Q: Tell us about yourself. What motivates you?
I moved to the US as a child and have always valued the opportunity for a great education, exposure to diverse cultures, and personal growth. The values instilled in me by my parents laid the foundation for my interests, fueled by growing up in Silicon Valley. This environment sparked my interest and passion for working in high-tech and motivated me to help build innovative products, grow talented teams, and work at some iconic companies.
Q: How did you end up in the tech industry?
Growing up in a Middle Eastern family, I was always encouraged to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Throughout my childhood, high school, and college years, I was also a competitive athlete, which initially led me to pursue an education aimed at attending medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon. However, after graduating college in the Bay Area, I was drawn to the technology companies around me. Fascinated, I landed an internship at Netscape, a company that shaped the internet. This experience transformed my professional and personal life, and from then on, I had the opportunity to work with exciting and innovative technology companies.
Q: You’ve been an operator your entire career, culminating with being CEO of a public company – Sumo Logic. What inspired your move to venture capital?
I’ve always had a builder mindset and set a personal goal years ago to lead a technology company to its IPO. Throughout my career, I was fortunate to have mentors and leaders who believed in me. This inspired me to give back and "pay it forward," which became a key motivation for my career transition to venture capital. While I had already been actively investing in technology companies, serving as a board member, and participating as a limited partner in different funds, I wanted to leverage my operational expertise more broadly. My goal is to help even more founders, executives, and companies realize their growth and potential.
Q: Why did you choose to begin your venture career at DFJ Growth?
I chose DFJ Growth because of the firm’s outstanding reputation as a leading growth-stage investment firm and true partner with their companies. It’s an exciting opportunity to work alongside a team of seasoned entrepreneurs and operators. The firm's impressive track record and the launch of our new Fund V also presented a fantastic opportunity. However, the most significant factor for me was the genuine collaborative culture that Randy, Barry, John, and others have built, which I experienced firsthand as a portfolio company CEO at Sumo Logic. It was an easy decision to join this inspirational team.
Q: How are you defining your role at the firm? What contributions are you hoping to make?
I am currently focused on investments in enterprise technologies – cloud and AI infrastructure, generative AI applications, cybersecurity, and data analytics – areas that resonate deeply with my expertise and interests. My goal is to leverage my operational and board experience to deliver strategic guidance and tactical support to our portfolio companies, helping them to drive their scalability and growth.
I am eager to identify and evaluate new investment opportunities that align with DFJ Growth’s vision and objectives. On a personal level, I aim to cultivate strong relationships with founders and executives to enhance our opportunities and provide insights informed by market trends and my operational background. Additionally, I intend to actively support our portfolio companies in overcoming various growth challenges, ensuring they are well-equipped to capitalize on emerging trends and maximize their impact within their industries. Ultimately, however, my mission is to create sustained value for the firm, our limited partners, as well as the companies we invest in.
Q: We like to say we imagine the future and back the visionary entrepreneurs who define it. What does this mean to you?
To me, the phrase perfectly aligns with my focus areas. It captures the essence of innovation, and the foresight required to identify opportunities before they are recognizable market trends and technologies that will hopefully shape industries.
Supporting visionary entrepreneurs transcends mere capital investment; it's about forming personal and genuine partnerships with visionary leaders who possess the creativity and determination to turn ambitious ideas into reality. These are the individuals who challenge the status quo, driving transformative change in their fields. By backing them, we are not just investing in businesses; we are actively participating in the development of solutions that can ideally disrupt and redefine industries and positively impact communities.
Q: How do we engage with our companies through their scaling journey?
We engage with our companies throughout their scaling journey by building strong, transparent relationships with founders and their executive teams. This approach fosters open communication and facilitates collaboration on various challenges and opportunities.
We understand our role and strive to provide tailored guidance in critical areas such as operational best practices, talent acquisition, go-to-market strategies, product road mapping, and business development. By leveraging our firm's diverse operational expertise, we are well-positioned to assist in navigating complex growth decisions, including scaling operations and preparing for IPOs.
Ultimately, our goal is to be strategic partners dedicated to the success of our companies, empowering each to seize opportunities and overcome challenges as they grow.
