VC Insights: From In-House to becoming an EIR w/ Spero Ventures

VC Insights with Bring Ruckus is a series of conversations with Venture Capitalists to learn about what they look for in companies to fund, how they spot the best talent, and what is their advice for startup founders looking to grow or get funding.

This week we'll sit down with Ha and Sonny from Spero Ventures. Ha and Sonny were both startup leaders who transitioned to becoming Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at Spero Ventures. What even is an EIR, and what do they do on a daily basis?

Spero Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in the things that make life worth living. They partner with entrepreneurs solving problems in three areas: well-being, work & purpose, and human connection. They invest in technology companies that are driven to deliver value to both shareholders and society, including: Clarity, Mati, Core, Droneseed, Gencove, Roam Robotics and Skillshare. They are high-conviction investors and we help companies scale to billions of customers. Their LP and partners are founders and early execs at eBay and Tesla. 

About the Speakers:

Ha Nguyen, Founding Partner, Spero Ventures

Ha Nguyen is a Founding Partner at Spero Ventures. In addition to investing, Ha leads the firm’s marketing/network efforts and is a thought partner to founding teams, helping them incorporate design-thinking and user empathy into product development and corporate strategy. A former refugee from Vietnam, Ha is passionate about supporting underrepresented founders and building vibrant, diverse communities, including leadership roles at AllRaise, Product Leader Summit and Women in Product. Before joining Spero, Ha led product and growth at multiple startups, including Stella & Dot, Betfair, Keaton Row and Oodle. She was one of the early product managers during eBay’s hypergrowth years. Ha holds an MBA from Harvard and a BS in Economics & Business from The Wharton School.

Sonny Mayugba, Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Spero Ventures

Sonny Mayugba is an Entrepreneur In Residence at Spero Ventures. A serial entrepreneur, Sonny first got hooked on startups by launching Heckler, a print/digital magazine that he sold to Times Mirror when he was 25. After that, there was no turning back from the startup world. Sonny went on to start Requested, a mobile app for restaurants & bars that was in the first cohort of Jason Calacanis’ LAUNCH accelerator. Requested eventually merged with Waitr, a restaurant delivery app, where Sonny became the founding CMO. In charge of customer acquisition, brand identity, and revenue stewardship, Sonny helped grow Waitr Holdings to $800M annual revenue, expanded into 700 cities, and rang the Nasdaq Opening Bell when the company went public in 2018. Outside of his EIR role at Spero, Sonny is an angel investor and a board advisor to startups. He also makes time for his lifelong passions for competitive table tennis, skateboarding, snowboarding, and music. 

Anish Shah, CEO & Founder, Bring Ruckus (Event Host)

Anish Shah worked in-house in Growth roles at Snapfish and Getable. He started Bring Ruckus as a Growth consultancy 11 years ago working with 40+ clients, then re-focused his firm on executive recruiting for Growth leaders.