TL;DR: We talk with Sentinel Global Venture Partner, David Renne, about his journey from dev work to investment banking to venture capital.  He shares what makes him a different type of VC archetype, the risks he takes as a startup investor, the technology we really need to create, and the mountains he’s climbing – literally.

How did you get started in venture capital?

There are no typical paths into VC.  I graduated from college and initially did some front-end dev work for bulge bracket fixed income traders.  I quickly realized that was not my calling and pivoted back to finance and entered investment banking for about half a decade. I gained experience first on the advising side and then moved over to the investing side at GIC. There I invested in venture funds as an LP, but also made a variety of direct investments in mid to late stage companies. 

So it wasn’t necessarily a conscious choice to become a VC?

It was a slow build. I wasn’t somebody who had a deep desire to be in venture at the start of my career. I always wanted to invest though. Originally, I thought I’d be a public market analyst at a larger asset manager or hedge fund because my entire career before GIC was largely focused on public stocks.

This might be a pointed follow up then, but as someone who didn’t have a deep desire to do venture, how does that make you a better venture investor?

Venture is a build-your-own-adventure kind of thing. There’s the archetype of the person that has only done private investing their entire lives. There’s the archetype of an operator or founder coming back to invest in startups in a space they know well. I feel I’m a different archetype. I’ve seen the public side of things. I’ve seen the private side of things. I’ve seen how the sources of funding come into venture in the first place. And I think it just gives me a unique, holistic, perspective that maybe others don’t appreciate and an understanding of the full lifecycle of what a company can look like. 

So then, through your venture journey, what are some surprising things you’ve learned about yourself?

It really energizes me to meet people who are driven, passionate, and building cool, unique things. I never feel more alive than when I have a successful day meeting entrepreneurs and learning about what’s being built at the edge.  

How do you stay on top of everything you need to know, especially for technology being built at the edge?  

For me, the best way to stay on top of emerging tech is to be close to those people that are building there – whatever field they might be in. I learn more from a thoughtful conversation with an entrepreneur than I will ever learn from a blog or an article.  And that leads to important connections, regardless of an investment.  For example two years ago, I introduced one startup to an emerging blockchain protocol that ended up being one of its biggest revenue drivers.

I would add, part of being a VC is taking different types of risks. One of those is understanding if and how a technology will work at both a company’s current stage and the stage it needs to scale into.  Then there’s obviously financial risk, questions of whether there will be an insatiable demand for a product or service, and the risk of ensuring we back the right people – something we care deeply about at Sentinel. So we have to accept, analyze, and underwrite these risks appropriately.   That said, having a crystal ball would be really helpful, but it doesn’t exist to my knowledge. Maybe that’s the technology we need to create – a crystal ball!

At the end of the day, what is the goal here?  Is it to build better companies? Is it to help developers or people have more freedom?

It’s not one specific thing. The technologies we’re investing in are going to either directly or indirectly change the way people live their daily lives, interact with their organizations, and build businesses. So for me the question is, how can we be the biggest part of that change over time?  In my experience, that means helping founders directly.  For example, I worked with platforms to create offering memorandums and fundraising materials for potential investors to gain traction and needed capital.  I’ve also provided a lot of product input, including testing and feedback on iterations.  And I’ve advised extensively on business pivots when adjusting a company’s go-to-market approach to find product market fit. This is how we build value at Sentinel – to help change the way business is done. Every faction of it.

That is really inspiring and ambitious.  Just like the fun fact that you’re a mountain climber!

I’ve done a lot of 14ers but that is mostly because I grew up in Colorado and had easy access to them. I only started to do big mountain climbing last year with Kilimanjaro. That really sparked something inside of me. I just love being outside and secluded.  There is a certain serenity to it – being connected with nature and being one with it all. As I mentioned though, I’m only at the start of my big mountain journey. This year I hope to summit Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, in preparation for Aconcagua in the future!

There are some obvious, almost cheesy metaphors here about climbing mountains and building startups. I appreciate that you’re focused on the serenity of a mountain climb.

I’m most peaceful when I’m doing something rugged and disconnected. I’m passionate about advanced technology but the most contentment I find is being away from everything.

In subsequent blog posts, David will dive deeper into our investment theme of interoperable commerce, with a focus on streaming data and supply chain optimization.  Meanwhile, if you have thoughts on his experience as a VC, if you’ve invented a crystal ball, or if you have a big mountain climbs to recommend to him, reach out to us at hello@sentinelglobal.xyz