Kais Khimji

My name is pronounced like “ice” with a K at the beginning (you can imagine how many times I’ve used that line). My roots are Indian, but I belong to a small diaspora of Ismaili Muslims who moved to East Africa three generations ago. My parents fled political instability in Tanzania as teenagers in the 70s and immigrated to Canada with the help of our spiritual leader, the Aga Khan—he made one phone call to Pierre Trudeau and, in a few days, thousands of us were resettled. I grew up in a small Vancouver suburb. My dad drove my brother and me to a private school in the city, an hour away, for 12 years. I think about that commute every day.

I came to America for college and stumbled into venture capital with zero knowledge—seriously, I thought COGS were an empathic metaphor for the inner-workings of a company. On my way to work one morning, I heard Pat Grady on a podcast. I cold emailed him on a whim. Little did I know, that note—and that man—would change my life forever.

I try to look for entrepreneurs who can’t fathom themselves as anything else. I focus on three main things: IQ, EQ, and HQ (hunger quotient). Some of the best founders have all three—and know how to call their shots.

I invest in all things SaaS, internet and digital health.