S4E9 - Kevin Diestel, Partner @ Sapphire Ventures

🎙️ New Riding Unicorns episode! 🎙️

Kevin Diestel is a Partner at Sapphire Ventures, a venture capital firm that primarily invests in Series B technology companies. Before moving into private equity Kevin worked as an Analyst for Merrill Lynch. After two years working for the Investment Bank Kevin began working for Shamrock Capital Advisors, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. During his time there he was responsible for evaluating investments in the media, entertainment and communications sectors. Having joined Sapphire in 2012 Kevin now focuses his time primarily on innovative consumer businesses and vertical software applications. Away from Sapphire Kevin also holds a board seat at a number of companies including Culture Amp, Current, Degreed, project44, and Sun Basket. 

In this episode Kevin starts off by explaining his role at Sapphire Ventures, his approach to investing and how he and his team deal with downturns in performance. Kevin also goes on to detail how he strikes a balance between intuition and data when investing. Finally James and Hector quiz Kevin on how he avoids bias during the decision making process and what the ultimate goal is for his career. 

The podcast is sponsored by Vauban. Vauban is the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing. An all-in-one integrated solution to form syndicates, VC funds, & co-investment SPV programs that are built for the next generation of global venturers. Vauban has facilitated over $1bn of capital invested in companies such as Revolut, Bolt and Airbnb. Enquire HERE.

Have a great Wednesday,

The Riding Unicorns team.