Hiring for Intensity and Humanity in High-Stakes Environments

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

Welcome back to another episode of Venture Unlocked, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of the business of venture capital.

In today’s episode, we are joined by Nakul Mandan, who is the founding partner of seed-stage firm Audacious Ventures.

Having known Nakul since the early days of his journey in starting the firm in 2020, I was excited to dive deep into his unique path, from his roots in India to venture capital, working at firms such as Battery and Lightspeed before starting his own firm. As venture capital has evolved and grown, the stakes of being a successful early-stage manager have increased dramatically.

In our chat, we discussed how managers should think about navigating competitive markets and how a proper system around sourcing, picking, winning, and building a brand through delivering for founders requires a machine-like approach. Audacious has created its own system, which is unlike most firms, providing a nice juxtaposition of more traditional models. This was a fun and candid deep dive into seed stage investing, and we hope you enjoy my conversation with Nakul

Thanks for listening to another episode of Venture Unlocked. We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Nakul. If you’d like to get venture unlocked content straight to your inbox, go to ventureunlocked.substack.com and sign up, or go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and subscribe. Thanks again for listening

About Nakul Mandan

Nakul Mandan is the founder and managing partner of Audacious Ventures, a pre-seed and seed-stage venture firm he launched in April 2020—right when the world was locking down. A student of greatness, Nakul is inspired by extraordinary journeys, whether in business or beyond. Previously a Partner at Lightspeed and Battery Ventures, he led early investments in category-leading software companies like Gainsight, People.ai, Multiverse, WorkOS, 6Sense, and Marketo. A graduate of IIT Kanpur, Nakul combines deep technical insight with a founder-first mindset—and a passion for helping entrepreneurial "force-of-nature" founders assemble A+ teams.

Audacious Ventures is a next-generation seed-stage investment firm that reimagines venture capital as a systematic, founder-focused platform. Founded in 2020 with a $90 million fund, the firm distinguishes itself through a unique four-pillar approach: strategic sourcing, precise deal picking, competitive deal winning, and comprehensive founder support. Unlike traditional venture models, Audacious prioritizes talent recruitment and team building, with half the team dedicated to helping founders construct exceptional organizations. The firm's data-driven yet intensely human approach has quickly positioned it as an emerging leader in the seed investment ecosystem, attracting founders seeking more than just capital, but a true strategic partner in their entrepreneurial journey.

In this episode, we discuss:

* Nakul’s Early Life and Ambition (2:16)

* Entry into Indian Venture Capital (4:00)

* Transition to US-Focused VC and Lightspeed (6:41)

* Becoming a GP and Founding Audacious Ventures (7:35)

* Identifying Gaps in the Seed VC Market (10:34)

* Audacious Ventures’ Differentiated Model (12:34)

* Functional Organizational Design (16:12)

* Traditional vs. Platform Seed Fund Models (19:24)

* Ensuring Consistency in the Platform Model (24:41)

* Hiring for Intensity and Culture (29:55)

* Measuring Success and Feedback Loops (35:33)

* False Positives and Markups in VC (41:30)

* Ranking the Four Pillars: Sourcing, Picking, Winning, Helping (45:13)

* Advice to 2006 Self: Focus on Asymmetric Upside (49:54)

* Final Thoughts and Takeaways (51:44)

I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Nakul. 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 X.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com