Seeking help from an Executive Coach-Part I

In early 2017, my entrepreneur stint had ended rather unceremoniously. After a break of backpacking in Europe, I took up a job with a venture capital firm. My entry to the venture capital world, (or some fondly call it the Dark Side), was unplanned. As an ex- entrepreneur, I almost felt like a sell-out joining an Investment fund. The only solace I found was in the fact that the fund, was founded by some of the most successful entrepreneurs of the country. It was a very new job. I was way out of my comfort zone, and I was drowning. Working with such successful and incredibly smart people was overwhelming for me. I started to lose confidence. I started double-guessing myself and most often stayed quiet even though I had something insightful to share.

In Venture Capital, unlike Entrepreneurship, there is no value in moving fast, breaking things, and making mistakes. Accuracy vs. Speed, the usual Modus Operandi is to wait it out; it is fine not to make a decision. Very long feedback loops, I am someone who learns by doing, and this was frustrating. It was very troubling, what if after spending a decade, you find out you are not good at it?

I have always thrived at building close, warm relationships. I found out that (I was wrong) relationships in VCs are very transactional. You only partner with 1 out of 100 Founders you meet. I struggled with building relationships with founders; we did not Partner. Had I met, many of them, under different circumstances, we would have made good friends.

Also, ‘ The Power of Chequebook’ starts to interfere with your ability to have authentic exchanges/relationships. One of the friendly entrepreneurs once told me that, Investors, especially the younger ones who have not seen cycles, have the God complex. It was scary.

I was also very troubled by the importance of designation and how the ecosystem perceives you. All ‘Investment Professionals’ are equal, but some ‘Investment Professionals’ are more equal than others. I started to feel, that one needs to know where your place is, based on Fund Size, and based on how far are you from the Partner Hierarchy? My peer in one fund canceled on me five times for a meeting without any prior message. He finally met me, turning up 45 mins late, for a 7:30 AM meeting slot that he had chosen. He perhaps was staying in the same hotel where we were meeting. Entrepreneurs, too, want to talk to the decision-makers, not gatekeepers. One entrepreneur explicitly told me once, why are you asking me so many questions, can I not speak directly to the Partner ?”.

I was struggling to find my footing in this very, very different world. I felt that it had been the hardest job that I have had in my career. Hardest because it is just so different from my natural style of functioning. I started finding fault in the VC business, then understanding my strengths and weaknesses. At this point in my life, I got introduced to Uma Arora, my coach.

Adult coaching is a very underestimated and ignored field in India. Most of us in India grew up with strong support from family. Our parents guide us from our childhood to a stage when one enters college or takes up the first job. Post which we are on our own. Most of us don’t have parents who can guide us in professional lives, and help us navigate through career progressions. A working adult regularly faces challenges of the learning curve in a new role/job, navigating riskier choices of entrepreneurship, handling difficult managers, or figuring out the next steps when they feel stuck in thir professional journeys. I have seen many people finding comfort in cribbing to their peers or friends. Just like teenagers, these friends also don’t have a credible solution.

I was personally going through a similar trajectory. Uma helped me initiate a journey of self-discovery and awareness. She guided me to explore what came naturally to me and hence it was fun, while understand why some tasks felt like a drag. Working on my strengths and acknowledging my weaknesses. After three years of being in VC world, and with the help of a coach, I have learned to navigate my shortcomings and have started to enjoy and hopefully thrive in this role.

Edit: Part-II, I will try to explain how coaching helped me.