 Today we're excited to welcome someone who has an eye for the authentic, the bold, the curious, and the scrappy. Hadley Harris joins us to talk about business and tech and how that intersection fuels his hustle as founding general partner at UNIAC Ventures. This is School of Hustle, the show where we find advice and inspiration from people who are making their own way. I'm Shannon, the VP of social here at GoDaddy, and I live and breathe the hustle of business. Today we're filming from the hustle of it all at the WeWork Time Square in New York City. Everybody, please let's give Hadley the biggest welcome. It's so great to have you on the show. Thanks for having me. You're welcome. Well, you are our first VC that we've had on the show, and as you can probably imagine, funding comes up a lot on School of Hustle. I'm wondering if you could tell us about what encouraged you to start ENIAC Ventures in 2010. Sure. First of all, thank you. It's an honor to be the first VC on the show. So I was an entrepreneur before this, and I actually started ENIAC back in 2010 with three of my good friends from undergrad. So we all went to undergrad together, then we became entrepreneurs and worked for about 10 years. Doing that, actually, serial entrepreneurs, a couple of companies a piece. And then we really wanted to work with entrepreneurs like ourselves and leverage our experience. So we founded ENIAC to help young entrepreneurs or young in their career to build their own companies. So you had your own businesses as an entrepreneur, and I know you had some leadership in the mobile tech space in general. What sort of experiences and lessons do you bring from that into what you do today? Yeah, I guess it's twofold. One is all the things that we did starting and running our own companies. You know, strategy, hiring, marketing, VizDab, all those things that we had experience with we can help our companies with. The second is being in their shoes. You know, I raised about $40 million as an entrepreneur. So I was on the other side of the table and unfortunately saw a lot of pretty bad behavior from some of these VCs. So really having been in their shoes and knowing what it's like gave me a lot of empathy for being in their perspective, being in their situation, having perspective for what they're going through. What do you look for when you think about who you want to invest in? What sort of characteristics do they demonstrate? Yeah, you know, there's a lot of factors, but especially the early stages where we focus. Team is the most important thing. So we like to see teams that are well-rounded, that have kind of diverse points of view, that are really deep in terms of the space that they're in, really deep expertise in whatever they're doing. They need to be really world experts at that and then have this vision of how to build a really big company. Sometimes it can be a crazy vision, but they believe in it and they have this idea of how they can attack these markets. They can disrupt the industry that they're attacking or maybe create a whole new industry. Now I love watching shows like Shark Tank. I love seeing people's ideas and how they pitch to get a shark to say yes or no. And I've heard on the show, advice like, you don't really want the VC route. We think you're just fine, you know, you don't want any help in funding. Why would somebody not want VC help? Actually, most businesses should not raise VC. When you think about it from the VC's point of view, we really make money only when the company does really well. So it becomes a multi-billion dollar business and it really pertains to high tech, high growth businesses. The reality is most businesses don't fit that and they really should think about other routes because when you sign up for VC, you're really signing up for this kind of binary outcome. Either become a large multi-billion dollar business or most of them go out of business and that's just the nature of the game. So if you don't feel like you're a fit, you're not trying to build the next Facebook, you really should look at other routes for building your business. What are some of these other routes that you would recommend for somebody who isn't planning to be the next Facebook, let's say? Things like debt, bank financing, friends and family. You know, if you're starting a restaurant, for example, VC doesn't make sense for you. You're better off talking to a bank about getting a small loan. Well, I've looked through the businesses who INEAC Ventures has supported and financed and one was acquired by Apple, one was acquired by Matt. Is acquisition the symbol of success when you think about, you know, what a wing investment looks like? Yeah, it's one route. I mean, actually, when we make an investment, we want to believe that company could be a standalone business or really an IPO and you truly strive to have the companies that can be the next Google or Spotify. The reality is that most of those companies do get acquired. We've had about 36 acquisitions including the ones you mentioned or we had one recently by Spotify. The reality is that's usually the outcome, but we really want to believe that they can build a business that can stand itself and be a public company, not necessarily looking for an outcome. I'm sorry, for an acquisition. Yeah, so you mentioned that when you were on the other side of the fence as an entrepreneur, VC's didn't always treat you the best. How do you ensure that your company, INEAC Ventures, is like ahead of the trend, is the VC people want to work with? Because