Meet the new Point72 Ventures Partners – Ishan Sinha
We are thrilled to announce the recent promotions of Tara Stokes, Chris Morales, Sugam Sarin, and Ishan Sinha to Partners at Point72 Ventures. Each of them plays instrumental roles in leading Point72 Ventures investing in their respective fields of AI, Defense Tech, Fintech, and Consumer. We caught up with them for a conversation about their career journey, their vision for their sectors, and how they plan to continue supporting innovation and founders in their new role.
- To start, can you share a brief overview of your career journey leading up to Point72 Ventures? Prior to joining Point72 Ventures, I worked on the long/short platform via the Point72 Academy, the firm’s investment analyst training program. That was an incredible experience, where I got to learn all about investing from portfolio managers at the firm. I spent most of my time covering consumer internet and fintech stocks. I began my career at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker, where I advised clients in the consumer internet and media sectors as well.
- What sets Point72 Ventures apart from other firms and what has your experience been working here so far? Our process. We’re thematic investors; we start by thinking broadly about how markets are changing and evolving and from there develop theses in our respective categories such that by the time we meet a founder we’re capable of having an intelligent conversation. As a result, my experience at the firm has been one of continuous learnings.
- What is your area of expertise and what are some of the key trends you are currently observing that excite you? My area of expertise is in consumer and media. I’m particularly excited about interactive entertainment, consumer applications of generative AI, commerce infrastructure, consumer healthcare, the leisure economy, and more.
- Can you share an example of a project or deal that you’re particularly proud of? Our firm’s investment in Mirror Fitness was the culmination of a thematic deep dive into connected wellness. We were proud to back an incredible team with strong initial traction and support them through their eventual exit to Lululemon.
- What is your approach to identifying and supporting promising startups in the Consumer space? We’ll often start with our thematic work; our investors will analyze handful of categories each quarter where we’re interested (that’s not to say that we aren’t reactive to the market – if you have a compelling idea for us, we’re always happy to listen). We’ll then leverage our firm’s resources – from our network to our data – to get smart on a particular idea so that we can move quickly when we find a founder that we think has the potential to move the needle in the market. After investment, we work hard to support the founder however they may need. That could mean acting as a thought partner via a board seat, leveraging our operating advisors to help with things like go-to-market or partnerships, or assisting with future fundraises. I’m on the phone with our founders on nights and weekends to make sure that they’re always supported.
- Finally, what advice would you give to someone who is aspiring to work in venture capital? Find the right team. This is an apprenticeship business where you learn by working for great people. I’m very fortunate to have had great mentors at this firm and attribute most of my career success to learning from them.