Paige Finn DohertyFounding Partner, Behind Genius · Founding Partner at Behind Genius Ventures

Cindy Bi investing in what is now a $3 billion company

21 Aug 2022 · 1 min

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In this brief first‑person anecdote, the speaker recounts meeting the founder of Retool at a casual barbecue in 2017, later seeing an early product demo at a coffee shop, and being impressed by the founder’s natural sales ability despite being a tech founder. Although she did not invest immediately, the founder reached out a few weeks later asking if she wanted to place a small check as the funding round was closing. She invested, and five years later the company is valued at over $3 billion, which she cites as proof of the importance of recognizing strong sales talent in founders.

Chapters

So I went to a founder's barbecue and then Retool founder was also there. So at the barbecue, I didn't pay a lot of attention to what he was doing, but we had a good chat. And then afterward, you know, we went to a coffee shop, he demoed his early product, and that was in 2017. So, and then I didn't invest right away, but I really liked his sales capability. He's a tech founder, but he can do sales. He's so natural. You cannot ignore that. And then, you know, I think a couple of weeks later, he emailed me saying, we are closing the round, but I really like you. So if you want to put in a small check, I can still take it. So I invested and I'm so glad I did because now it's worth more than $3 billion, 5 years later. Wow. Yeah. And also the