K2 Global was founded in 2015. The founders believed the venture capital model was broken – historically, venture capital has produced negative returns as an overall industry.  K2 Global seeks to change that, with deal flow and returns that rival the absolute best of the best in Silicon Valley. How do we do that, especially as a new(ish) fund?

We have seen the movie many times

K2 Global’s founders have seen trends in Silicon Valley from the 1980 to today and know what it takes to build a product that consumers love and to scale a business globally.

K2 Global’s founders know what sets a successful start-up apart. As a former start-up lawyer, Minal has seen more start-ups succeed and fail than most VCs will ever see in their entire careers. She has worked with many of the best entrepreneurs and investors of our generation and got a front row to history in the making. For instance, she was present for many historical moments, from Uber’s decision to move from luxury cars to UberX, which has become their most successful offering.

We are not your typical VCs

Much of the disruption in the tech industry today centers around traditional, non-tech industries being disrupted by technology. Technology is changing how we live, work, eat, sleep, learn, and get around. This “third wave” of technology, in the words of Steve Case, will challenge incumbents in the biggest industries in the world by forming alliances with corporations and government regulators.

As such, many of traditional industries that are being disrupted by technology are heavily regulated, such as cryptocurrency, blockchain, drones and aviation, fintech, autonomous vehicles, micromobility, insurance, and urban planning.

K2 Global’s founders sit at the intersection of regulatory and business issues. Minal is one of the few lawyers turned VCs. Virtually no other VC brings this kind of value. Start-ups need a diversity of viewpoints, networks, skill sets, and domain expertise, and K2 Global offers that. We are not part of the herd mentality. And we believe we are ahead of the curve – the future is one in which VCs are not MBAs but former doctors, lawyers, auto manufacturing executives, and politicians, among others.

K2 Global’s founders are, like Elon Musk, “expert generalists” – studies show that people with more than one area of expertise (like Minal with tech, law, business, journalism) are more successful. They have a broader view of the world and are able to apply principles from one field to another, as well as synthesize their expertise across varying disciplines.

We offer a unique perspective

K2 Global’s founders also bring a global perspective, with offices and team members in both Silicon Valley and Singapore. We invest across geographies and help our companies scale into global markets. Unlike other VC firms, we invest as a single team across geographies – we are agile and our portfolio companies have access to our full network. Our mission is to make an impact on the world stage.

Tech has truly gone global and we believe start-ups need to think globally from day one. We are seeing a convengence of ideas, markets, economies, and technologies, resulting in start-ups expanding into international markets faster than ever before due to the explosion of the Internet and mobile technology. Again, we believe we are ahead of the curve and that this perspective is still sorely missing in insular Silicon Valley.

Our LPs are global titans of industry in real estate, manufacturing, government, construction, pharma, telecom, retail, etc. We are able to connect our portfolio companies to who they need to know around the world in order to expand into global markets. Our global LPs add tremendous value to our portfolio companies. This is another way in which we are able to punch above our weight class.

We make smart picks  

K2 Global focuses on investing in tech start-ups that can create new markets and that approach age-old problems with groundbreaking solutions. Much of K2 Global’s success is based on human psychology and knowing what people need and want. We find the entrepreneurs that are building the products that people need and want. The result is that we make fantastic picks and have fantastic returns.