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Vic Kapur, Founder and Managing Member
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Work
I am a baby startup investor with an operating background in engineering and sales. I have sold products, intellectual property, and services. A former client joked that my career moved from the bright world of engineering to the dark side of sales. As if that move was not enough, I gravitated towards an even darker world of investing. My initial dream during high school was civil service. Talk about destiny!
I have been at startups with five exits and a high-growth public company. Startups exited at $19M, $55M, $190M, $250M, and $1.2B. Acquirers were Capgemini (IGATE), Cisco Systems, Hitachi, Partners Group (Private Equity), and Qualcomm. I also worked at a high-growth public company as the valuation grew from $25B to over $100B in under seven years.
My first paying job was after my sophomore year in undergraduate engineering. I went door-to-door selling retail coupons to the local downtown merchants. And ended up earning the highest compensation among the field sales team. While it was a small amount, I invested it all in the long-term equity market, and it grew well.
My first exposure to "asking" for money was in middle school. HelpAge International, a non-profit for older adults, recognized my efforts for exceptional fundraising.
(Formal) Education
I have a joint master’s degree in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon. It is a joint degree program from three of Carnegie Mellon's top-rated schools. Tepper School of Business. School of Computer Science. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Carnegie Mellon won a bid among a dozen top universities for this program. Started in 1989 by Bell Communications Research (Bellcore), an R&D company after the AT&T breakup. Bellcore morphed into Telcordia Technologies, which is now part of Ericsson. The initial focus of this program was mid-career individuals. Experienced practitioners in either programming, engineering, or business. The program goal was to help understand all three.
My bachelor's degree is from Savitribai Phule Pune University (earlier, University of Poona). I studied Computer Engineering and graduated with First Class with Distinction.
I enjoy deep involvement with both schools. And have many investments in alumni founder startups and the university region. I have served on the alumni leadership council for my graduate program. During my undergraduate years, I was the Technical Editor of the college magazine. And also wrote for the local newspapers.
My entire pre-college schooling was in government schools. I played some competitive badminton during those days. And enjoyed a mix of sports. Tennis, ping-pong, squash, cricket, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, swimming, and running.
Life
My upbringing was lower middle class in an Armed Forces background. Both my younger brother and I have spouses with an Armed Forces background. I have lived across sixteen states in two countries.
Thanks to surviving 9/11, I inculcated a high appreciation for financial prudence. A cost-effective flight from Newark to San Francisco, booked by my employer, saved my life.
Health
A few years back, I decided to take better care of my health. Mind, body, and heart. A bunch of changes became my habits.
To force my tiny brain to think and reduce screen time, I introduced paper into my daily life. And now I use paper every day. To maintain my calendar. Taking meeting notes. Writing and sketching thoughts. Keeping to-do lists by category. Summarizing books and my general reading. And starter notes for learning new topics. Bit by bit, I plan to move more things to paper. I also use many whiteboards, corkboards, and clipboards. I would like more of these to fill the remaining empty wall space in my home office.
From being a regular gym person, I made a switch to 100% natural movements. I enjoy climbing easy trees. Doing manual work around the home and yard. Taking cold showers. Exploring the wild. Primitive camping. Super basic foraging. Pure unadulterated nutrition. Doing intermittent fasting whenever I realize there is no need to hoard food in my tummy. My longest fasting duration was 45 days. One small meal for the first 22 days, followed by 23 days of fluids.
And I follow a super simple recipe for the heart. Surrounding myself with good-hearted people. And eliminating pretty much all interactions with jerks.
As a fellow investor or founder, if you have any of these odd fantasies, please ping me. Doing hard stuff together is serious fun. And each of these areas could be a sizable startup!
Intent
I want to provide you with enough background as a fellow investor, founder, or partner. That way, you can skip the need to comb social media. A page each on my investing philosophy, background, and done. This way we spend less time on the boring me. And enjoy the more interesting conversation about your startup or investment philosophy. An off-the-record talk between the two of us. And, sometimes, Clark joins in. Let's talk!
I am a baby startup investor with an operating background in engineering and sales. I have sold products, intellectual property, and services. A former client joked that my career moved from the bright world of engineering to the dark side of sales. As if that move was not enough, I gravitated towards an even darker world of investing. My initial dream during high school was civil service. Talk about destiny!
I have been at startups with five exits and a high-growth public company. Startups exited at $19M, $55M, $190M, $250M, and $1.2B. Acquirers were Capgemini (IGATE), Cisco Systems, Hitachi, Partners Group (Private Equity), and Qualcomm. I also worked at a high-growth public company as the valuation grew from $25B to over $100B in under seven years.
My first paying job was after my sophomore year in undergraduate engineering. I went door-to-door selling retail coupons to the local downtown merchants. And ended up earning the highest compensation among the field sales team. While it was a small amount, I invested it all in the long-term equity market, and it grew well.
