Meet the breakout VC who goes deep to make a ‘360-degree’ behavioral map before investing in founders
I’ve interviewed hundreds of VCs, and one thing is undeniably true: there are lots of different ways to be a VC.
But almost everyone pays lip service to how much they love working with founders — and honestly, that’s not interesting. What is interesting is what it actually takes to truly know someone. That’s a question Adam Zeplain, cofounder and managing partner of Austin-based Mark VC, has thought deeply about.
Here’s how his process starts, from my feature on Zeplain’s deeply psychological approach to venture capital published today:
When founder Jeff Cardenas took his first meeting with venture capitalist Adam Zeplain in 2023 he was expecting to answer questions about his robotics company’s revenue, margins, and market share.
Zeplain surprised him, opening with: “Tell me about your father.”
“I thought: Oh, he’s going there, let’s do this,” said Cardenas of their first meeting.
Cardenas, the CEO and cofounder of humanoid startup Apptronik, wasn’t expecting a therapy session. But he talked openly, then provided Zeplain a list of everyone close to him—his wife, his coworkers, his childhood best friends. Zeplain called them all.
The deal got done at a $250 million post-money valuation, and as of February, Apptronik is valued at more than $5 billion. Zeplain says he can’t always predict which businesses succeed, but he’s gotten quite good at understanding which people will succeed. “This is not one-size-fits-all,” said Zeplain. “Sure, there are certain tenets you can repeat and reuse. But this is a tailored approach to who someone is.”
Zeplain—whose investments include CrowdStrike, Reddit, Ring, Capella Space, and Anduril—gets to know founders in a way that’s systematic and personalized. It’s very much worth considering in an environment where the venture dollars are many, but clarity is scarce.
See you Monday,
Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com