Building a firm to last, lessons from nearly three decades of investing, and the path to hiring great venture teams with Glenn Solomon of Notable Capital (FKA GGV Capital)

Venture Unlocked: The playbook for venture capital managers

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape.

Today we're thrilled to be joined by Glenn Solomon, managing partner at Notable Capital. Along with Granite Asia, Notable Capital was one of two groups to emerge from GGV Capital, which recently split into two groups with Notable based in Silicon Valley, New York, and covering companies in the U. S., Israel, Europe, and Latin America.

Glenn brings nearly 30 years of venture experience to the table, and it was great to draw from his insights in investing, building firms, and working with high performing teams.

About Glenn Solomon:Glenn Solomon is the Managing Partner at Notable Capital. He focuses on investing in early to growth-stage companies across different sectors, including cloud infrastructure and business applications. He also serves on the boards of several companies, such as HashiCorp, Opendoor.com, and Orca Security.

Before joining Notable, Glenn was a General Partner at Partech International from 1997 to 2006, where he worked on technology investments. Earlier in his career, he was an associate at SPO Partners from 1993 to 1995 and started as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs from 1991 to 1993.

Glenn Solomon earned his MBA and BA from Stanford University.

In this episode, we discuss:

(01:42) Glenn’s journey from playing tennis at Stanford to discovering a passion for technology and investing

(02:44) A pivotal moment when encountering the internet for the first time, which sparked a deeper interest in technology

(04:06) The transition from Partech International to joining Granite Global Ventures in the mid-2000s

(05:03) The appeal of GGV's global perspective and innovative approach in venture capital

(07:48) The early strategy at GGV, focusing on differentiation in the venture space

(09:01) The necessity of adapting to the evolving nature of the industry

(10:29) The rebranding to Notable Capital and the strategic decisions following the split from GGV’s Asia team

(12:39) The guiding principles at Notable Capital, emphasizing the importance of speed and maintaining a sector-focused strategy

(15:19) An example of a recent deal showcasing how the firm’s flat structure empowers all team members to contribute significantly

(17:33) Staying focused on specific sectors and building a strong support platform for portfolio companies

(23:25) Engaging with CSOs and CDOs to maintain an edge in cybersecurity and data sectors.

(27:00) Discusses the importance of resourcefulness in venture capital and how they assess this quality during interviews.

(36:31) Advice on being a successful VC, stressing the critical role of building strong, lasting relationships

(39:30) Success in venture capital fundamentally relies on working with exceptional people

I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Glenn. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.

Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee

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