Kevin Zhang

What is the first company you invested in? 

I first met Will Falcon over lunch at a Thai restaurant near the Facebook offices in New York, long before he incorporated the company that would become Lightning AI. I remember feeling immediately impressed with his vision for how his new open source project, already popular with machine learning researchers, could evolve into an ecosystem of tools for refining and deploying ML applications.

What do you love about working for Bain Capital Ventures?

What I respect and value the most is our willingness to do the right thing, and to optimize for long-term relationships. It’s often easier to choose immediate gain, but I have seen our team repeatedly opt to make tough calls and double-down in support of founders and companies.

What are your interests and passions outside of BCV?

As someone who is fascinated by unique characters, it’s probably no surprise that I’m an avid follower of politics and international relations. I grew up on fantasy novels, trading cards, real-time strategy games, and suburban wonders like Chili’s and Barnes & Noble. If Microsoft can turn World of Warcraft into a metaverse, you’ll probably find me living out the rest of my days on a riverside farm in Elwynn Forest. Whenever I find myself in an art museum, I’ll generally make a beeline for Ellsworth Kelly and any Hudson River School painters.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I spent too much time thinking that only “other people”, whether more skilled or otherwise qualified, get to be entrepreneurs, venture investors, business executives, or generally to have an impact on the world.