Medha Agarwal wonders if she’s lived in San Francisco long enough to call herself a Californian. She grew up on the East Coast, attended Harvard for her undergrad and MBA, spent half a decade working at Bain & Company and Bessemer Venture Partners in New York, and co-founded Roomidex, a roommate-matching start-up, before moving out west 10 years ago.
Agarwal made the trip to join home-management start-up Thumbtack. She went on to work at Javelin Venture Partners, Rough Draft Ventures and Redpoint Ventures, before joining tech investor Defy.vc as a general partner a year ago. Though she still feels like a New Yorker in her soul, she is happy to be in the start-up hotbed of Silicon Valley.
What’s the most unusual thing that’s in your home?
I have the handle of a rowing oar. It’s from my freshman year. We won a bunch of races that year and our coach was updating them, so he gave each of us our oar handle.
What’s the most exciting space to be investing in right now?
Vertical SaaS is having another moment, particularly around distribution. It’s becoming a lot easier and more feasible with the way AI has filled the minds of the average user with what’s possible.
What have you accomplished in your career that you’re most proud of?
Building my first company. It’s not some household name, but I figured it out by myself and I learned a lot.
Most important thing on your bucket list that you haven’t done yet?
I’d like to live abroad for some period of time. I don’t know how or when I’ll fit that in, but I think it would be a great experience.
Last book you read and would recommend?
The real answer is a kid’s book called Mercy Watson. I wouldn’t recommend that to an adult, but kids love it. [She is the mother of two.] The last adult book I read was Outlive by Peter Attia. I would recommend it!
Dream job as a kid?
To be a doctor. I decided I wasn’t going to do that in college and I had to call my parents and figure out how to deliver that news to them.
Can you share an experience that helped define you?
Playing sports – and rowing in particular – has been one of the most formative experiences of my life. The experience of being so physically and mentally exhausted that my whole body was on fire, feeling like I had nothing more I could possibly give, and then digging deeper to unlock more because my teammates were counting on me, is something I still carry with me.
Will you retire early, late or never?
Probably never. I love this job. I feel so lucky to do it. I still can’t believe I get paid to do it.
Favorite activity outside of work?
Probably working out. I played a sport [rowing] in college, so I don’t feel like my whole self if I don’t sweat a little bit.
What career advice would you give your younger self?
Optimize for people, both people you invest in and people you work with. If you optimize for really smart, hardworking, good people, then good things happen.
What do you think about most every day?
My next deal on the work front. On the personal front, how to fit in a workout.
Medha Agarwal wonders if she’s lived in San Francisco long enough to call herself a Californian. She grew up on the East Coast, attended Harvard for her undergrad and MBA, spent half a decade working at Bain & Company and Bessemer Venture Partners in New York, and co-founded Roomidex, a roommate-matching start-up, before moving out west 10 years ago.
Agarwal made the trip to join home-management start-up Thumbtack. She went on to work at Javelin Venture Partners, Rough Draft Ventures and Redpoint Ventures, before joining tech investor Defy.vc as a general partner a year ago. Though she still feels like a New Yorker in her soul, she is happy to be in the start-up hotbed of Silicon Valley.
What’s the most unusual thing that’s in your home?
I have the handle of a rowing oar. It’s from my freshman year. We won a bunch of races that year and our coach was updating them, so he gave each of us our oar handle.
What’s the most exciting space to be investing in right now?
Vertical SaaS is having another moment, particularly around distribution. It’s becoming a lot easier and more feasible with the way AI has filled the minds of the average user with what’s possible.
What have you accomplished in your career that you’re most proud of?
Building my first company. It’s not some household name, but I figured it out by myself and I learned a lot.
Most important thing on your bucket list that you haven’t done yet?
I’d like to live abroad for some period of time. I don’t know how or when I’ll fit that in, but I think it would be a great experience.
Last book you read and would recommend?
The real answer is a kid’s book called Mercy Watson. I wouldn’t recommend that to an adult, but kids love it. [She is the mother of two.] The last adult book I read was Outlive by Peter Attia. I would recommend it!
Dream job as a kid?
To be a doctor. I decided I wasn’t going to do that in college and I had to call my parents and figure out how to deliver that news to them.
Can you share an experience that helped define you?
Playing sports – and rowing in particular – has been one of the most formative experiences of my life. The experience of being so physically and mentally exhausted that my whole body was on fire, feeling like I had nothing more I could possibly give, and then digging deeper to unlock more because my teammates were counting on me, is something I still carry with me.
Will you retire early, late or never?
Probably never. I love this job. I feel so lucky to do it. I still can’t believe I get paid to do it.
Favorite activity outside of work?
Probably working out. I played a sport [rowing] in college, so I don’t feel like my whole self if I don’t sweat a little bit.
What career advice would you give your younger self?
Optimize for people, both people you invest in and people you work with. If you optimize for really smart, hardworking, good people, then good things happen.
What do you think about most every day?
My next deal on the work front. On the personal front, how to fit in a workout.
