Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

A few weeks into my internship, I found myself sitting cross-legged on the floor of the HaikuJam office cottage, the entire Lightbox team on a portfolio visit. Wanting us to experience firsthand the magic of their product, the founders asked us to write a Haiku (a 3-line poem originating in Japanese culture) about Lightbox. The first line immediately sprung to mind – “nothing ventured, nothing gained” (pun fully intended!).

And over the last 6 months, I have found that here at Lightbox – everyone from interns to analysts, associates and partners embodies this attitude. Whether it’s exploring a new vertical to invest in or helping a portfolio company take on a new challenge – you are constantly encouraged to ask “why not”, to look closely at how the usual can be done differently, and to interrogate everything. And that culture of curiosity is what forms the basis of the team’s creative approach.

Finally, everyone always talks about how “its all about the people you work with”. I thought this was mostly HR babble until I came to Lightbox. Truly, the team here is the icing on what is already an incredible cake – and what an icing it is! Not only is everyone beyond willing to help you learn (thank you Prashant, Harish and Ankit), but you absolutely cannot find a place to better sharpen your banter skills (Table 2 > Table 1)!

It was a privilege to be a part of the Lightbox team, and I’ll carry the memories and lessons with me well beyond my time here.