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Viraj Ala

@viraj.ala

106.3K

followers

2227

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📍SF | democratizing the 1% of Silicon Valley
💼 ex @whitehouse
✉️ [email protected]
⬇️ collabs, contact, and more

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From not speaking English to being a $8 BILLION INVESTOR 🤯

Many thanks to Amy Wu Martin - partner at Menlo Ventures - for all of her wisdom and advice in shared in this video! taken in New York City by @viraj.ala

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5 months ago

Never in a million years would I ever expect that Chess.com CEO to be moving like that - but here we are 🤞

Many thanks to Erik Allebest, the CEO and founder of Chess.com, for all his advice and wisdom shared in this video! taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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8 months ago

My first time walking around Palo Alto and I run into someone like him 🙏

This is truly the best city in the world taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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a year ago

He was one of Europe’s BEST Tennis players 🤯

Many thanks to be Benedict Kurz - founder of Knowunity - for all his wisdom and advice shared in this video! taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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19 hours ago

She went to Harvard, Stanford, and WALL STREET too 🤯

Many thanks to Mercedes Bent - founder of Premise VC - for all her wisdom and advice shared in this video! taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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4 days ago

Probably the most social CMU grad I’ve ever met 🙏

Many thanks to Jay Kapoor - founder of VSC Ventures - for all his wisdom and advice shared in this video! taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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5 days ago

He was one of the first investors in Siri, Roku, and UBER 🤯

Many thanks to Shawn Carolan - Partner at Menlo Ventures - for all his wisdom and advice shared in this video! taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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6 days ago

She’s A MULTI-MILLION Dollar CPO 🤯

Many thanks to Priya Shivakumar - CPO of Archetype AI - for all her wisdom and advice in shared in this video! taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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7 days ago

He Built A $10 BILLION Company in UNDER 10 Years 🤯

Many thanks to Ian Wong - founder of OpenDoor and Summation - for all his wisdom and advice shared in this video! taken in Seattle, Washington by @viraj.ala

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8 days ago

He got EMANCIPATED from his parents at 17 Years Old 🤯

Many thanks to David Shim - founder of ReadAI and Place - for all his wisdom and advice shared in this video! taken in Seattle, Washington by @viraj.ala

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9 days ago

Some investors chase deals with their heads.
Arielle backs founders with her gut....
𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 $100 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Venture capital investor at Long Journey Ventures.

She's backed Anduril, Crusoe, Together, Superpower.
Over 250 companies.

Worth well over $100 billion.

Nearly a decade in venture.

So how has she grown as an investor?

When she used her head instead of her heart,
or leaned on it too much and ignored her gut,
that's when she made her worst decisions.

When she followed her heart,
that's when she made her best ones.

They say the best deals in venture
are the ones you never hear about.

Because if you've heard of the deal,
you're already too late.

Is that true?

Part of it.

The real edge is knowing people
before they even become founders.

Being part of their story.
Their journey.

So you have an early seat at the table.

She's a parent. Two little boys.

Her take on access?

The best people make the best use of their 20s
by building access.

And if achieving greatness matters to your family,
you encourage your kids
to be friends with other high achievers.

The key to building trust?

It's so undervalued.

She admits she's still a bit of a people pleaser.

But she's found the opposite is true.

When you withhold your truth from someone,
they miss out on feedback
that could really help them.

And you miss the chance
to say the thing
no one else had the guts to say.

Because when she does say it,
people respect her more. taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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10 days ago

His last company sold for $1.2 BILLION 🤯

Many thanks to Naveen Rao - CEO of Unconventional AI - for all his wisdom and advice shared in this video! taken in San Francisco, California by @viraj.ala

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11 days ago