On building good founder-investor relationships with Naza Metghalchi, Principal at EQT Ventures

Join us as Savitri Tan from Isomer Capital talks with Naza Metghalchi on her journey, what she looks for in founders, relationship building and the role of trust and transparency.

Patricia Borlovan

Jan 16, 2024

Transcript

Welcome to a new episode of our special series At The Cap Table.

Today Savitri Tan from Isomer Capital is joined by Naza Metghalchi, Principal at EQT Ventures to talk a lot about her career so far, transitioning from a platform role into investment, why surrounding yourselves with the best is integral and how to build relationships of trust with founders.

Naza Metghalchi was born in Iran, raised in Paris, and has lived in London for the past 15 years. She started her career as an intern at Seedcamp in 2012, whilst all her friends were joining consulting firms or investment banks. Later, she joined onefinestay, where she fell in love with the raw energy and enthusiasm of startups. She joined the team at Series A, led commercial positions in the sales and product marketing teams, witnessing periods focusing on profitability and others on growth (at all cost!), until the company got acquired after having raised $80m. She then became an early employee at a startup studio, Founders Factory, where she set up their accelerator program.

An avid supporter of the European ecosystem, she published Rewarding Talent, a guide to democratising employee equity, and is an active angel investor, in consumer social, and the future of work space.

At EQT, she loves partnering with founders that are execution-driven whilst being self-reflective, and working alongside them as a problem-solver and people-person at her core.

Outside of work, you can usually find Naza organising a dinner party, listening to podcasts outdoors, reading Japanese literature and travelling to South America. Naza holds a BA in European Politics, and a MS in Management from the London School of Economics.

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Chapters:

00:00:00 - Untold Stories of Amazing VCs in Europe
00:02:19 - Career Moves and Early-Stage Companies
00:04:21 - Learning in Startup Environments
00:06:12 - Attributes of Successful Founders
00:08:03 - Surrounding Yourself with the Best
00:12:02 - Building Your Cap Table
00:13:49 - Building Relationships with VCs
00:15:43 - Assessing Investors for Business Growth
00:17:41 - Building Trust and Vulnerability in Investor-Founder Relationships
00:19:39 - Building a Trust-Based Relationship with Founders
00:21:38 - The Importance of Alignment in Achieving Objectives
00:23:46 - Understanding Product Market Fit
00:25:37 - Assessing Founders and Market Timing
00:27:35 - The Role of Luck in Business Ventures
00:29:25 - Maximizing Chances and Grabbing Luck