Ajay Agarwal

Ajay Agarwal builds and invests in early-stage application software companies. Within apps, Ajay has spent time in the modern sales and marketing stack; vertical SAAS with embedded fintech; supply chain and logistics; and product-led growth.

Partner

Bay Area, Boston, New York

Portfolio Highlights

About Ajay

Apple Mac we used to program the first version of our CRM software

My first start-up was during my sophomore year in college. A classmate was starting a software company to help tech companies manage their quotes, proposals, and contacts all in one database (sounds a lot like CRM!). I joined him and we scaled that business to $1M in revenue. He later dropped out and founded Trilogy Software and I eventually joined him again as employee eighteen and ran product and sales for eight years until we reached $300M in revenue.

Trilogy in 1999 at a trade show. I am back row, second from left. And yes — next to me is Jim Belushi.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. My parents were immigrants from India and moved to Pittsburgh (via the UK where I was born) when I was one. They encouraged me to take risks and pursue something entrepreneurial.

What is the first company you invested in?

One of my earliest investments at BCV was Kiva Systems which was founded by Mick Mountz. Mick’s vision was to use software and a mobile robotic system to streamline the process for ecommerce fulfillment. Back in 2004 when we led the first institutional round, ecommerce was still nascent, but Mick accurately predicted that as ecommerce penetration grew and the assortment being offered by each merchant expanded, fulfillment costs would balloon out of control. Kiva eventually crossed $100M in revenue and was being used by all the major ecommerce retailers at the time: Staples, Zara, Zappos, and the Gap. In 2012, Amazon bought the company and now Kiva’s robots power over 2000 fulfillment centers in Amazon’s global network. Mick’s tagline in his investor pitch was “Kiva is turning atoms into bits.” And that’s exactly what he did!

What do you love about working for Bain Capital Ventures?

I love the team at BCV–why else would I have stayed for nearly 20 years! It’s a group of incredible people who love technology, are passionate about startups, and are tireless in their efforts to help our companies succeed. We truly operate as a team, which is unusual in the venture world. And the founders I work with notice this.

Do you have an investment ethos? Is there a portfolio company investment that exemplifies that ethos?

I love application software that has a core architectural advantage. The UIs and basic workflows and features of any application can be copied. But the best application companies have a technology moat as well. Clari’s forecasting solution is based on a real-time ingestion system that captures signals from dozens of enterprise systems and normalizes them into a longitudinal view allowing the AI engine to perform complex calculations which deliver the forecasting insights. At Clockwise, the core system is designed to optimize thousands of calendars concurrently in order to dynamic adjust meetings to free up “focus time” for individual engineers and knowledge workers.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Be curious, take risks, be willing to change, try to see the world through a different lens.

What is compelling about your domain?

Application software is the greatest businesses on the planet. What other product can be sold over and over again with close to 100% marginal profit! The best application software is embedded in a company’s workflow with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of employees relying on it every day. As a result, our companies enjoy decades-long relationships with their customers, generating high margin recurring revenue and expanding their footprint into adjacent areas. Today, product-led growth is creating far more efficient models to acquire customers, while embedded payments and marketplaces have created new revenue streams beyond traditional software licenses.

What are your interests and passions outside of BCV?

I am passionate about education and for 12 years have been on the board of BUILD a national nonprofit that helps high school students from disadvantaged communities succeed through a program focused on entrepreneurship.

I am a “forever optimistic” Pittsburgh Steeler fan having grown up in Pittsburgh. I enjoy playing tennis, going to Barry’s, and reading literature and non-fiction. And I love spending time with my wife and three daughters.

What is a self-care ritual you practice?

Sleep 7-8 hours a day (with my Oura ring)!

Background

2 years

8 years

19 years

Insights

Revolutionizing the Electronics Supply Chain: Our Investment in Cofactr

The pandemic exposed many cracks in the supply chain. Shortages of parts, uncertainty of delivery times, proliferation of counterfeit goods and lack of price visibility plagued supply chains across industries. In particular, the world of electronics was challenged as certain components were difficult to procure. Nearly 60% of hardware projects were delayed due to the…

Ajay Agarwal 4 min read

Spotlight Apps

Load Up the Truck: Announcing our Investment in TruckSmarter

Truck drivers form the backbone of the US supply chain. In fact, over 70% of all goods shipped in the US travel by truck. Yet there is a massive shortage of drivers — the American Trucking Association estimates a shortage of drivers to the tune of 80,000 today — that’s only set to get worse,…

Ajay Agarwal 3 min read

Spotlight Apps Seed

The 10 Keys to A Successful Board Meeting: How to Make Them Great and Not Something Everyone Dreads

Over the course of my venture career, I have participated in hundreds of board meetings for seed and Series A companies, growth companies, and public companies. Unfortunately the quality of these meetings can vary dramatically, with founders often complaining that the meetings are a huge time sink that don’t deliver corresponding value. If well run,…

Ajay Agarwal 6 min read

Business Building

Ajay's Selected Portfolio Companies

Company

About

Partner

Invested

Domain

Stage

SendGrid is a Denver, Colorado-based customer communication platform for transactional and marketing email.