Rak explains how his coding and tech product management experience helps him build a strong connection with early-stage software founders
My path to entering venture capital started with a childhood love of computers. I grew up fixing broken PCs, playing with various Linux distros, and launching one failed app after another on the App Store. I was coding for various startups while in high school and then attended UCLA as a computer science major.
While I was in college, I developed a fascination with low-level software infrastructure (operating systems and networks were my favorite classes), but I also found myself gravitating towards business and entrepreneurship. I served on the boards of several entrepreneurship clubs, launched a startup-focused consulting firm, and taught classes on enterprise product management on campus.
Start Paving A Career Path In College
I took a leave of absence from UCLA during my junior year to be a product manager at Redfin, which went public shortly after I joined, giving me a front-row seat to the transition from venture-backed unicorn to public company. After graduating, I joined Atlassian, whose collaboration products I had long admired and where BCV Partner Enrique Salem serves on the board. I worked with all-star engineers and world-class product leaders at Atlassian, and I learned a tremendous amount, but I kept feeling the pull to join an early-stage startup and experience the process of discovering and crafting product-market fit.
While interviewing at several startups and doing my due diligence on them, I also started talking to a lot of VCs. I had this a-ha moment where I realized VCs do what I love most; they think in a holistic way about how technology will impact our lives, and then critically assess which emerging technologies have the best chance of moving us all toward a better future. Most importantly, they get to work every day with the brightest entrepreneurs building the most impactful products!
Build Networks Through Shared Interests
I had gotten to know BCV and its focus on early-stage software investing through BCV Partner Kevin Zhang, a long-time mentor to me. Kevin and I were introduced by a mutual friend due to our shared enthusiasm for product-led growth; I had helped Atlassian mature its well-known product-led flywheel into an enterprise motion, and Kevin works with some of the best product-led growth companies in the industry. When I interviewed with BCV, I was immediately struck by the team’s culture of collaboration and camaraderie.
Each partner’s deep operating experiences and true domain expertise, the team’s commitment to partnering at the earliest stages, and a conveyed sense of insatiable curiosity drove me to make the leap. With companies like Clari, Clockwise, Moveworks, Redis Labs, and Sysdig in BCV’s portfolio, I knew this was the team I wanted to spend the next phase of my career with.
Joining BCV in June 2021, right away, I was given the support and autonomy to dive in. I spend my time investigating trends in cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity, building relationships with some of the most innovative young companies, and supporting many of our infrastructure portfolio companies. To be a small part of so many brilliant founder’s journeys is a privilege, and I’m grateful to be part of BCV’s story.
How Can You Apply?
If BCV sounds like the kind of place you’d like to work, I encourage you to apply! You can submit your resume through BCV’s application portal by Monday, November 29. All candidates will write a one-paragraph answer to either of these prompts:
- Describe an experience you’ve had that illustrates why venture capital is exciting to you.
- Share your perspective of a technology trend or opportunity that you believe Bain Capital Ventures should be spending time on.
If you progress in the interview process, BCV will ask you for a one-page investment memo outlining a team or company that you believe we should invest in.
