"If you have one company pitching you an idea, it is too early. You need to have multiple CEOs, founders pitching you the same idea to say now this is time right for the market."
Vinnie Lauria didn't follow the traditional VC path. After quitting IBM, sleeping on hostel floors, and watching his first startup fail spectacularly, he embarked on an extended honeymoon that accidentally became one of the most valuable market research trips in venture capital history. Today, as co-founder of Golden Gate Ventures, he oversees $250 million in assets and has backed 9 unicorns by betting on a simple but powerful thesis: the rising consumer class of Southeast Asia.
In this candid interview, Lauria reveals his unconventional approach to timing markets, the proprietary "GGV Brain" system that predicted social commerce trends years ahead, and why failure might be the most valuable credential on an entrepreneur's resume. Plus, his advice for surviving the current economic downturn—and why Southeast Asia remains the world's growth engine.
Watch the full interview now on EO's YouTube channel! Below is the complete transcription of the interview. Minor edits have been made for clarity and readability.
Key Highlights:
"If you have one company pitching you an idea, it is too early. You need to have multiple CEOs, founders pitching you the same idea to say now this is time right for the market."
"My name is Vinnie Laura, co-founder of Golden Gate Ventures. Golden Gate Ventures, we're early stage venture capital fund. Early stage usually means Series A or pre-Series A. We invest in startups that have audacious entrepreneurs."
"We have over $250 million USD AUM. We've made over 80 investments to date. Notable companies include Caro and Carousel, Stripe and Angel List. We have over 9 unicorns in the portfolio, over 10 exits, 2 IPOs, and over 11 write-offs in the portfolio as well."
"Our hypothesis has not changed in over a decade, which is investing behind the rising consumer class of Southeast Asia."
"It was cheating in terms of having the playbook. It's like going back in time and knowing what will work and why."
"My name is Vinnie Laura, co-founder of Golden Gate Ventures. Golden Gate Ventures, we're early stage venture capital fund. Early stage usually means Series A or pre-Series A. We invest in startups that have audacious entrepreneurs."
"We have over $250 million USD AUM. We've made over 80 investments to date. Notable companies include Caro and Carousel, Stripe and Angel List. We have over 9 unicorns in the portfolio, over 10 exits, 2 IPOs, and over 11 write-offs in the portfolio as well."
"Our hypothesis has not changed in over a decade, which is investing behind the rising consumer class of Southeast Asia."
"It was cheating in terms of having the playbook. It's like going back in time and knowing what will work and why."
From IBM Dropout to Hostel Floor Dreamer
Tell us about your background and how Golden Gate Ventures came to be.
Vinnie Lauria: My career started not on the venture capital side. I was actually a computer engineer by training to the point where I was doing web development work in high school. That was my first job. I always thought about programming in the 90s as a hobby, nothing I'd actually do for work, but then when I graduated, it ended up being a very lucrative job role and so I was hired right out of college by IBM, realized big corporate life wasn't for me. I did like the startups I'd worked at in high school, so I quit IBM.
Not one company gave me a job offer. So my back was against the wall. I sold all of my stuff in New York, moved out, moved into a hostel in San Francisco because I didn't have a lot of money. And then that's where I met Paul Briggio. He had just moved to Palo Alto, and so then started brainstorming, talking, decided to jump in with him, move into the same house. At one point we had 7 guys living in a 3 bedroom. I was sleeping on the floor. We were working in the living room.
We built our first startup, Mitro, that way, Mitro, a location-based chat. This was 2004, about 4 years before the iPhone and that idea was just way too early for the market, so we raised some money from a VC but could not get any sort of critical mass to take it to other cities and other locations. So we ended up shutting that down at a second company, Laorum, online forums, online groups. This was before Facebook had Facebook groups. It was acquired by a media company out of Los Angeles, Crowd Gatherer. It was an exit. It was enough that I could take some time off and have a little cash, use that as an opportunity to take an extended honeymoon.
Not one company gave me a job offer. So my back was against the wall. I sold all of my stuff in New York, moved out, moved into a hostel in San Francisco because I didn't have a lot of money. And then that's where I met Paul Briggio. He had just moved to Palo Alto, and so then started brainstorming, talking, decided to jump in with him, move into the same house. At one point we had 7 guys living in a 3 bedroom. I was sleeping on the floor. We were working in the living room.
