Deep Nishar

About the author

As a child I would take apart toys to see if I could put them back together again. This often ended in disaster, but it was the beginning of a lifetime of learning how things work, and instilled an intellectual curiosity that makes me approach life with a renewed sense of wonderment every day.

My first foray into entrepreneurship was leading my own enterprise software start-up while in graduate school. The company was not a success in the traditional sense, but it gave me a real appreciation for the founder’s journey. I learned, first hand, the lessons of product-market-fit, go-to-market motions and scaling operations and teams.

I was fortunate to arrive at Google in time to contribute to the early foundation of its online advertising products. Then I turned my focus to mobile; my team was two years into development when the iPhone launched and globalized the smartphone. The mobile products that flowed from our work — Gmail, Google Maps, and many others – crystallized my commitment to creating brilliant and simple products that change people’s lives at global scale. At Google, and again at LinkedIn, I worked with world-class founders who gave me the resources and freedom to pursue this vision.

At General Catalyst, I have the opportunity to continue working with a new generation of world class founders, and help guide a transformational change in technology and investing. Our current generation has learned hard lessons about unintended consequences of technological change, and now we need to make responsible innovation the standard for the next generation of entrepreneurs and companies.

Outside of work, our family supports early childhood education and women empowerment causes. For fun, we go on hiking adventures, and seek out interesting food and cultural experiences. I also love professional sports, binge watch Netflix shows (we can bond over Stranger Things and Drive to Survive!) and strive to read at least one book every couple of weeks.

We are a team of curious minds