC it ’s about believing in things no one else believes and being correct . ”
