After a small startup exit and being turned down by every VC firm he applied to, Tim Chen began angel investing and eventually stumbled into raising his own fund.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, as the solo investor behind Essence VC, he just closed his fourth fund at $41 million<\/a> \u201cwithout even trying.\u201d Chen\u2019s secret weapon? Being technical enough to debate PhD founders on implementation details while understanding the market dynamics that turn scrappy startups into category leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Today on TechCrunch\u2019s Equity<\/a> podcast, Julie Bort sat down with Tim Chen to explore the rise of solo VCs and who\u2019s rewriting the traditional venture playbook.\u00a0<\/p>\n Listen to the full episode to hear about:\u00a0<\/p>\n Why the YC playbook of \u201crevenue at all costs\u201d doesn\u2019t work for infrastructure startups, and what Chen tells technical founders to focus on instead\u00a0<\/p>\n The strategic pivot Chen pushed one portfolio company to make that completely changed their trajectory\u00a0<\/p>\n What being a \u201csmall exit founder\u201d taught Chen about venture capital, and why he thinks the industry has it backwards\u00a0<\/p>\n Subscribe to Equity on Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Overcast<\/a>, Spotify<\/a> and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X<\/a> and Threads<\/a>, at @EquityPod.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n