The EVCA leadership is dedicated to building community across and empowering the next generation of venture capitalists through an array of activities—from hosting events, knowledge sharing, and connecting others. This EVCA Leadership Spotlight Series is intended to help the broader community get to know what's going on behind the scenes at the EVCA, as well as highlight the valuable contributions of those individuals who make the EVCA possible. Accordingly, it's a great privilege for us to announce this EVCA Leadership Spotlight on our very own EVCA Deep Tech Vertical Co-Lead, Ryan Fauber of Point72 Ventures.
Ryan Fauber is an Associate at Point72 Ventures, focusing on early-stage Deep Tech investing. Prior to joining Point72 Ventures, Ryan worked as an associate in the TMT group of Goldman Sachs’ investment bank where he primarily concentrated on large-scale software M&A and internet IPOs. Before that, he spent three years in India working at the global impact evaluation firm IDinsight. There, he spent two years as an associate managing randomized control trials of social development programs and one year as the founder and head of the product team. Ryan holds a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
EVCA: Could you explain more about what you do in your role as a Deep Tech Vertical Lead at EVCA?
Ryan: I co-lead EVCA’s Deep Tech industry vertical with Chris Abshire. What I love about this space is the way it encompasses a diverse set of sub-industries – everything from climate tech to compute hardware to computer vision and robotics. This year, Chris and I are working to organize a variety of events ranging from casual networking to fireside chats where EVCA members can hear the different perspectives and mandates captured in this vertical. We are planning a panel on fusion/fission and emerging space tech, a fireside chat with a leader in AI hardware, and networking events with senior investors across the Deep Tech ecosystem.
I look forward to continuing to help serve my fellow EVCA members who are interested in this space, and I welcome input from any fellow investors who have ideas about ways we can add value to their experience as members.
EVCA: What made you interested in taking a leadership role at EVCA?
Ryan: In an industry that tends to prioritize the “lone wolf” approach, EVCA has built an incredibly strong and welcoming community of young investors. In my first year as an EVCA member, I’ve made lasting friends who I can go to for questions about everything from deal structures to industry trends. EVCA offers so much support for new investors, and I’m privileged to be able to help steward one of those resources.
EVCA: What is your most contrarian view on what it means to be a VC investor?
Ryan: Before I became a VC, I viewed venture as having a severe case of herd mentality. Funding seemed to follow funding, and vice versa. To that end, the best advice I received in my previous career was “as long as you’ve done the work, you should get excited when other investors tell you you’re wrong. It means you’ve seen something others haven’t.” It might sound like a tautology to answer “what’s your contrarian view” with “be contrarian,” but it’s advice that is not always easy to follow given how interconnected the venture ecosystem is. Particularly in an era when very advanced technology like GPT-4 is becoming widely accessible, in most cases technical expertise becomes mainstream very quickly. The more important question then becomes “is this technology being applied in a unique way?” Answering that requires a truly differentiated, and often solitary, perspective on an industry or problem space. Being contrarian isn't about being different for the sake of it, but about first following a good process to develop that perspective, and then trusting your own research, analysis, and conviction more than the crowd’s wisdom.
Interested in taking on an EVCA leadership role? The EVCA leadership is dedicated to empowering the next generation of VCs through an array of activities—running 40+ channels on from hosting events, knowledge sharing, and connecting others. If interested in pursuing an EVCA leadership role, click here.
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