We built our first startup, Mitro, that way, Mitro, a location-based chat. This was 2004, about 4 years before the iPhone and that idea was just way too early for the market, so we raised some money from a VC but could not get any sort of critical mass to take it to other cities and other locations. So we ended up shutting that down at a second company, Laorum, online forums, online groups. This was before Facebook had Facebook groups. It was acquired by a media company out of Los Angeles, Crowd Gatherer. It was an exit. It was enough that I could take some time off and have a little cash, use that as an opportunity to take an extended honeymoon.
The Accidental Market Research Trip That Changed Everything
How did your extended honeymoon lead to founding Golden Gate Ventures?
Vinnie Lauria: We spent 3 months in China. About 6 months in Southeast Asia, 3 months in India. Whenever we were trying to meet locals Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Jakarta, I would always ask my friends in San Francisco for an intro, my Indonesian friend or my Chinese friend, and because San Francisco is all tech, I always got introduced to people in the tech space, mostly startups, some investors.
I got this accidental cross section of China, India, Southeast Asia. All were high growth development economies, but the tech was at different maturity. China was super mature. India. It was maturing and Southeast Asia was was nothing, you know, I had this gut feeling of where the next 10 years is going to go. Like I can see it. I can feel it, I can taste it.
During this one year travel, I met my now long term work partner Jeffrey Payne. He kept inviting me back to Singapore over 1 year of being out here. It just started really cementing in that Singapore is this hub physically and logically of Southeast Asia. Paul Bragiel, myself and Jeffrey Payne that came together to co-found Golden Gate Ventures back in 2011. Our hypothesis has not changed in over a decade, which is investing behind the rising consumer class of Southeast Asia. People are earning more in this region and then they're spending more, and they're going to do that offline and online, and that's worked really, really well for us.
I got this accidental cross section of China, India, Southeast Asia. All were high growth development economies, but the tech was at different maturity. China was super mature. India. It was maturing and Southeast Asia was was nothing, you know, I had this gut feeling of where the next 10 years is going to go. Like I can see it. I can feel it, I can taste it.
During this one year travel, I met my now long term work partner Jeffrey Payne. He kept inviting me back to Singapore over 1 year of being out here. It just started really cementing in that Singapore is this hub physically and logically of Southeast Asia. Paul Bragiel, myself and Jeffrey Payne that came together to co-found Golden Gate Ventures back in 2011. Our hypothesis has not changed in over a decade, which is investing behind the rising consumer class of Southeast Asia. People are earning more in this region and then they're spending more, and they're going to do that offline and online, and that's worked really, really well for us.
What did your early investment strategy look like?
Vinnie Lauria: In terms of what our first few years looked like, those would be the web 1.0 from a US perspective, so the, the eBays, the PayPals, the Amazons, and so, you know, we have this magic crystal ball of what's going to do really, really well in other parts of the world and that's what we invested in Carousel, completely different than eBay but essentially a classified marketplace for Southeast Asia. In terms of PayPal early on we did a bunch of payments investments including Codapay, which has done phenomenal for us.
It was cheating in terms of having the playbook. It's like going back in time and knowing what will work and why. And so those are the types of investments that we've made.
It was cheating in terms of having the playbook. It's like going back in time and knowing what will work and why. And so those are the types of investments that we've made.
The GGV Brain: Predicting the Future with Data
Tell us about the GGV Brain platform and how you use data to time markets.
Vinnie Lauria: Back in 2018, we came up with an internal platform that's dubbed GGV Brain and it uses a proprietary database of data that we've been collecting since 2011 on different verticals on different startups and then we've bought data outside of this geography, China, India, US like Crunchbase and then we use that to basically identify certain themes and verticals and cross reference that with other data to say is this timed right now.
The timing I'm talking about is more around these markets and consumer behavior, what is ready, and there's a few different ways you can do that. The easy way is as a VC if you have one company pitching you an idea, it is too early. I've heard VCs say this when I was an entrepreneur. I've now learned being on the VC side there you need to have multiple CEOs, founders pitching you the same idea to say now this is time right for the market.
