🎯 Why Specializing as a VC Is a Game Changer 🎯

Natan Reddy, Principal at Ironspring Ventures, unpacks the hidden edge of being a specialist investor in industrial tech. In episode 044 of New to Venture, Natan and I get into the weeds of early VC life, from building your network from scratch to hosting high-impact events. If you’re looking to supercharge your first few years in venture, this one’s for you. Tune in!🎙️

Natan and Ironspring Ventures are hosting an invite-only digital industrial breakfast for NYC Tech Week on June 3rd. If interested, apply to attend here: https://partiful.com/e/ggOlgpdXwNcjgrCraFsP

My key takeaways:

1️⃣ Know how much of a software player you want to be: In industrial tech, hardware is lower margin and capital intensive. Decide how deep into software you want to go. 

2️⃣ Blitzscaling rarely works in industrial: Long sales cycles and slow adoption are the norm. Don’t force consumer-style growth tactics where they don’t belong.

3️⃣ Specialization attracts community: Go deep in a sector you love. Passion and expertise naturally pull in people who align.

4️⃣ Master the networking flywheel: Organic connections, events, content, and pure outbound scraping, each fuels the next. Play the cycle right and your network compounds.

5️⃣ It’s all about the people: We all know people make or break the job. Be kind. Be high integrity. Be a high-quality human. Surround yourself accordingly.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introductions

(01:19) - Speaking at CB Insights healthcare conference

(04:34) - Origin stories: Bay area vs NYC

(07:59) - Origin stories: Career path

(12:06) - Industrial Tech 

(14:10) - Challenges with investing in Industrial Tech

(18:14) - Great businesses vs. venture backable companies

(20:34) - Benefits of being a specialist

(23:26) - Why early-stage?

(24:26) - Growing and building your network

(31:29) - Highlights

(34:04) - NYC Tech Week Industrial Tech Breakfast!

(35:39) - Ceremonial Final Qs