Managing Partner at Ubiquity Ventures and Co-Founder of Triangulate
Sunil Nagaraj is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ubiquity Ventures, a seed-stage institutional venture capital firm that invests in “software beyond the screen” startups. This includes companies leveraging smart hardware and machine intelligence to bring software into the real world, not just on computers and smartphones.
He currently serves on the boards of Diligent Robotics, Esper, Halter, Jargon, Levl, Parallel Domain, and other undisclosed investments.
Prior to founding Ubiquity Ventures, Sunil spent six years as a venture capitalist with Bessemer Venture Partners where his work included investments in Auth0, Defense.Net (acquired by F5 Networks), Rocket Lab, Spire, Tile, Twitch (acquired by Amazon), and Zapier. Prior to being an investor, Sunil was founder/CEO of Triangulate, a VC-backed online dating startup using machine learning and behavioral data to improve matching accuracy. He has also worked at Bain & Company, Cisco, and Microsoft.
Sunil holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves on several non-profit boards: NextGen Partners (a Bay Area VC networking organization), the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (as Vice President), and the Harvard Business School California Research Center. He is also an Alumni Advisor to the Harvard MS/MBA program
Many founders start ventures with a friend, assuming their values and goals for the startup will align. But friendship doesn't guarantee compatibility in business. Sunil Nagaraj, founding partner of Ubiquity Ventures shares what he learned about the importance of long-term co-founder compatibility.
Having a co-founder dilutes your equity and authority. When does adding a co-founder add more value than hiring an executive with similar skills? Understanding the unique role a co-founder plays can help you determine if and when you need one.
Research shows that establishing a founders’ agreement prematurely often generates founder conflict—a leading cause of startup death. Can writing a founders' agreement help you mitigate future conflicts and save your business? Before you rush into an agreement, understand the underlying mechanics and learn how to customize them to strengthen your co-founder relationship.
Sunil Nagaraj, founding partner of Ubiquity Ventures and co-founder of Triangulate, shares why having too many similarities with your co-founder could damage business.
You found a great co-founder. When should you formalize your relationship? You may be tempted to draft a founders’ agreement to demonstrate trust in the partnership, but before you make a legal commitment, make sure you’re aligned with your co-founder in 3 critical areas.
Sunil Nagaraj, founding partner of Ubiquity Ventures and co-founder of Triangulate, reviews the key differences between the mindsets of entrepreneurs and investors. And he shares tips to help founders better understand their investors' mindsets and help them succeed.
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