"What I hear from LPs is that the market is important. And of course, the market IS important. And I think that that’s true. But if you truly believe in venture as a purist, then all of it is irrelevant because at any point in time, someone will come and have this unique insight. And the timing is against them. The world is against them. They’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, and yet, they have this unique insight at this point in time. They have the opportunity to invest at this point in time. And so, just because the timing is wrong doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be backing them. Because they might be right. And you might be missing out on the best opportunity in your lifetime."
Asher Siddiqui is a global tech investor, M&A dealmaker, and venture fund builder with over 25 years of hands-on experience across venture capital, entrepreneurship, and more than $15B in executed M&A transactions.
He began his career as a software engineer and entrepreneur in the US and UK before spending a decade leading M&A and corporate venture at Etisalat Group (now e& Group), one of the world’s largest listed TMT investment groups. There, he led acquisitions, exits, and strategic transactions across multiple continents.
In 2016, Asher joined the global leadership team at 500 Startups in San Francisco, helping scale the platform to $2B+ AUM, with a portfolio that includes 35+ unicorns and 160+ centaurs.
Since then, he has helped launch and scale several institutional VC firms—including Race Capital, Lumikai, Sukna Ventures, Zayn VC, and Humanrace Capital—and serves on the advisory boards of funds such as FootPrint Coalition Ventures, Merus Capital, and The Treasury.
To date, Asher has made 100+ venture investments (both direct and LP), raised hundreds of millions in LP commitments, mentored hundreds of emerging VC managers globally, and advised countless founders.
You can find Asher on his socials here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashersiddiqui/
X / Twitter: https://x.com/ashercdkey
OUTLINE:
[00:00] Intro
[03:36] Why doesn't Asher like the saying 'The sky's the limit?'
[07:20] The launch of CNBC Africa
[15:25] How do two competing personalities create one of the largest media empires in the world?
[17:39] Combining vision and execution
[21:22] Asher's framework for executing on a vision
[31:00] Why Asher was the youngest Global Head of M&A of a major telecom business
[43:57] What sets a great investor apart from a great fund manager
[45:27] Roleplaying a GP thinking about secondaries
[51:44] What do most LPs underestimate and overestimate
[58:24] Most telling predictors of outperforming GPs
[1:07:13] The best wine and food for each situation
[1:12:25] Asher's Vinod Khosla story
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For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclustersFollow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.comFollow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP
