Building Conviction Through Curiosity: Lessons From My VC Internship

“Ex-FAANG team building an AI-native, agentic Saas platform”. I always knew the meme of venture capital today was extreme, but I did think there was an investor playbook to make decisions quickly and confidently. I was wrong. Certainty is the last thing VCs have. 

My seven-month internship at Vertex Ventures SEA emphasized that VC is about building conviction despite ambiguity. As I worked across the full investment process, from deal sourcing to due diligence and presenting investment theses, I realized there is always some missing data, an assumption to test, and a market we are unsure how to size. At the same time, no startup is “perfect”, and they all come with their challenges, whether market size, unit economics, GTM, etc. Being skeptical becomes the easier part. How do we stay optimistic and open-minded enough to bet on the right horse? 

Curiosity. Curiosity to dive deep and fast into various unfamiliar sectors, from AI infrastructure to FMCG, healthcare, and more. Curiosity to understand pain points, business models, and financials. Beyond desktop research, I realized the value of speaking directly with founders, end-users, distributors, experts, and diverse stakeholders throughout the ecosystem. Listening and empathizing with multiple perspectives to triangulate the “truth” was essential to piecing the puzzle together. 

Being part of a global team also challenged my perspectives on building global businesses, as evaluating a company’s right-to-win in each country is different, due to culture, pain points, regulations, competition, and more. More importantly, I was challenged to be honest when my view on an opportunity has evolved based on new information.

Just as no two deals are the same, no two founders are the same. At Vertex, I was fortunate to have worked closely with them, and what inspires me most is how mission-driven and gritty they are in problem-solving for the people they care about. One founder even described himself as a “robot with a switch for sleep.” Extreme, but it reflects the hunger I’ve had a chance to witness. I realized that investing is just the beginning; riding the bumpy and uncertain journey with founders is an even bigger part.

Venture capital taught me that conviction isn’t a gut feeling. It requires curiosity, empathy, and optimism to build, especially when the picture is incomplete. 

To the Vertex Ventures SEA team, thank you for the trust, exposure, and patient mentorship. To the founders I’ve met, thank you for showing me what it’s like to believe in something before the rest of the world does. 

*Edited by *Rahul Thayyalamkandy, Director, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India.

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