In this episode, we’re stepping away from the metaverse and AI craze and turning to the world of traditional industries.

Venture capital is an often glorified job for young professionals. Will Kurniawan lived that dream for a few years before deciding to leave it behind. Rather than following the typical path for a venture investor — raising his own fund or joining a tech startup — he took an unconventional route by pivoting to traditional sectors.

A little over a year ago, Will launched Emerald Lane, a boutique buyout firm, or a ‘serial acquirer,’ that seeks out small and medium-sized businesses. Think of family-owned operations, like a decades-old plumbing service, where the next generation desires more glamorous job titles (perhaps VC) than taking over the family business. Beyond that, Emerald Lane also looks for bootstrapped startups — like a small marketing agency — and businesses in the creator economy.

Sometimes I feel as if I’m living in a startup and VC bubble, so it’s refreshing to hear Will, who grew up in Indonesia and studied in the US, talk about his alternative path of working with mom-and-pop shops and other small, scrappy businesses.

Timeline

2:24 Emerald Lane’s three areas of focus

8:00 Working as a VC in China

9:46 Why Will quit VC (spoiler: Luck plays a big part in VC)

14:34 Why Emerald Lane is a holding company rather than a fund

19:48 The  ‘proprietary deal flow’ strategy

23:57 Doing due diligence on unfamiliar industries

24:52 A fun anecdote of interacting with a seller

27:01 Will’s life essentials

Recommendations

How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets by Felix Dennis

*Will’s note: the book is much deeper than its slightly cheesy title might suggest

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