Ben Choi manages over $3B investments with many of the world’s premier venture capital firms as well as directly in early stage startups. He brings to Next Legacy a distinguished track record spanning over two decades founding and investing in early-stage technology businesses. Ben’s love for technology products formed the basis for his successful venture track record, including early stage investments in Marketo (acquired for $4.75B) and CourseHero (last valued at $3.6B). He previously ran product for Adobe’s Creative Cloud offerings and founded CoffeeTable, where he raised venture capital financing, built a team, and ultimately sold the company.
Ben is an engaged member of the Society of Kauffman Fellows and has been named to the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Chinese Culture Center and Children’s Health Council. Ben studied Computer Science at Harvard University before Mark Zuckerberg made it cool and received his MBA from Columbia Business School. Born in Peoria, raised in San Francisco, and educated in Cambridge, Ben now lives in Palo Alto with his wife, Lydia, and three very active sons.
You can find Ben on his socials here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benjichoi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bchoi/
And huge thanks to this episode's sponsor, Alchemist Accelerator: https://alchemistaccelerator.com/superclusters
OUTLINE:
[00:00] Intro
[02:44] Ben's childhood
[07:54] What is Ben's superpower?
[16:58] What aspect of being a VC do most founders fail to appreciate?
[18:46] What do GPs fail to appreciate about LPs?
[21:24] The similarities between VC and the intelligence industry
[24:00] What's changed about being a VC since 2006?
[27:14] How does Ben tell signal from noise?
[32:46] Past track record portability
[37:24] A case study on how a syndicate investor became a lead investor
[41:00] Ben and David nerd out about free T-shirts
[44:26] An example of how a GP convinced Ben to invest in their fund
[47:53] Succession planning in a VC firm
[56:51] How Legacy Venture started
[1:01:28] Next Play + Legacy Venture = Next Legacy
[1:04:05] Which non-profits do the carry go to?
[1:05:48] What kind of GP impresses Ben?
[1:07:58] Ben's biggest professional lesson in 1998
[1:12:56] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[1:15:32] Legal disclaimer
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