Art by Clark MillerThe Startup Investor Who Earned Andreessen’s Ire
General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja, 49, has pinned his firm’s hopes on a controversial strategy—that profit must come with purpose—and it has attracted a loud chorus of jeers from his VC peers.
The inner sanctum of one of Silicon Valley’s most intriguing investors is a small, bland room in Los Altos Hills, Calif., filled on a recent morning by little more than a marble-top conference table, a whiteboard and a stack of bagged spicy chili potato chips. The home office belongs to General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja, and it’s partly from here that he has plotted an investment philosophy that has roiled his industry even as he made it a centerpiece for his venerable firm, which has $25 billion in assets.
As he arrived, he made little time for small talk and pleasantries, instead plunging straight into a discussion about his investing thesis, which he calls “responsible innovation.” The concept: Technology can make a positive impact on society and generate strong financial returns at the same time.