Connect with Tobi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobi-coker/

VC Uncovered's View

Meet Tobi

Key Quotes

Original Responses (Lightly Edited for Clarity and Flow)

Background and Personal Journey

Experiences Shaping My Investment Approach

Growing up as a first-generation Nigerian-American immigrant in Atlanta, it was hard to contextualize how different our household was. I tried very hard to fit in, but there were inherent differences. This taught me two things. First, it gave me a desire to connect by focusing on human commonalities, like what makes a product or technology great across borders and experiences. Second, it made me comfortable with being different. I’m part of the Kauffman Fellows program, and they’ve emphasized bringing your personal experiences into the job, influencing how you connect with founders and what you get passionate about. Now, I actively seek that unique insight or different approach, leaning into it rather than trying to do more of the same. I'm not afraid to go against the grain and have some unconventional bets in my portfolio. That comfort was born out of my upbringing.

Balancing Intuition with Data

I think data is a good tool and foundation, but I use it as supporting material, not the main deciding factor. It certainly helps me reach conviction. I view them in parallel. We invest heavily in seed-stage companies, which is largely based on intuition. But for an A or B round, data helps confirm our hypothesis and shows market pull. That's where intuition builds on that data to decide: is now the right time, and is this the right person and approach? The two aren’t mutually exclusive; data helps me prepare for that intuitive decision. I try to weigh both, and depending on the stage, one might be weighed more heavily.

Philosophy and Insights

Values When Working with Founders

I've seen it before: it’s the right time, the right thesis, but the wrong founder. The founder is the delta that can take a decent company to great, or move a great company to a generational one. So, belief in the founder and team is the most important factor. How do we get there? Ideally, I get to know the founder over time. I have investments where I've known the founders for 18+ months. That gives me context on how they ship, hire, make hard decisions, and where they compromise. Alternatively, I try to spend significant time with founding teams in person, understanding how long they've worked together, why they're building this, if they've faced hardships together, and how they interact. It helps me gauge if there's high trust. And, of course, we conduct back-channel references. These strategies help paint a picture: What does the founder truly care about? When the time comes, will they do the right thing? Will they balance growth and integrity?

Approach to Risk

We look at risk in three ways: technical, market, and execution. When underwriting, we avoid high risk in more than two categories. We categorize investments as either "reinvention" or "frontier." For reinvention (targeting existing allocated spend), market risk is lower; we focus on technical and execution risk. For frontier, hopefully, the technology is somewhat de-risked, and the question becomes: can you create a market, and can you execute? At the seed stage, all these risks are present, and you're seeking data to de-risk at least one element. By Series A/B, execution and market risk should show early signs of diminishing. We analyze these three elements and aim to avoid concentrating high risk across multiple categories.

Measuring Success Beyond Returns

Excluding financial returns, I ask myself: Have I created value for other people? This means supporting founders effectively, but also generating positive externalities for the entire ecosystem (corporates, LPs, others associated with the fund). 

I also ask myself, where am I with the three S’s? At Kauffman Fellows, a GP named Ravi Mohan spoke about venture in three 10-year stages: Survival, Success, and Significance. Focusing on significance, I ask: have I brought people along with me who deserved a chance? Or was I operating in isolation? Increasingly, I think about cultivating the next generation of people like me, who knew little about venture but needed an opportunity. I'm acutely aware of the barriers to entry for people with similar backgrounds, so I ask: can I lower those barriers, financially or otherwise? It's about surviving long enough to achieve success, which hopefully leads to significance.

Trends and Future Vision

Exciting Trends and Technologies

I spend considerable time thinking about two areas: the infrastructure layer (developer tooling, cloud infrastructure) and AI. AI is currently a major topic. I believe autonomous agents executing actions on behalf of users hold significant potential. Automating structured workflows for consultants, bankers, etc., is incredibly exciting on the enterprise side. 

On the consumer side, uses are varied: AI travel agents, tax assistance, and personalized education. My mom is a teacher; the idea of having personalized education at home, tailored to an individual's needs, is revolutionary. We'll likely see AI integrated into social media, perhaps with avatars and agents alongside real people. In the scientific domain, the ability for a model to generate a novel protein that cures a disease is truly inspiring. 

Robotics is also exciting. My dad recently had a stroke, and my mom now needs shoulder surgery, partly due to assisting him. Having a robot in the home for practical tasks might be a reality within 20 years. AI underpins much of this progress, but robotics itself is incredibly promising.

Challenges for Early-Stage Founders

I would say it's differentiation. There are so many more companies per category now. Even with a good product and effective marketing, competing is intense—a real "knife fight." How do you differentiate your product offering and your marketing? That's a significant challenge founders face today.