Q: What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as an operator and how do they translate to advice for founders?
As an operator, I’ve absorbed many important lessons that I believe can offer valuable advice to founders. While others may highlight operational rigor, decision-making, board composition, and personal time management as key lessons, I’ve found that leaders often struggle with two other less discussed or focused areas: talent management and fundraising.
First, regarding talent, I emphasize the idea of “minding the gap of the talent trap.” Human nature often prevents us from thinking objectively about organizational design and future planning essential for driving growth and adaptability. It’s crucial for founders to regularly reassess their team structures and talent needs—ideally every six months—rather than wait for reactive changes to force adjustments. This proactive approach ensures that the organization is equipped to handle ongoing challenges and opportunities.
Second, as founders navigate their growth financing rounds, it’s vital to align with the right partners. Choosing investors who not only bring capital but also the expertise and understanding of the unique challenges founders face is crucial. Partners who have been in similar roles can offer invaluable insights and guidance, helping to steer the company through complex decisions and scaling effectively.
Q: You’ve raised capital from both private and public market investors. What advice do you have when pitching a firm like DFJ Growth?
It’s essential that founders clearly articulate their vision and the problem they are solving, demonstrate strong knowledge of their market from a technology and competition perspective, showcase metrics that highlight their traction and growth, and build confidence by showcasing their leadership team’s broad experience and complementary skills. Lastly, always have a prepared response around why they are looking to raise capital now, how they intend to specifically utilize the new funding, and what is important for them as you look to make a decision regarding a new financing round. Most importantly, this would become a long-term relationship where trust is crucial, so be transparent always.
Q: Share an experience from your career that epitomizes your approach to life and how you confront challenges.
One experience that truly encapsulates my approach to life and challenges occurred when I first took over as CEO of Sumo Logic in 2014. At that time, we faced a pivotal decision: whether to directly compete with legacy on premise security market players, especially given that enterprise customers were hesitant to adopt SaaS-based security solutions.
Recognizing the need for a strategic pivot, I chose to reorient our product and go-to-market strategy to highlight the differentiation of our leading SaaS log analytics product, which was designed specifically for developers to troubleshoot code and infrastructure issues. This shift not only allowed us to capitalize on our strengths but also paved the way for expanding our product portfolio to include full-stack observability, as well as Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR).
This experience reinforced my belief in the importance of adaptability and collaboration. By fostering open communication and creating a cross-functional operational team, we navigated complex decisions and emerged even stronger. It underscored the value of aligning with the right talent and expertise to guide us through challenges—much like the support I advocate for founders in their own journeys.
Ultimately, making this necessary pivot, along with a focus on leveraging our unique strengths, propelled our company towards a multi-product platform offering and an eventual successful IPO. It also helped further shape my perspective on leadership – one that emphasizes transparency, clear decision-making, strategic thinking, and a long-term vision for growth.
Q: What book or work of art has had the most influence on you?
There have been numerous books, blogs, and podcasts that have influenced my perspective on personal growth, leadership, and various aspects of life, including health, nutrition, fatherhood, and relationships. However, the most impactful form of art for me is music. As an avid music listener across many genres, I attend live shows every month or two, and I find that music has a unique ability to inspire and connect us. Music resonates on a deeply emotional level, providing a soundtrack to our experiences and a source of motivation during challenging times, like early morning workouts. I find that music can foster creativity, reflection, and a sense of community. This connection to music influences my approach to life, encouraging me to remain open-minded and to appreciate the diverse narratives and emotions that shape our human experience.
Q: Tell us a fun fact about you that will surprise us.
In addition to being a passionate European soccer fan, I’m also an avid foodie, constantly exploring new and creative ways to procure, prepare, and cook interesting dishes for family and friends. Recently, I've developed a fascination with curating and dry aging meats, specifically beef and pork, using a dry aging chamber. I typically age them for 28 days before hosting a dinner party or sharing them with loved ones. I’ve discovered that the joy of laughter, cherished memories, and shared experiences often stem from enjoying high-quality, personally prepared meals together. Let’s break some bread together!
