Rich Wong - The Art of Accel-ing - [Joys of Compounding, EP.22]

Today's teacher is Rich Wong, general partner at renowned venture firm Accel. Rich is a very special investor and leader, and he spent many years as an operator prior to his time in VC. What was going to be a short stint as a venture operating partner nearly 20 years ago turned into a defining pivot for Rich. He not only quickly reached the top of the venture profession but also became the go-to investor for many luminary companies, such as Atlassian, UiPath, AdMob, Checkr, Rovio, Service Channel, and many many more. His range of interests spans beyond venture, and he's very involved in many of the leading university-based poverty alleviation labs. It's always a treasure for us to find someone who integrates so many facets of life in service of others. Please enjoy our class with Rich Wong. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by EightSleep, the temperature-controlled mattress cover that heats or cools your mattress to transform your sleep. The Pod 4 Ultra is the new gold standard in intelligent sleep systems. It can be added to your current mattress like a fitted sheet and is been clinically proven to give you up to an hour more quality of sleep every night. The cooling capability can cool your side of the bed to 20 degrees below room temperature, all managed by the pod's autopilot feature, which adjusts the temperature throughout the night. Go to eightsleep.com/joys for $350 off. ----- Joys of Compounding is a property of Pine Grove Studios in collaboration with Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Joys of Compounding, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Follow us on Twitter: @Buhrman_Rick | @PaulBuser | @JoinColossus Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to the Joys of Compounding (00:04:41) The Atlassian Chase Story (00:07:41) Bootstrapping and Venture Capital (00:18:10) Excel's Founding and Evolution (00:22:14) Rich Wong's Early Influences (00:24:42) Becoming an Accidental Venture Capitalist (00:31:39) Excel's Team Dynamics and Investment Strategies (00:38:28) The Evolution of Mobility and AI (00:39:58) Bottom-Up Innovation and Defense Technology (00:41:25) AI's Role in Incumbents vs. Startups (00:44:53) Service Channel Case Study (00:47:58) Capital Efficiency and Indigestion (00:51:04) The Role of Grit and Overfunding (00:55:29) Venture Capital Ecosystem and Returns (01:04:03) Public Policy and Poverty Solutions (01:11:43) Balancing Career and Personal Life (01:15:37) How Rich Wants His Life To Be Measured