Aakar Vachhani is a Managing Partner and a member of Fairview’s investment committee. He is involved in research, due diligence, investment monitoring, and business development for Fairview’s venture capital and private equity partnership and direct co-investment portfolios.
Prior to joining Fairview, Aakar was with Cambridge Associates, a leading investment advisor to foundations, endowments and corporate and government entities. He was responsible for analyzing private equity and venture capital investments in support of the firm’s clients and consultants. In addition, he led research and data analytics projects on the firm’s private equity and venture capital database. Aakar also spent time with MK Capital, a multi-stage venture capital firm with a sector focus on software and cloud services.
Aakar Vachhani holds a B.S. in Economics-Finance from Bentley University and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation from the Kellogg School of Management. He is a member of the Board of Directors of San Francisco Achievers and the New Breath Foundation. On top of that, Aakar established and leads Fairview’s San Francisco office.
You can find Aakar on his socials here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aakar15
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aakarvachhani/
And huge thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Alchemist Accelerator: https://alchemistaccelerator.com/superclusters
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also watch the episode on YouTube here.
Brought to you by Alchemist Accelerator.
OUTLINE:
[00:00] Intro
[04:29] Growing up in a household of 10
[09:36] Aakar’s leadership style when he was a child
[12:12] Why Aakar turned down a job in insurance back at home
[17:25] The third time Aakar applied to Cambridge Associates
[21:56] How Fairview aligns incentives with each investment they make
[26:15] How Fairview helps their GPs
[28:58] How Fairview gives pitch feedback to GPs
[32:54] Reasons Fairview passes on a GP
[34:58] How does Aakar define what a “new manager” looks like?
[37:55] How did Aakar build out Fairview’s SF Bay Area practice?
[44:26] Fairview’s onboarding process for new hires
[47:21] Why Fairview’s investment decisions need to be unanimous
[52:17] The balancing act between a narrow thesis and a big market
[56:09] Why Fairview invested in Eniac Ventures
[57:56] What does a helpful LPAC member look like?
[59:30] Typical questions GPs bring to their LPAC
[1:01:13] How do the best GPs communicate strategy drift to their LPs?
[1:03:01] Why LPs dislike strategy drift
[1:06:28] What new technologies does Aakar think LPs should pay attention to?
[1:08:30] Aakar’s core memories
[1:11:45] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[1:14:22] If you enjoyed the episode, it would mean a lot if you could like, comment, share, or subscribe!
SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Fairview Capital
- Cambridge Associates
- MK Capital
- Rick Zullo
- Equal Ventures
- Cambridge Associates
- “You are a rounding error” – from a Yahoo exec to Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian
- Equal Ventures’ Emerging Manager Circle
- Blake Robbins
- What Blake learned in his first 10 months as a VC
- Illinois State Universities Retirement System (SURS)
- Opening Possibilities: Illinois SURS’ Breakthrough Program for Diverse and Emerging Managers
- Eniac Ventures
- Pitchbook
- How Fairview uses Pitchbook
- Pixar’s Inside Out
Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content:
For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclusters
Follow David Zhou’s blog: https://cupofzhou.com
Follow Superclusters on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperclustersLP
Follow Superclusters on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@super.clusters
Follow Superclusters on Instagram: https://instagram.com/super.clusters