The other sort of behavior data that we can use to really time the market is looking at ratios. What made us decide this is the right time, it's when we use GGV brain to say, OK. If we look at data of e-commerce purchases as a ratio of offline purchases, which is a smaller percentage, and we look to a market like China and we rewind the data back to when that ratio was similar, what were verticals being started around that time that were new and unique, got that data set, fast forwarded to today in China and said which one of these verticals or multiple verticals have done really, really well.
The timing I'm talking about is more around these markets and consumer behavior, what is ready, and there's a few different ways you can do that. The easy way is as a VC if you have one company pitching you an idea, it is too early. I've heard VCs say this when I was an entrepreneur. I've now learned being on the VC side there you need to have multiple CEOs, founders pitching you the same idea to say now this is time right for the market.
The other sort of behavior data that we can use to really time the market is looking at ratios. What made us decide this is the right time, it's when we use GGV brain to say, OK. If we look at data of e-commerce purchases as a ratio of offline purchases, which is a smaller percentage, and we look to a market like China and we rewind the data back to when that ratio was similar, what were verticals being started around that time that were new and unique, got that data set, fast forwarded to today in China and said which one of these verticals or multiple verticals have done really, really well.
Can you give us a specific example of how this worked?
Vinnie Lauria: There are some things that are obvious. Logistics last mile delivery, we've done a bunch of that because as the e-commerce takes off, so does last mile. But then this is where it started highlighting certain things like social commerce and group buying, whereas a market like Indonesia versus China, you know, sometimes it could be 8 to 12 years behind, but it gave us an indication that based on the activity that people buying online, what the average spend is and how fast that's growing, this would be a really opportune time to invest in social commerce, and that has led our thesis around that around the region.
The Evolution of Southeast Asia's Startup Ecosystem
How has identifying promising startups changed over the years?
Vinnie Lauria: Identifying promising startups back then was a little easier in that the whole ecosystem was smaller. Your ability to literally talk to anybody who's building anything was possible. As a former entrepreneur, it's changed for the good. There is way more competition. There's way more competition between CEOs. There's way more competition between VCs, so capital and doors to knock on is quite exhaustive now. That's great for a founder and for a CEO.
What that means is with Golden Gate Ventures. we need to be more thematic, more thesis driven, more outbound driven, where it's not somebody pitching us, it's us saying we want to invest in a certain space and then knocking on every door to find somebody who's working on it. We spent a lot of time interviewing the management, the CEO, the founding team to say this is the team we want to back and we want to know that they're all in and they're gonna be making that big jump.
What that means is with Golden Gate Ventures. we need to be more thematic, more thesis driven, more outbound driven, where it's not somebody pitching us, it's us saying we want to invest in a certain space and then knocking on every door to find somebody who's working on it. We spent a lot of time interviewing the management, the CEO, the founding team to say this is the team we want to back and we want to know that they're all in and they're gonna be making that big jump.
Why Failure is the Best Credential
How do you view failure in entrepreneurship and investment?
Vinnie Lauria: Failure. I look at it as a, it's a good word like as a little kid you can't learn to walk if you're not. Falling over, so you need to have these failures. You need to be able to learn from these failures. Look back what should I have done differently to get to that next stage. So I, I look at the same thing with investment.
A lot of founders would want to hide that they had a failure behind them, but as somebody who's had my own failure behind and know in Silicon Valley it's not a bad word, that's just, that's a way of learning and gaining experience. I would really always want to draw that out and I would see that as a positive thing that if you've had a failure but you want to continue working with the same sort of people, that's. Amazing sort of team to back.
Building a product we would know what's best and investors might not know and customers may not know yet, but they will. But this is where I've had to shut down companies and what I've realized is you do need to be very reflective and if you have 5 investors saying the same thing, there's probably some truth behind that. So take it as advice. So it's not just because investors say no, don't listen to them. If you hear multiple independent people offering advice, take that. You need to be aware.
A lot of founders would want to hide that they had a failure behind them, but as somebody who's had my own failure behind and know in Silicon Valley it's not a bad word, that's just, that's a way of learning and gaining experience. I would really always want to draw that out and I would see that as a positive thing that if you've had a failure but you want to continue working with the same sort of people, that's. Amazing sort of team to back.
Building a product we would know what's best and investors might not know and customers may not know yet, but they will. But this is where I've had to shut down companies and what I've realized is you do need to be very reflective and if you have 5 investors saying the same thing, there's probably some truth behind that. So take it as advice. So it's not just because investors say no, don't listen to them. If you hear multiple independent people offering advice, take that. You need to be aware.
