“Life’s too short to play games,” says Arvind Purushotham, Head of Citi Ventures, our guest in our latest episode of Investing in Integrity. Arvind traces an impressive career arc from engineering leadership at Intel to making high-stakes investment decisions and advising founders & business leaders at Citi, unpacking how strong technical and product knowledge can equip future investors to make smarter decisions.

For those curious about different approaches to venture capital (e.g. the differences between Citi Ventures and firms like Sequoia), and the role finance can play in driving innovation, Arvind offers a first-hand perspective comparing and contrasting how different firms operate.

Throughout the conversation, he emphasizes the importance of transparency, ethics, and integrity in leadership positions, and doing right by the company, investors, and clients. 

And tempered with wisdom from working through the Dot-com Bubble, Arvind contextualizes present macroeconomic concerns and unpacks timeless qualities that investors should look for–from operational discipline to principled-decision making. 

Tune into this episode for advice on how to “face the music and be out there,” as Arvind muses, in making difficult decisions and navigating uncertainty, whether as a student, operator or investor.

00:00 - Intro/Career

06:11 - Values

08:43 - Keys to Success

11:19 - VC vs. CVC

16:13 - Value Proposition

23:31 - Principled Leadership

26:10 - Rapid Fire