Ep 035 - Hadley Harris, Founding General Partner at Eniac Ventures

How pizza helped me land a legendary VC for my podcast?!?! 🍕

In late 2024, a once in a lifetime opportunity to work at the phenomenal Eniac Ventures popped up. It was a dream role for me. Being based in NYC, I overheard tons of positive feedback about the small, but mighty team and I was dying to be a part of their story.

If you’ve been tuning in to the podcast, you’ll know that networking is a key aspect to getting a job in VC. Through a few friends, I got connected with a member of the Eniac team and told them I’d be applying. They told me they had flagged my resume and I should be expecting an interview! I was unbelievably excited and couldn’t wait to compete for the spot…

One week passed, but no interview request came in. The timing was unlucky because it was a busy time for the firm and the person I originally connected with was out of office. Two weeks passed, and still no interview request…

If I didn’t do anything, I’d miss out on a chance to work with the people I admire. If it wasn’t a good fit, so be it. I at least wanted a shot on goal. I thought to myself “How can I be different?” and “How can I get their attention?” VCs get hundreds of emails a day, so a well worded cold email simply wasn’t going to cut it. So, I took a gamble and did the unthinkable…

I sent them a pizza. Delivered straight to their office. Using the name of the partner I’d hopefully be working with.

Moments after I got confirmation that the pizza was delivered, I started drafting up an email to them. Subject line: Did you enjoy the pizza? + I want to join your team :)

While drafting that email, I got an interview request.

Although things didn’t work out in the end, I got to meet the lovely Eniac team and got Hadley to join me on the show. Episode 035 is a very special one because the story of its creation starts with a NYC delicacy!

Key Takeaways:

1️⃣ It's a common pitfall to create false learnings from decisions. Good decisions can have bad outcomes and bad decisions can have good outcomes. There is a lot of unknowable information and a lot of luck in seed investing. Be very careful when drawing conclusions and relying on pattern recognition.

2️⃣ Companies make major pivots. As a seed investor, it's really hard to see what the company can become. Don’t kick yourself too much if you miss out early.

3️⃣ Gossip amongst investors creates a strong feeling of FOMO. FOMO is an incredibly powerful force. It can be the difference between a mega seed deal and a deal that barely gets done.

4️⃣ To be great at seed investing you need to have either a unique point of view/information or a unique relationship.

5️⃣ A partner should be able to do a deal by themselves. VC is a game of outliers. It is okay to shy away from consensus! This structure also allows for deals to get done quickly instead of partners having to play politics with the other firm decision makers.

6️⃣ Sourcing changes as you become more senior. Junior VCs start by communicating and networking with other junior VCs. It may be a good place to start, but those deals are usually already well known and competitive. Founder networks seem to consistently be the best for sourcing.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introductions

(01:54) - Mixing music and playing tennis

(05:51) - Does having kids make you a better investor?

(07:15) - Hadley’s biggest career turning points

(11:20) - Why build Eniac Ventures?

(13:29) - The importance of iteration and learning lessons

(18:42) - Being an early believer in AI

(20:35) - The essence of good seed investing

(23:31) - How the NYC ecosystem has changed

(27:28) - What separates the long lasting VC firms from the short ones

(28:54) - Eniac’s special structure and how they win

(33:23) - What it means to be a helpful VC

(34:48) - Sourcing and getting the right access

(38:35) - Highlights and lowlights

(41:09) - Ceremonial final Qs