Vikram Ashok

Entrepreneur

I want to change the world.

Airbnb, Uber, Slack, Zoominfo

I enjoy building. I saw a problem in the market around the way companies access talent that I felt uniquely positioned to solve. I am passionate about leveraging technology to transform antiquated, high friction processes.

The most frustrating aspect of entrepreneurship is the series of ups and downs - it's a true emotional roller coaster. The most rewarding aspect of entrepreneurship is bringing your ideas to reality and seeing the impact that they have on other people's lives.

Overbuilding their MVP based on their own vision rather than what customers want/need.

1. Talk to as many customers/prospects as possible before writing a line of code.
2. Customer retention is one of the most important startup metrics and for good reason.
3. Once you have established product/market fit, focus on building the best executive team you can.

I am a technology entrepreneur, growth-stage CEO, advisor to early stage startups and angel investor.

My career started in private equity at a large family office called Quilvest Private Equity with $36B of assets under management.  I spent half of my time on private equity acquisitions and half of my time supporting portfolio companies.  Through my work with portfolio companies, I discovered a huge unmet need in the market for flexible talent on demand.  I then set out to build Graphite, a global technology platform for on-demand work.

I also advise and invest in early stage companies where I feel I can add unique value.  Most of these companies have one or more of the following attributes: HR tech, B2B SaaS, marketplaces, future of work, gig economy.

Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, biking, playing tennis, traveling and visiting America's National Parks.