After a small startup went out of business and was rejected by every VC firm he applied to, Tim Chen began investing in angel investors and eventually stumbled upon raising his own fund.
Now, as the solo investor behind Essence VC, he just closed his fourth fund at $41 million “without even trying.” Chen’s secret weapon? Having enough technical knowledge to debate implementation details with PhD students while understanding the market dynamics that turn thriving startups into category leaders.
Today on the Equity TechCrunch Podcast, Julie Bort sat down with Tim Chen to learn about the rise of individual VC investors and who’s rewriting the traditional risk playbook.
Listen to the full episode to learn about:
- Why YC’s “revenue at all costs” playbook doesn’t work for infrastructure startups, and what Chen advises tech founders to focus on as a substitute
- Chen’s strategic pivot forced one portfolio company to completely change its trajectory
- What being a “small exit founder” taught Chen about enterprise capital and why he thinks the opposite is true in the industry
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