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CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast

On our #CIBCInnovationEconomy podcast series, hear from leaders, entrepreneurs, experts and venture capitalists about the changing dynamics of the North American innovation economy

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null An Accelerated Revision to Pre-Pandemic Life with Ran Ding, Partner at Norwest Venture Partners

An Accelerated Revision to Pre-Pandemic Life with Ran Ding, Partner at Norwest Venture Partners

Photo-Ran Ding
Ran Ding

Episode Summary

The pandemic’s impact on startups, growth-stage companies and late-stage organizations continues, and geopolitical issues have also had a dramatic impact on the private equity markets. No one knows this better than Ran Ding. Ran co-leads B2B growth equity investments at Norwest, where he focuses on partnering with founder managed or capital efficient businesses looking to scale from double digit revenues to triple digit revenues. Norwest is a multi-stage investment firm that has delivered top quartile returns over the past 60 years, and seen its fair share of economic cycles. Ran cut his teeth more than a decade ago during the last financial crisis, and shares his perspective on the similarities he sees today.

Episode Notes

COVID-19’s impact continues
As a result of the worldwide societal changes brought about by the pandemic, the timeline to build a relationship has accelerated as companies become more comfortable meeting over video conferencing platforms. While this has led to a more fluid exchange, it's also led to an increased focus on finding mission-driven career paths for employees, with the pandemic creating more remote work opportunities than before. 

Play the offensive 
With a long history under its belt, Norwest has seen plenty of ups and downs in the market along the way. During times of turmoil, Ran says their team has found it’s best to remain in constant communication with clients to help them stay prepared. And in some cases, there’s also the opportunity to selectively play offense in a very disciplined way to keep an edge against the competition.

Build a foundation of trust
When it comes to scaling a company and encouraging leaders to delegate responsibility, Ran believes that first and foremost, it comes down to building a strong foundation of trust. At Norwest, the team spends a lot of time building relationships with people before they even make an investment—in some cases for many years—to ensure they understand each other culturally, interpersonally, and are aligned in terms of their operating philosophy.

CIBC Innovation Banking is a trusted financial partner to entrepreneurs and investors. Get in touch with our team at cibc.com/innovationbanking.
 

Show Contributors: 

Ran Ding

Norwest Venture Partners

Michael Hainsworth

CIBC

CIBC Innovation Banking

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