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Aman Verjee
About
Aman Verjee discusses his professional journey from the PayPal Mafia to founding Practical Venture Capital. He shares insights on working with leaders like Peter Thiel and Meg Whitman while explaining the mechanics of secondary VC funds. Verjee also reflects on the value of traditional education and the necessity of making life trade-offs.
Best quotes
practical venture capital is a secondary Venture Capital fund we are we've been around for about four years our strategy is to invest in funds that we like so we find funds that are performing well
by providing liquidity we can buy these great assets usually at discounts of 30 to 70% on the fair value
by providing liquidity we can buy these great assets usually at discounts of 30 to 70% on the fair value pretty significant
a lot of PayPal's value was created as a public company like 74 75th of their value today is came as a public company
I think you have to make these trade-offs and recognize it's just hard to go three for three and then you got to take care of yourself
FAQ
What is the core strategy of Practical Venture Capital?
Practical Venture Capital is a secondary fund that has been active for about four years. They focus on buying LP interests in existing funds that are performing well, often at significant discounts, to provide liquidity to owners of private assets.
How did Aman Verjee first get involved with PayPal?
Verjee met Peter Thiel at Stanford in the 1990s and later helped draft the S1 filing for PayPal's IPO. He joined full-time in 2002 after graduating from Harvard Law, eventually running the finance department.
What did Aman Verjee learn from working with John Donahoe at eBay?
He learned about organizational efficiency and the importance of aligning employee incentives with customer satisfaction. Donahoe introduced bonuses based on net promoter scores rather than just earnings per share.
What is Aman Verjee's current perspective on the value of a traditional four-year university degree?
While he valued his own education at Stanford and Harvard, he now questions the high cost and debt associated with degrees that lack practical skills. He suggests that working at startups or taking specific coding classes can sometimes offer better value than traditional paths.
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