VCs with operator backgrounds can provide a unique type of support, acting as a "favorite uncle." They are a safe sounding board for sensitive, human-centric challenges like layoffs, where founders may hesitate to speak with board members who are solely focused on growth metrics.
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Instead of building a platform team of specialists, Eclipse operates like a small special forces unit. A lean team of senior partners, all ex-operators, handles everything from thesis creation to scaling companies. This ensures founders get direct support from proven builders, not junior staff.
Top board member Alfred Lin provides counter-cyclical mentorship. He champions the company during tough times to boost morale and plays devil's advocate during success to prevent complacency. This keeps founders grounded and forces nuanced thinking about trade-offs.
The most effective operators, dubbed 'dolphins,' can fluidly move between altitudes: operating strategically at 10,000 feet with founders, managing at 5,000 feet, and executing tactically in the weeds at 1,000 feet. This ability to oscillate is a key trait to hire for, especially in advisory or early-stage leadership roles.
Many managers focus solely on raising funds and making investments. Lior Susan emphasizes operating his firm, Eclipse, like any other company, obsessing over details like quarterly reports and AGMs. This business-first mindset is key to attracting top LPs, partners, and founders.
Value-add isn't a pitch deck slide. Truly helpful investors are either former operators who can empathize with the 0-to-1 struggle, or they actively help you get your first customers. They are the first call in a crisis or the ones who will vouch for you on a reference call when you have no other credibility.
VCs with operational backgrounds value execution over credentials. They screen for founders who show an instinct to act and build immediately, such as launching a splash page to test demand, before raising capital. This "dirt under the fingernails" is a stronger signal than pedigree.
Unlike operating companies that seek consistency, VC firms hunt for outliers. This requires a 'stewardship' model that empowers outlier talent with autonomy. A traditional, top-down CEO model that enforces uniformity would stifle the very contrarian thinking necessary for venture success. The job is to enable, not manage.
Lior Susan highlights the biggest mental hurdle for former operators becoming VCs: internalizing the power law. Operators are builders wired to fix problems and believe they can turn any situation around. In VC, success is driven by a few massive outliers, requiring focus on winners, not on fixing every company.
The transition from a C-suite operator managing thousands to an investor is jarring. New VCs must adapt from leading large teams to being individual contributors who write their own memos and do their own sourcing. This "scaling down" ability, not just prior success, predicts their success as an investor.
Most VCs fail at talent support by simply matching logos on a resume to a portfolio company. A better model is to first embed operators (e.g., fractional sales leaders) into the startup. This provides the deep, nuanced context required to find candidates who fit the specific business and culture, leading to better hiring outcomes.