Why Should I Invest Early in Startups?
VC in 33 Seconds
In this video, Meera Oak shares why investing at the seed stage can be both exciting and high-impact. She explains how this early phase often signals the first signs of transformative change — where investors back on a vision of the future. Often with low entry valuations and high potential for growth, seed investing offers the chance to back the next breakout companies. Meera also touches on the power law dynamic in venture, highlighting why diversification across ~30-50 investments helps maximize the potential for capturing outsized returns.
VC in 33: Why Should I Invest Early in Startups?
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In this video, Meera Oak explores the unique appeal of seed-stage investing. She explains how this early stage allows investors to support bold ideas before they take shape — when valuations are often low and the upside potential is greatest. While not every company will succeed, Meera highlights how a well-diversified portfolio taps into the power law effect, where a few high-growth winners can drive substantial returns a portfolio.
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Meera Oak
Partner, Women's FundMeera’s background includes strategic, financial, and operational experience from her time at Yale University, where she managed a $1B budget (of a $4B organization), led M&A transactions, and secured business development relationships with corporate partners. Most recently, she worked with early-stage venture funds and incubators like Create Venture Studio and Polymath Capital Partners and was responsible for launching business ventures and sourcing investments in enterprise SaaS, infrastructure, and ecommerce. Meera has a BA in Economics from Swarthmore College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
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You can find the full transcript below:
Meera Oak:
At the seed stage, you’re seeing the very early iterations of change you are investing in what you feel the world will be and that’s why it’s so compelling to invest at this stage because you’re investing in compelling opportunities at extremely low valuations. So it just provides the most opportunity for growth. If it takes off, it has the opportunity to deliver outsize returns. there are some companies that are going to be rocket ships but there are some that may not work out and that’s part of the power law dynamic. Why we invest across 30 to 50 investments.
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