Meet the investor: Steph Hay
What investing areas do you focus on?
While I broadly focus across all of the firm’s investment areas, I spend the majority of my time working on our horizontal enterprise software and digital health investing efforts. I love getting to split my time between connecting with enterprise software startups that are changing the way the world works and healthcare startups that are changing the way the world lives.
What attracted you to venture investing?
One of the things I value most is the opportunity to build meaningful, lasting relationships across all parts of my life and I think this interest aligns particularly well with a career in venture. Whether it’s connecting over common interests or perspectives with a founder or building a long-term bond with another investor who might introduce you to that same founder years down the line, relationships are ultimately at the center of every deal that gets done in VC and this really resonates with me.
Additionally, few things are as exciting as getting to sit across the table from someone creating something from nothing out of pure passion and hard work. I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that every transformational enterprise responsible for creating thousands of jobs, generating millions or even billions in revenue, and advancing our world forward was once nothing more than an idea in someone’s head. I have a deep respect for those that can translate these ideas into something tangible and transformational, and ultimately that’s why I was drawn to venture investing.
What’s something that you always look for in a pitch?
I think every pitch should be built around a central (and simple) thesis statement. A clear articulation of the problem your startup is solving and why your approach is uniquely suited to best address this problem for your target market vs. the current competition should always take center stage. In addition to understanding the degree of market need for a certain solution, I always look to see data that supports the overarching narrative of a pitch — without numbers that tell the same story as the narrative in your pitch deck, it’s difficult to separate vision from tangible progress (with a successful venture financing often resulting from a healthy balance of both). I began my career working with very late-stage companies in investment banking, so I typically approach every pitch, regardless of the company stage, with a lens toward metrics-driven insights to evaluate future potential.
If you weren’t in this career, what would you be doing?
If I were not working in tech or finance, I’d like to think I’d be a screenwriter. I’ve always loved writing, and to me, there’s nothing cooler than getting to connect with a completely different world through film. The irony of the fact that I ended up moving to Los Angeles, essentially the center of the universe for all things film, to work in venture capital is certainly not lost on me. While all of my writing these days may be limited to investment memos vs. works for the big screen, getting to craft a compelling narrative for an investment I really believe in is a nice substitute.
What’s something many people may not know about you?
I think many people would be surprised to learn that prior to my junior year of college, I had no background in business or finance and had never even heard of investment banking or venture capital. I’m the first person in my family to pursue a corporate career and owe my entire career journey to-date to a series of chance encounters with strangers who encouraged me to pursue paths that were previously well beyond my purview of what was possible for someone with my background. I’m forever grateful to all of the people who changed my life trajectory just by sharing their insights on a topic familiar to them but foreign to me. As a result, I’m always looking for ways to pay that gift forward with others that might also not fit the standard investor mold.
Connect with Steph on LinkedIn today!
