Today's investor: Rajil Kapoor

Meliza Solan Surdi · January 25, 2011 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/163c

No. 1 mistake: Not hiring people better than themselves

Our community is made up of trend-setting entrepreneurs, who deserve to be recognized. These entrepreneurs often choose the path of innovation without realizing the kind of lifestyle that comes with it.

As they step out of their comfort zone and take risks, they will more often than not, make several mistakes which become valuable lessons for the rest of us.

Vator's community also has several investors who make a difference. They help entrepreneurs make those lessons we can all learn from. They also support the innovations we can benefit from.

We've just created new profiles for our Vator members to share their story. So if you are an entreprenuer or an investor, we'd like to hear from you.

This week we will be featuring a variety of investors. Today's investor is Rajil Kapoor, managing director of Mayfield.

Raj will be one of our VC panelists at our upcoming Vator Splash event this February 3 at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco. He will also be singing live with his band Coverflow at the Vator Splash afterparty.

There's still time to get early-bird tickets. Go to the registration page to reserve your tickets and see the agenda. These prices are good until next Monday!

I am: An Investor

Name companies you've founded or co-founded:

Snapfish.com

Name companies you've invested in:

Red Beacon, Tagged, Qunar, Baihe, Rubicon Project, Fixya, Bigdeal

Name startups you worked for:

Excite@Home, Snapfish

If you are an entrepreneur, why?

I want to change the world.

List your favorite startups:

too many to list!

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

frustrating - things never move as fast as you want. war for talent.

rewarding - so much....the excitement around the idea, hiring the team, selling the vision, building great products, watching users love it, and of course making money

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make?

Not to hire people better than themselves - especially filling in the skill gaps they have

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1) Hire the best people always
2) Make decisions quickly but give enough time to test out your hypotheses
3) Cash is king - you can recover from timing mistakes if you have the cash