Episode Description

Nina Achadjian is a Partner at Index Ventures. She began her career as a high yield bond trader at Citigroup and then joined Google’s AdSense team where she managed a multi-billion dollar book of business covering Amazon, IAC and eBay. Prior to joining Index, Nina built HIVE Ventures, the first seed venture fund focusing on Armenian entrepreneurs, where she invested in over 30 companies. Nina focuses on investments in B2B SaaS, especially on vertical SaaS to help companies in legacy industries transition from using Excel and pen and paper workflows to adopting a more modern, end-to-end solutions.

In this episode, we sit down with Index Ventures to discuss their vision for empowering the next wave of entrepreneurs. The conversation explores what it takes to identify and support transformative founders, the strategies for building companies that define industries, and the traits that set the new generation of innovators apart.

We also touch on the evolving startup ecosystem, the importance of bold ideas, and the challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs today. Whether you’re a founder, investor, or simply curious about the future of entrepreneurship, this episode offers valuable perspectives and inspiration from one of the leading venture capital firms.

What’s in this episode?

1) Being part of a minority community and leveraging that for a competitive edge in VC investing

2) Connecting Armenia to Silicon Valley and investing in Armenian founders

3) Adding value to founders in a different geography

4) Doing the work and building relationships with founders to have access to the best deals

5) Solving the problem of being “far” from your customers as an international team

6)Selling to upstream markets and attaining a large enough addressable market

7) The perseverance of immigrant founders and instilling “hustle” into the second generation of immigrant families.