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Farooq Abbasi

Investor, founder, and mentor with extensive experience in venture capital and tech startups

Farooq Abbasi is a prominent figure in the venture capital industry, currently serving as a Member at 3i Members.4 Here are some key details about his professional background:

Current Roles

  • Founder and General Partner at Preface Ventures (since December 2015)1
  • Co-founder of Diversity VC (since June 2016)1
  • Mentor at MIT Sloan School of Management (since October 2021)1
  • Mentor at Stanford University (since April 2020)1

Professional Experience

Farooq has an extensive background in venture capital and startup mentorship:

  • He founded Preface Ventures, a seed-stage investment firm focused on enterprise infrastructure software.1
  • At Preface, he has invested in successful companies like Redlock.io, Zingbox, Oort, Truebill, and Certn.1
  • Prior to Preface, he worked at Costanoa Ventures as a Principal and Advisor, leading investments in companies such as Auterion and Lively.1
  • He has also held positions at Mosaic Ventures, DN Capital, and Horizon Partners.1

Education and Background

  • Farooq is a first-generation Indian immigrant and the youngest of four siblings.2
  • He initially studied with a view toward medical science but pivoted to venture capital at the age of 19.2

Achievements and Expertise

  • Over his career, Farooq has invested over $72 million across 75+ companies, with a cumulative enterprise value exceeding $10 billion.2
  • He is passionate about diversity and inclusion, which led him to co-found Diversity VC in 2016.2
  • Farooq speaks Hindi and Spanish, and is learning Arabic.2

Social Media Presence

On Twitter, Farooq describes himself as "Helping good people succeed" and mentions his involvement with Preface Ventures, Diversity VC, and investments in companies like Redlock.io, Remitly, Truebill, and Ambient.ai.3

Highlights

Feb 15 · linkedin

Congratulations to Sam Seely and Chris Bell on their $12m Series A led by Craft Ventures! A bit about our journey with them here:

Nov 21 · linkedin

Many know that 2023 has been a more challenging fundraising year for GPs as well as LPs in re-upping / investing in VC.

Too often - and mostly second hand - I learn of LPs focusing on the wrong things in the underwriting decision for seed managers i.e. early mark-ups in current fund (when so little has been "paid-in"), seed syndicate co-investors, etc. Folks groan about lack of liquidity in the previous fund when most often LPs are re-underwriting at year 3 or 4 (when it is genuinely too early, for that).

Enter the Seed Stage Enterprise VC Funding Napkin - inspired by Christoph Janz's SaaS Funding napkin which I hope is a helpful framework for others. Measurement matters! Feedback is very welcome. #openLP #venturecapital #enterprisetech #seedVC

Related Questions

What are some of the notable companies Farooq Abbasi has invested in?
How did Farooq Abbasi start his career in venture capital?
What is the mission of Diversity VC, which Farooq Abbasi co-founded?
What role does Farooq Abbasi play at Preface Ventures?
How has Farooq Abbasi's work at MIT Sloan School of Management impacted his career?
Farooq Abbasi
Farooq Abbasi, photo 1
Farooq Abbasi, photo 2
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Experience

Founder and General Partner at Preface Ventures
Principal, Advisor at Costanoa Ventures

Education

Not specified

Location

New York, New York, United States