AngelList CEO Avlok Kohli on building the company of companies that is powering private markets

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today we peer into one of the most fascinating companies in private markets, AngelList, and talk with AngelList’s CEO Avlok Kohli.

AngelList is building the operating system for modern startups and tech innovation, and as such, they see themselves as building a company of companies. AngelList has had almost 19,000 startups raise capital from syndicates and funds on their platform, they support over $15B in assets, and 40% of all US unicorns have had a GP invest in them through AngelList.

To date, AngelList's GP business has largely been known for its marketplace and fund admin product. That changes this week when they begin to release a series of software products available to any venture firm, even if they don't run a fund on AngelList, which automates and adds intelligence to the most onerous and ambiguous parts of running a fund. It all starts with the most comprehensive and tailored banking product, built specifically for venture funds.

Avlok has an impressive background as a tech founder and operator and gives us an insight into how AngelList is building their business.

Avlok is the CEO at AngelList and the Founder and CEO of LegalReach. He is also the former Founder and CEO at Fairy. He created Fastbite, a food delivery service, which was acquired by Square a few months after launch and was integrated into Square’s delivery product as Fastbite by Caviar.

Avlok and I had a fascinating discussion about how AngelList’s product driven culture has enabled them to evolve with customer needs and build all sorts of products and services for GPs, startups, and LPs. We discuss: 

• What makes AngelList a n-of-1 company.
• How his experience at Square has informed his company building strategy at AngelList.
• How AngelList's data can track relative health of companies and what will make a “sustainable unicorn.”
• Why it’s almost impossible to compare them to a single traditional financial services company given the breadth and depth of their product offerings.

Thanks Avlok for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom and experiences and for all the work you're doing to power private markets.