“Doubling Down” is a new series where we hear from top B2B SaaS investors on their most recent activities and takes on the current market. We had a great one last time with Hilarie Koplow-McAdams, Venture Partner at NEA. Check that out here.
This week we’re focusing on Harpinder Singh, Partner @ Innovation Endeavors!
#1. What’s your most recent disclosed investment? Why did you do the deal?
RevSure! The team, led by Deepinder Singh Dhingra, has deep enterprise SaaS experience and truly understands their customer’s needs. I have known Deepinder for several years, and he has great product instincts and hustle. The team has true empathy for their customers and strong technical skills.
#2. What’s your sweet spot for investing — check size, stage, type of deal? And how big is your current fund?
Innovation Endeavors is an early-stage firm that supports founders from inception through growth. We typically lead or co-lead seed and Series A rounds and will continue to support teams through Series B. Earlier this year, we launched Innovation Endeavors Fund V, a $630 million fund. Given that growth funding is becoming more scarce, we understand the importance of having ample funding to support our companies as they navigate the ‘valley of death.’ This is why we raised our largest fund to date — to provide the support our companies need to navigate challenging times successfully and build in spite of them. Personally, I’m drawn to SaaS opportunities that enable resourceful people to focus on their expertise and less on manual effort and tooling.
#3. What’s the #1 bit of advice you’d give to SaaS founders today?
Pouring money into go-to-market will not solve for product market fit. I find that often, in SaaS, it’s easy to get excited after a few customer acquisitions, and teams will too quickly pivot into investing capital into demand gen, sales, and marketing. It is important to continually reaffirm and build conviction on PMF before increasing your burn too much.
#4. What’s your pulse check on the venture markets right now, today?
This is an incredible time to build companies. I started both my companies in downturns, post-2000 and post-2008.
The innovations and technological breakthroughs we’re seeing are amazing, and I am confident we will see some important companies come out during this time period. There is so much more quality talent in the job market who want to join a startup — not just because it is fashionable, but because they are passionate about the work. The founders and technologists who are left are true, focused builders.
#5. What’s different about your fund / how you invest and support founders?
Our team is comprised of operators, serial entrepreneurs, investors, and Stanford faculty. We’ve experienced every stage of growth, we’ve gone through our own acquisitions, and we’ve been on all sides of the aisle. When we partner with founders, we do so with intent and a deep understanding of their experience.
#6. What’s an “exit” you’re particularly proud of?
Well, I have two exits I’m especially proud of. My first exit was FiberTower, which was acquired by First Avenue Networks. My co-founders and I incubated and founded FiberTower after we completed our graduate degrees at the Stanford GSB. Then we reunited for our next venture, Slice Technologies, which we sold to Rakuten. These acquisitions were both incredible experiences. We built an amazing culture and great teams at both companies. I’m very proud of what we accomplished.
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Harpinder (Harpi) is a partner at Innovation Endeavors and an experienced entrepreneur. He has spent nearly two decades building products for emerging industries at the intersection of mobile, data, and deep tech. He founded two technology companies that were successfully acquired — both of which he co-founded with Innovation Endeavors Partner, Scott Brady.
Harpi led investments in: Authomize, which helps IT and security teams detect and eliminate identity-based risks across cloud and IAM; Panther, a threat detection and response platform powered by a highly scalable security data lake and detection-as-code; and Gatik, which is developing self-driving solutions for urban logistics.
Prior to becoming a partner at Innovation Endeavors, Harpi was co-founder and CEO at Slice Technologies (acquired by Rakuten), a data and analytics company that provides market insights about eCommerce to the world’s largest consumer brands. He previously co-founded FiberTower (acquired by First Avenue Networks), the largest independent provider of backhaul to wireless carriers, where he was the head of product.