Surviving the Economic Downturn: A Roadmap for Founders
What's your perspective on the current global economic situation and its impact on Southeast Asia?
Vinnie Lauria: Of that on a global stage is very important. Globally, the markets are bad and will continue to get worse. Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, these are literally the engine of growth globally. So these markets may be slowing down, but when you compare them to the US or Europe, this is where global investors want to put their money.
Now at the end of the day, there have been companies in our portfolio that have shut down. There probably will be more over the next 12 months. My goals. Investor who's been through a few economic cycles now and shutdowns is to really talk to those founders and it shouldn't be something that comes out of surprise like if we know the economy makes it a little bit harder to raise the cost of running this company are x, how do you make that cut a year ahead to give you the runway that you need and this is why you see technology companies make these huge cuts, 15%, sometimes 20% early, and that's what the news reports on and it's because. I think they are just way more sensitive to saying we need to ride this out for the next 2 years and then it's the traditional companies, the consumer companies, automotive, real estate and stuff that you see making the cuts later.
Now at the end of the day, there have been companies in our portfolio that have shut down. There probably will be more over the next 12 months. My goals. Investor who's been through a few economic cycles now and shutdowns is to really talk to those founders and it shouldn't be something that comes out of surprise like if we know the economy makes it a little bit harder to raise the cost of running this company are x, how do you make that cut a year ahead to give you the runway that you need and this is why you see technology companies make these huge cuts, 15%, sometimes 20% early, and that's what the news reports on and it's because. I think they are just way more sensitive to saying we need to ride this out for the next 2 years and then it's the traditional companies, the consumer companies, automotive, real estate and stuff that you see making the cuts later.
What practical advice do you have for founders navigating this environment?
Vinnie Lauria: So I think as a technology startup, as a founder, you need to be a mix of optimistic and pessimistic about the future and balance that in such a way that you're providing the runway, the life that the company needs, and if you can't capitalize. Then that may be looking for an exit, you know, a soft landing they say that takes 6 months.
A number of founders I've met that are like, oh, we're gonna run out of cash and we want to look for an acquisition, and they have less than 30 days. That's just, that's just useless. Minimum 4 months you need to have a conversation like that. And so for any founders out there that's listening, thinking, I don't wanna use the word long term, but thinking like half a year to 1 year forward and what is the company gonna need to do to survive past that is the most important question.
Things that we learned along the way is how to identify entrepreneurs that have that potential, both the interest, the mission, the drive, but also the capability to take companies regional, whether that's on their own through acquiring through JVs, but that is a challenge of this region, but also an opportunity for the people that can do it.
A number of founders I've met that are like, oh, we're gonna run out of cash and we want to look for an acquisition, and they have less than 30 days. That's just, that's just useless. Minimum 4 months you need to have a conversation like that. And so for any founders out there that's listening, thinking, I don't wanna use the word long term, but thinking like half a year to 1 year forward and what is the company gonna need to do to survive past that is the most important question.
Things that we learned along the way is how to identify entrepreneurs that have that potential, both the interest, the mission, the drive, but also the capability to take companies regional, whether that's on their own through acquiring through JVs, but that is a challenge of this region, but also an opportunity for the people that can do it.
The Raw Energy That Fuels Everything
What drives you personally in this work and where do you find the most value?
Vinnie Lauria: Personally, where do I find value and make the job fun? It's, it's connecting with founders. Like I feed off that energy. Like founders just have this raw optimism about changing the world that's amazing and for me the best part of the job is when a founder is at an inflection point and has really difficult decisions to to make and I can help bounce ideas, coach them, advise them through that, and I can tell you there's been a few times where me and a founder are talking about something and they get off the call and they tell my partner like. That was a really hard call because you know Vinnie was throwing all these difficult sort of questions at me, but then give it a week and then they come back and they got this new idea of a new feature to or product or a new direction and come back and we have this brainstorming call.
I love that. I love going through that trough of and that the valley and then coming up high like and to build that trust so that it's not just I'm an investor on the other side of the table but I'm there through the rough and the good. That's what I love about this job.
I love that. I love going through that trough of and that the valley and then coming up high like and to build that trust so that it's not just I'm an investor on the other side of the table but I'm there through the rough and the good. That's what I love about this job.
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