My first exposure to "asking" for money was in middle school. HelpAge International, a non-profit for older adults, recognized my efforts for exceptional fundraising.
(Formal) Education
I have a joint master’s degree in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon. It is a joint degree program from three of Carnegie Mellon's top-rated schools. Tepper School of Business. School of Computer Science. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Carnegie Mellon won a bid among a dozen top universities for this program. Started in 1989 by Bell Communications Research (Bellcore), an R&D company after the AT&T breakup. Bellcore morphed into Telcordia Technologies, which is now part of Ericsson. The initial focus of this program was mid-career individuals. Experienced practitioners in either programming, engineering, or business. The program goal was to help understand all three.
My bachelor's degree is from Savitribai Phule Pune University (earlier, University of Poona). I studied Computer Engineering and graduated with First Class with Distinction.
I enjoy deep involvement with both schools. And have many investments in alumni founder startups and the university region. I have served on the alumni leadership council for my graduate program. During my undergraduate years, I was the Technical Editor of the college magazine. And also wrote for the local newspapers.
My entire pre-college schooling was in government schools. I played some competitive badminton during those days. And enjoyed a mix of sports. Tennis, ping-pong, squash, cricket, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, swimming, and running.
Life
My upbringing was lower middle class in an Armed Forces background. Both my younger brother and I have spouses with an Armed Forces background. I have lived across sixteen states in two countries.
Thanks to surviving 9/11, I inculcated a high appreciation for financial prudence. A cost-effective flight from Newark to San Francisco, booked by my employer, saved my life.
Health
A few years back, I decided to take better care of my health. Mind, body, and heart. A bunch of changes became my habits.
To force my tiny brain to think and reduce screen time, I introduced paper into my daily life. And now I use paper every day. To maintain my calendar. Taking meeting notes. Writing and sketching thoughts. Keeping to-do lists by category. Summarizing books and my general reading. And starter notes for learning new topics. Bit by bit, I plan to move more things to paper. I also use many whiteboards, corkboards, and clipboards. I would like more of these to fill the remaining empty wall space in my home office.
From being a regular gym person, I made a switch to 100% natural movements. I enjoy climbing easy trees. Doing manual work around the home and yard. Taking cold showers. Exploring the wild. Primitive camping. Super basic foraging. Pure unadulterated nutrition. Doing intermittent fasting whenever I realize there is no need to hoard food in my tummy. My longest fasting duration was 45 days. One small meal for the first 22 days, followed by 23 days of fluids.
And I follow a super simple recipe for the heart. Surrounding myself with good-hearted people. And eliminating pretty much all interactions with jerks.
As a fellow investor or founder, if you have any of these odd fantasies, please ping me. Doing hard stuff together is serious fun. And each of these areas could be a sizable startup!
Intent
I want to provide you with enough background as a fellow investor, founder, or partner. That way, you can skip the need to comb social media. A page each on my investing philosophy, background, and done. This way we spend less time on the boring me. And enjoy the more interesting conversation about your startup or investment philosophy. An off-the-record talk between the two of us. And, sometimes, Clark joins in. Let's talk!
Clark, VisionPassage Mascot
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Adoption
Clark is a Jack Russell Terrier (JRT) with some Rat Terrier mix. Forever grateful to the East Bay SPCA in Oakland for his adoption. He is a rescue from the streets of East Oakland.
Life
Clark is a calm and friendly companion with a large vocabulary. He has high endurance and enjoys challenges. He has completed a half-marathon, likes climbing over rocks, and walks with ease over a fence. On nice weather days, he greets neighbors and dogs at the front porch without running off.
Clark developed epilepsy a few years ago, which was unsettling. We switched him to home-cooked food and tapered his medication. And that cured him! He has been epilepsy free ever since.
Clark transformed my life and triggered lasting positive changes.
Vision
Clark does have a doggie vision. He would like a dog as a family member in all homes. And, all workplaces allow dogs. After all, dogs are our family, and it is high time we treat them as such.
Clark is a Jack Russell Terrier (JRT) with some Rat Terrier mix. Forever grateful to the East Bay SPCA in Oakland for his adoption. He is a rescue from the streets of East Oakland.
Life
Clark is a calm and friendly companion with a large vocabulary. He has high endurance and enjoys challenges. He has completed a half-marathon, likes climbing over rocks, and walks with ease over a fence. On nice weather days, he greets neighbors and dogs at the front porch without running off.
Clark developed epilepsy a few years ago, which was unsettling. We switched him to home-cooked food and tapered his medication. And that cured him! He has been epilepsy free ever since.
Clark transformed my life and triggered lasting positive changes.
Vision
Clark does have a doggie vision. He would like a dog as a family member in all homes. And, all workplaces allow dogs. After all, dogs are our family, and it is high time we treat them as such.