I imagine that if I have the next Facebook idea, there are a lot of VC's that want in on that idea. So what do you do to make sure that the top entrepreneurs want to work with you? Yeah, so we think about it from their point of view and the things that they need. They need someone who's kind of with them at every step of the way, that's been in their shoes, that can help them with a lot of particular things like sales, like hiring, like basic strategy, like marketing. And we've all done that at our own companies and we've also built a team underneath us that focuses on those areas. So when we talk to entrepreneurs, we lay out kind of these are all the things we can do for you. We're going to be a partner in this with you and every step of the way we're going to be all helping you. What advice do you have for somebody who does want to go out and find the VC funding? Yeah, the best, almost all of our companies that we meet come through shared contact. So other entrepreneurs that we've invested in before that can recommend us based on working with us, other VC's that maybe don't lead those rounds, we tend to lead the rounds. So they'll meet another investor who's like, I'd love to invest, but we don't have the capacity to lead the round because of their size and maybe their experience. We're a great fit to be that leader of the round. So I would find target VC's you think can be really helpful, hopefully folks like Eniac. And then I would find shared contacts on LinkedIn or Twitter or other ways of getting to them through a shared contact, not kind of just reaching out cold. How exactly do you stay on the cutting edge of the trends? So I read a lot, whether that be books or blogs staying up to date with things like Twitter, but actually the main way that I kind of stay cutting edge is meeting these entrepreneurs. We invest the really early stages. These are entrepreneurs that tend to have a brand new technology or a new concept, a new way to run a business. So I really learned from the entrepreneurs kind of what's the bleeding edge. And then that helps me figure out kind of other opportunities that might be up there. Do you think there's any one particular trend that we should keep an eye on? I think the most interesting macro trend right now is artificial intelligence. So many of the things we're looking at are around using data to build really intelligent systems. And that I think is going to transcend almost everything we do in the next 40 years. I believe that 30 to 40 years from now actually artificial intelligence will be smarter than humans. We all do most things better than a human. And that's going to cause a lot of societal changes which are scary but also exciting. But also a lot of opportunity for investors like me that can invest in these companies that are really going to change the world, the way that each of us lives. What are the top three traits that you would say are the embodiment of somebody who's starting a company and who's going to make it and be that next Facebook? Maybe they're in AI. What top three traits would you say that that founder and that person entrepreneur has? Yeah, I mean one is just intelligence. Entrepreneurs are super smart. The second is just a passion for what they're doing. And the third is just lots of guts. They believe that they can change the world. You know, being an entrepreneur, especially a venture-backed entrepreneur, entrepreneur is very tough. The odds are stacked against you. But it's the great ones that don't believe that it's that tough that actually believe that they can build something great that end up doing great things. Why the name? What does ENIAC Ventures mean? So ENIAC was the first computer. It was developed at the University of Pennsylvania where my partners all went to school. So we're engineering students there. And actually part of the ENIAC is how is there a part of this Smithsonian. And our emails are actually eniac.upn.edu. So we took that as the name of the firm. Now it is time to play my favorite game, Hustle Time. We won't get through all of these, but let's see how many we can do. Okay. It's going to be fun. I promise it's fun. Team, can I have 60 seconds on the clock? Eight. Yep. Dogs are cats. Dogs. Favorite movie theater treat? Popcorn. Sashimi or rolls? Sashimi. Would you rather never get angry or never be envious? Never be envious. Go to karaoke song. Toto Africa. Socks with sandals? Yes or no? No. Most irrational fear? Uh, falling. Wine, white or red? Red. One thing you'd want on a desert island with you? Water. Chardonnay, yay or nay? No. Favorite pastime, music or movies? Uh, music. First place you'll visit when you retire? Africa. Early bird or night owl? Uh, early bird. Coffee or tea? Coffee. Favorite part of your day? Breakfast. Top best part of your workout? Uh, running. Personal trainers effective or too much cash? Too much cash. Grape, flavor, yay or nay? No. New York or London? New York. Ideal fake sick day? I don't do that. Would you rather visit liquorice castle or peppermint forest? Peppermint forest. M&M's or Skittles? Skittles. If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet? Uh, Abraham Lincoln. Favorite kid from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Uh, the fact kid. 21, 22, 23, 24. For this next set of questions, these are designed to be short answer and concise answers, but not necessarily as rapid fire as hustle time. Okay. We ask every entrepreneur this list of questions. Um, so, favorite part of your day? I love breakfast. Best piece of advice you've