Communicator spotlight: Khosla Ventures marketing and communications chief, Shernaz Daver
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Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Khosla Ventures
As an operating partner and chief marketing officer at venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, Shernaz Daver is tasked with supporting the firm's portfolio companies and revitalizing the firm's brand, she tells Axios.
Why it matters: Daver is the first marketing and communications hire for the 20-year-old firm, which was the first to invest in companies like OpenAI, DoorDash and Block.
🗣️What she's saying: The biggest challenge for early-stage startups is that user acceptance always lags behind technology development, says Daver.
- Her job is to help bridge the gap by helping entrepreneurs "talk about themselves and create a story that is going to help their business," she added.
📍How she got here: Daver has spent her career advising companies from ideation to IPO.
- She recently served as executive adviser to Google Ventures and has supported companies like Netflix, Walmart, Zynga, Kitty Hawk and Guardant Health.
- Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla "has always had this belief that we're not in the venture capital business ... we're in the venture assistance business. That's part of what attracted me to this role, because a lot of my life has been spent with startup companies helping them grow and scale."
💡 Every founder should know that communications is not a "side thing." It is critical if you hope to meet business objectives.
📈 Trend spot: All politics, all the time.
- "And it is not just American politics— it is geopolitics. I think it's the first year that I can think of, to be honest, where we have a fair amount of conflict to the world. It's the year with the most historic elections ever in history," she says.
- Of note: Vinod Khosla recently got into a back-and-forth with Elon Musk on X about the Tesla CEO's endorsement of former President Trump.
🏃🏻♀️ Screen free: When she's not working or scrolling BBC News, Daver is running, completing the New York Times crossword puzzle or traveling with her three kids.
🧠 Best advice: Don't focus on being liked in the workplace. Focus on being respected.
- "We're human, and don't get me wrong, I find it hard myself. But at the end of the day, your job is not your family. Your focus should not be to make everyone happy but to play your position at work and play it well."
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