About Ahmed Suria: He is a Venture Capital and Growth Capital Investor at KDT. Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) is the venture and growth capital arm of Koch Industries. KDT is a unique and flexible financial partner that invests in early- and growth-stage companies that are disrupting and transforming Koch’s core businesses and expanding into new platforms and capabilities. One of KDT’s unique differentiators from other venture capital firms is its “Koch Labs” capability, which creates mutual benefit by connecting principled entrepreneurs with disruptive technology to world-class capabilities and expertise within Koch. Through Koch Labs, KDT leverages Koch’s global footprint to provide entrepreneurs with access to the opportunities and capabilities of a global company while enabling Koch to transform through new technologies.

Prior to joining KDT, he worked for 4 years as an investment banker specializing in technology M&A at Evercore, the leading independent investment bank. Before earning his MBA from Columbia Business School, he was part of the pre-IPO team at Pandora and also worked at Wind River Systems (which was acquired by Intel for $900 million) and KPMG. Previously, Ahmed attended the University of Arizona for his undergraduate degree and the University of Notre Dame for his Master of Accountancy.

Here are the topics/questions

You are an accomplished M&A and investment professional who has advised on multi-billion dollar acquisitions and investments in the technology space. Tell us about your journey from your early days as an accountant to your technology M&A and growth equity investment at Koch Disruptive Technologies.

You recently led the $54 million Series B investment in network cloud pioneer Alkira, along with Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and others. Alkira has raised $76 million to date. Can you tell us more about your investment process and Koch Disruptive Technologies’ investment thesis?

How do you think about diversity in the CAP Tables and in your commitment to your portfolios? And how Koch Disruptive Technologies invests in diverse founders and companies.

They say that venture capital is about spotting trends over time. Yet some of the most important ideas are unpredictable. Can you share some of the lessons you’ve learned from your recent investments?

Has your risk profile changed over the years, especially most recently during the COVID-19 crisis? How important do you think time diversification and vintages are when thinking about a venture-focused portfolio?

Venture capital has a power-law distribution of returns. Many companies fail to raise money in the growth stage. Failure is a learning experience, but no one has set themselves that goal specifically in business. What does it take for a mid-stage startup to develop a growth mindset to have a strong exit in the years to come and avoid a dismal failure?

Investing is not a career, it’s almost a lifestyle. How do you prepare for your work-life balance, especially in this new remote work environment?

For more information: https://kochdisruptivetechnologies.com/

Koch Labs: https://kochdisruptivetechnologies.com/koch-labs/

Information about Alkira: https://www.alkira.com/

#venturecapital #startups #unicorn #growth #Koch #alkira

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