Why I’m leaving Bessemer to become a founder

It’s true: Last Friday was my last day at Bessemer Ventures. 

I’m incredibly grateful for everyone I met there. They were—and will continue to be—like family to me, and I know we’ll cross paths again soon. The venture capital world is very small and, it turns out, I’m not so much leaving as changing sides of the pitch. I’ve decided to become a founder. 

I’m striking out on my own to build a business in the cross-border commerce space. Specifically, I want to make it easier for retailers to connect with global manufacturers. I’ll share more about what and how of this in future posts but, for now, I want to talk real quick about the why.

First, it’s not because I’ve always wanted to be a founder. In fact, I’ve always tried to avoid it. I’ve witnessed firsthand how hard it is to build a company and the mental toll it takes on the person or people building it, which is why I channeled my entrepreneurial energy elsewhere. For example, I love building things from scratch. I joined Alibaba in 2016 to establish its overseas cloud investing team and later Bessemer to launch its China practice. Feeling stretched thin, stressed out and, to be honest, a bit lonely, were as much the norm as failing fast, but I loved the hustle and hyper-fast pace. 

That said, I do question whether we have to work for someone else or work 996 to build wealth. That’s why I’ve started small businesses on the side that generate cash flow—so that one day I don’t have to. I’ve also jumped at the chance to be an angel investor because I believe having equity in companies I support is better than just collecting a salary. 

It was only this year, when I ran into some big challenges in the e-commerce space while working on a side hustle, that things started to change. As tough as this challenge seemed (and more on that at another time), I was excited enough about solving them that I finally started thinking about making the switch from VC to founder. In the end, I realized it was only fear—of trading the stability of a full-time job for a world of unknowns and near constant uncertainty—that was keeping me from making the leap.

Maybe fear was only natural given that, in the startup world, the probability of failure is much higher than succeeding. At Bessemer, we ran a scenario analysis on possible financial outcomes for a potential investment to try to gauge that risk. So I decided to run one on myself. Here’s what I found: 

1. I’m in a place in my life where there is no one else I want to bet on more than myself and my potential to build something great.

2. While a business can go bankrupt, what’s the worst-case scenario for me? A return to where I left — venture capital? That’s hardly a bad thing. “Risk is often a shadow, smaller than the fear it casts.”

3. The money, time and tears I’ll put into my startup are essentially an investment in myself. If I were going to put these resources somewhere, what's better than an investment in myself that pays a 100x return?

As you can see, my take on what it means to be a founder has changed, which is why I’m ready and excited to make the leap. So stay tuned for details on my fledgling company!

In the meantime, also keep an eye out for more of my Substack pieces. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on cross-border commerce, US-China relations, entrepreneurship and venture capital, as well as a new topic—learnings from a VC-turned-founder—very soon.