- An interview with Andra Capital Partner Kathy Park on overcoming stereotypes in the workplace.
Andra Capital is a growth- and late-stage technology investment firm that invests in leading pre-IPO private technology companies, primarily in enterprise-related technology such as AI and big data, cybersecurity, cloud technology, SaaS companies, business-enablement tech, and fintech. To learn more about the firm, Pulse 2.0 interviewed Kathy Park, Partner at Andra Capital.
Kathy Park’s Background
Kathy Park grew up in Virginia and spent about three years living in South Korea as a very young child with her grandmother. Park’s parents had immigrated to the U.S. a couple of years before she was born. Park’s mom was a waitress while she worked to get her pharmacist license, and her dad worked as a janitor until he was able to get a job as an estimator at a contracting firm – which he would eventually own and run as CEO.
Park later came back to the U.S. to start school. She told me that she was very fortunate to have a great education in the Fairfax County public school system.
“College really expanded my perception of the world. I went to Harvard thinking there were only three paths for me – something in medicine, law, or engineering. Instead, I got there and quickly switched from pre-med to economics,” said Park.
“At a friend’s suggestion, I applied for a summer internship on Wall Street and ended up joining Goldman Sachs after college. I went back to Harvard for business school and worked in strategy consulting (Bain Consulting) and brand management (L’Oréal) before returning to Goldman, where I worked for 15 years. At Goldman, I managed a broad range of businesses, including the U.S. fund and private capital-raising businesses, which I launched in the Investment Banking and Securities Divisions.”
Park also had extensive experience advising alternative investment managers and working with investing clients, ranging from early-stage to complex global institutions across a broad range of public and private equity, debt, and structured capital markets offerings. Park met the founders of Andra Capital in 2018 when they were launching their first fund, and she joined the firm last year as a Partner.
Work At Andra Capital
Park leads Andra’s business development efforts, working with new and existing investors and managing relationships with strategic partners. She is also a member of the Investment Committee and helps vet new and existing investments in Andra’s portfolio companies.
“We focus on companies that are Top 3 in their sector or vertical, backed by Tier 1 VCs, have strong growth driven by long-term technological trends, and led by exceptional management teams that are able to scale those companies to achieve a successful IPO,” continued Park.
She added that the firm actively supports portfolio companies and their management teams in whatever capacity they need assistance.
“This ranges from connecting several portfolio companies to a broader investor network in Asia to explore synergies, JVs, and expansion; to something as mundane as helping to test a new product or platform for one of our portfolio companies prior to its official launch by participating in the auction as an investor and providing user feedback,” stated Park.
Biggest Milestones
When I asked Park about Andra’s largest milestones, she cited Andra Capital launching with the mission of democratizing access to pre-IPO tech companies for global investors. And since its inception in 2018, Andra has hit several milestones, including:
— Achieving two successful exits (Palantir and SoFi)
— Investing in over a dozen companies
— Building a diverse investor base throughout Asia, the Middle East, the U.S., and Canada
— Preparing to launch a second fund focused on growth-stage companies later this year
— Deploying over $100 million of capital
Difference From Other VC Firms
Andra’s leadership team is notable for its diversity of experience and backgrounds.
“Our senior team is composed of professionals with early-stage through late-stage investing, capital markets, and banking experience, as well as business owner-entrepreneurs who bring a unique perspective and understanding of the issues faced by the management teams of our portfolio companies,” explained Park.
“We also have a diverse and global investor base that further differentiates Andra. Our unique investor base includes some of the leading technology and financial investors in Asia. Andra’s focus on investing in only a small number of exceptional companies enables us to facilitate strategic partnerships and dialogue between our portfolio companies and our LPs.”
Overcoming Stereotypes In The Workplace
Park pointed out that minorities face both overt and hidden/unconscious biases, particularly when they don’t fit the historical or prevailing profile for a given role. And when you are more junior, the best way to overcome stereotypes is to prove those assumptions wrong through the quality of your work and your attitude. You have to become the person that others seek to work with and want to have on their teams.
“Ironically, as you progress in your career, those same attributes can be viewed by some as negative qualities. As I moved up the proverbial ladder, I came across the stereotype that I was a highly effective ‘worker bee’ but was too nice and not enough of a fighter to be the ‘queen bee,’ despite the fact that I had already successfully built businesses and managed global teams and projects,” Park observed.
“The reason why diversity needs to be championed in the workplace is that not only is there not just one single best type of leadership, but in fact, different types of managers and leaders are needed at different points in time and in different situations.”
Another stereotype that women face is an assumption that they are not as career-driven, especially if they have children or a spouse who works. So women need to actively advocate for themselves and be more vocal about wanting to get bigger jobs, get promoted, and get paid.
Park also specified that women need to question what unconscious biases exist within their workplaces and not be afraid to call out situations where they observe instances of bias. Unfortunately, there often are not enough minorities in those closed-door meetings and at those senior levels to bring that different perspective that is often needed to even recognize there are biases at work.
Advice For Aspiring Female And Minority Professionals
“It’s important to develop your own professional network early on in your career, not just with senior people but also with your peers. Seek out mentors who can help you better navigate your work environment and be a sounding board to think through issues with you. And work to maintain those relationships – you will find yourself continuing to rely on those individuals over the course of your career and even be in the position of providing advice and support to them as well, as you gain experience and expertise,” Park advised.
“Don’t be afraid to take on difficult challenges. If you’re going to fail, you might as well fail earlier on in your career when the opportunity cost is a lot lower – whether that’s moving to another city, taking on a ‘stretch’ assignment, or just trying tasks that you’re not very good at, in order to build that skillset. Don’t be afraid to explore and try different jobs. In the end, you will have a much richer experience and greater longevity because you have the ability to succeed in a variety of areas.”
What Are The Firm’s Future Goals?
Park answered that Andra Capital plans to build on the continued success and strong performance of its existing platform and continue to lean into its mission to democratize access to top pre-IPO technology companies. And based on investor interest, the firm plans to launch a second investment vehicle later this year that will invest in late-stage (Series E/F) and growth-stage companies (Series C/D).
“As we embark on this next phase of growth, we are also exploring partnerships that would further enhance our reach and ability to provide access to those leading companies for global investors,” Park commented.