ever gotten? Uh, to focus on what you really enjoy. Worst piece of advice? Uh, any advice around taking a job just for the money? How do you use your career to inspire others? I'm not sure I'm inspiring others, but I'd like to think I've taken a lot of chances in my career, and I'm very happy with how it's turned out. I really enjoy my job, so if I can inspire others to take bold chances, then I'm happy. Ever felt like walking away? No. One thing you still need to learn? Oh, there's thousands of things I still need to learn. I could fill a whole program just with that. What do you want people to learn from you? Um, I guess that's what I said about taking chances. I think that if you look at most of the successful people in the world, they can really hold chances that seem like low chance of success, and it turned out well. So, you know, don't be scared to go out there and do something. What's next for you? Uh, I'm focused on ENIAC. You know, I started this firm with my friends, and we're building this out. We want to be the number one venture capital fund in the world, and we still have a long ways to do that, so until we achieve that, I'm focused on that. Who inspires you? My little brother Travis wears Down syndrome and seeing what he's accomplished with what he's been giving is really inspirational to me. Who challenges you? My fiancé, Hannah, challenges me every day. Well, we let social know that you were coming, and we have two questions from social. The first comes from Rachel. What do you do to stand out to the top startups out there who are looking for cash? I mean, we try and get their attention by kind of letting know what we do on Twitter. We have a podcast called Seed to Scale, which you can find on any podcast program, and get our names out there and what we're all about. And then what we try and tell them about is all the things that we do to help entrepreneurs. We were talking about a little bit before, but, you know, really being with them through the trenches, all the different areas that we've built up experience over the years, whether that be marketing or PR or product or strategy or hiring a team. You know, really kind of let them know about our experience and how we can work closely with them to make their dreams come true. And Joala asks, what does a startup need to do to stand out and get funded? Yeah, I think the most important thing if I was in Joala's shoes would be just become a real expert in one area and then make it clear how you want to build some large company based on that expertise and your knowledge of the area you're operating in. The last question, of course, is coming from the resident pug at GoDaddy. Oh, hello. Do you want that type? Sure, of course. Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. Oh, my fiance is going to be pissed. She wants a dog badly. Well, you can't have this one. He's ours. So, in a previous episode of School of Hustle, we talked about with Aisha Curry how Noodle has some interest in opening up a pug pub. Oh. And I know, this is a dream of his. And clearly, you know, in New York City, there's a ton of restaurants out there. It's very hard to stand out. Now, I don't know if the VC route is appropriate for an idea like this, like such as restaurants or not, but what should Noodle do to get attention from investors and help to get his idea to be a reality? Well, you know, it's interesting. Noodle's in a hot space. There's been a lot of really successful pet-oriented startups over the last five years, like Wag and Rover. So, you know, Noodle's offering a space that VCs are paying attention to. I mean, my advice for Noodle would really be to kind of be able to articulate a vision that he or she believes that can build, you know, a lasting company. And I think if Noodle's able to do that, she's going to be successful. Do you hear that, Noodle? Well, a lot of fantastic advice and inspiration today. And I think, before we call it a day, I would like to share three quotes with you and have you tell me which quote resonates the most with you and why. So, we're going to leave everybody with that final thought, like a really good fortune cookie. Sounds good. Number one, every day is a bank account and time is our currency. No one is rich, no one is poor. We've got 24 hours each. Number two, an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Number three, innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Well, those are all really good. I think I'd go with the second one. I just think knowledge is, gaining knowledge to me is kind of one of the most important things in life. And I find it very enjoyable. I, you know, for folks that aren't kind of learning or spending kind of time past their education learning, I really would recommend focusing a lot of your time on gaining knowledge. I think it's great for your career, but more importantly, it's great for just enjoyment. Thank you for that. No problem. Thank you for being here. Thanks for having me. This was really, really fun meeting you. It was fun. It was fun meeting both you and me. Well, I know he liked meeting you. He's going to use your advice and I'm sure everybody watching will use your advice as well. And I hope everybody watching really enjoyed the episode today. I know that I learned a lot and I want to remind everybody to follow GoDaddy across social because we are bringing School of Hustle to you every single Wednesday, Facebook premiere, YouTube, IGTV, teasers across Twitter and LinkedIn and Instagram. So please keep watching and we will see you soon.