Ali Partovi, the founder of Neo, is fundamentally changing how we find and develop great talent in the tech sector. His venture firm of eight years is planting strong roots in this new and exciting approach. Partovi is clearly positioning Neo as a countercyclical leader in venture capital. His successful investments, like Anysphere—which is on the verge of achieving an astounding $10 billion valuation—are the crowning example of this great track record. His creative imagination has propelled extraordinary returns on Neo’s inaugural fund. It is currently worth three to four times what it started at, with the chance to go up even more.
Partovi founded Neo with a clear mission: to enhance the discovery of outstanding talent in the tech landscape. He’s confident that finding the people with the best fits for the qualities can produce breakthrough successes of startup accelerators. His firm has the goal of strategically investing in and developing promising companies. Rather than going after quick growth, they’re more picky and purposeful. This intentional decision is in step with his motto that quality is greater than quantity.
Additionally, Neo’s first fund has already provided Neo with significant returns. Some experts say Bitcoin could likely double or triple in a few short years. To offset that disappointment further, Partovi’s second fund has more than doubled already thanks to just the Anysphere investment. This success has generated a great deal of buzz in the venture capital community, fueling Neo’s reputation as a dangerous player.
In order to help these new companies take flight, Neo operates an accelerator program that invests in and mentors 20 startups each year. The firm has experienced an extraordinary upswell in applications, with submissions doubling every year. This jump is a testament to the increasing interest from entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of Neo’s resources and expertise to build great companies.
Piccolo CEO Hashem Partovi makes the case that one key quality founders should exhibit is Intellectual Honesty. He identifies four crucial traits: technical ability, a willingness to challenge the status quo, a commitment to serving others, and magnetism. He’s passionate about technical skills, explaining that it’s the technical underpinnings that allow founders to be agile when challenges arise.
Computer science is one of the most powerful things you can do,” Partovi crowned, stressing the entrepreneurial advantage of a strong technical base.
Partovi’s do it differently approach comes from his own background. To assess would-be team members, he and his brother would sometimes put them through brutal tech interviews—going so far as to recreate the exacting standards of the world’s toughest employers, including Google. This approach meant that candidates were only required to have the core competencies. It further pushed them to truly think critically and creatively.
His dedication to cultivating talent goes far beyond the world of tech. Partovi works to encourage young entrepreneurs to prioritize the societal changes they will create over their financial success. Instead of focusing on how they’re going to make money, focus on serving other humans,” he told attendees. This philosophy runs deep through Neo’s culture, informing its investments and the firm’s support for the startups.
Partovi currently has considerable clout in Silicon Valley. While you may not know his name outside of investment circles, his legacy can’t be overstated. That’s what he’s been helming as of late with building teams such as Cognition. This social media company, catering primarily to young people, has recently reached a $4 billion valuation. These accomplishments are a reflection of Partovi’s talent for spotting and developing potential within the wider tech landscape.
Here, Neo talks with musical director Rob Moore about his journey with Neo. It’s why Partovi is feeling bullish on the future of talent discovery—especially across the tech space. He pointed out that this year, for the first time, they’re finding the future superstars. And they’re doing it hot on the heels of no one else!
To do more to support entrepreneurs, Partovi challenges entrepreneurs to take risks and shoot for the stars, or at least higher than they originally dreamed. “I try to push them further to be more daring and take bigger risks, get out of the box,” he explained. He acknowledged that moving the envelope is important to their achievement.