Reflections on My 17th Midas List Honor

I’m honored to make the Forbes Midas List of Top Tech Investors for the 17th time. But what truly matters isn’t the recognition—it’s the privilege of doing what I do daily: helping founders from their inception to iconic journeys.

At Mayfield, “people first” isn’t just a motto – it’s our fundamental belief. Success in venture capital is never a solo achievement. My journey has been possible because of:

• Our founders, who chose Mayfield as their partners
• My Mayfield family, who challenge and partner with me daily
• My family, which provides the foundation for everything

Over three decades of building and investing in startups, I’ve learned that great people evolve, company building is a team sport, and all of us are better than any one of us. My leadership philosophy has been strongly influenced by observing the greatest coaches and championship teams in sports:

• Establish a winning mindset from day one
• Make bold decisions when others hesitate
• Recognize every contributor, especially the unsung heroes
• Create space for both fierce competition and genuine joy

The best founders I’ve worked with are always learning and changing. They see potential in others that they can’t yet see in themselves and aren’t afraid to embrace the unconventional.

Great teams win together. They celebrate together. And most importantly, they grow together.

Here’s looking at you, John Zimmer, Logan Green, Manish Chandra, Armon Dadgar, Mitchell Hashimoto, Lyndon Rive, Anand Deshpande, Guru Pangal, Kumar Ramachandran, Manu Gulati, Murli Thirumale, Gou Rao, Ankur Singla, Rob Bearden, Dheeraj Pandey, Tarun Raisoni, Bill Gross, Faraj Aalaei, Rajiv K., Seshu Madhavapeddy, and Rehan Jalil.

Thank you to Iain Martin and Forbes for the recognition, our founders who are building the future of AI, and my team at Mayfield, who make coming to work every day fun.

Originally published on LinkedIn.