"Do You Know Houses in Texas Are Inferior to Those in California?" — The Fun (and Hard) Part of Non-Consensus Thinking

Shared Journey with iFly.vc

Apr 15, 2025

I moved from the Bay Area to Austin, Texas, on April 10, 2021. When I shared the news, quite a few friends reached out.

One IM from a friend stood out: “Do you know houses in Texas are of lower quality than in California?”

Curious, I asked why. He went on with a list of reasons, most rooted in secondhand assumptions and a generally negative view of Texas.

Eventually, I asked, “Have you ever visited Texas?”

He said no.

I invited him to visit sometime and politely exited the discussion.

It was a fascinating moment—a reminder that we all come from different backgrounds, carry different knowledge bases, different sets of information, and apply different frameworks when forming different opinions.

To me, as a VC investor, that’s where non-consensus thinking and investing become powerful. If everyone saw the world the same way, life would be pretty boring. If everyone saw the same company (private or public, like Nvidia) with the same excitement, the price would also be reflected.

I have always thought that both the fun and hard part of our job is to spot the non-obviousness ahead of others. But it means one has to be both contrarian and right—and that’s not easy. How do you build conviction in something that isn’t obvious yet?

At iFly.vc, that means constant learning and preparing ourselves for the right opportunity:

Conducting deep research on an evolving list of investment ideas, which could be triggered sometimes by curiosity
Understanding how technology develops and evolves to impact the landscape of innovation
Carefully evaluating founders and their motivations

We don’t chase hot deals. No matter who’s leading the round, we want to stay paced and deliberate, and form our views independently.

Before we invest, we need clear conviction:

Do we truly understand why this opportunity excites us?
Do we truly understand why we deserve a spot on the founder’s cap table?

If we are able to answer “yes” to the above two questions, we have reached conviction and will be happy to lead an investment round. Of course, we are also glad to follow a qualified lead. And in several cases, our conviction has been strong enough that we became the sole investor in the round, even when others chose to walk away.

It takes time to execute our investment approach. Even when we have a strong thesis, we may not find a mutual fit right away—and that’s okay. At iFly.vc, we don’t have a quota that we must hit a certain number of investments a year. Some of our best-performing companies came from sectors we tracked for years before making an investment.

Naturally, this approach results in a concentrated portfolio. Since launching iFly.vc in 2016, we’ve averaged just 2–3 new investments per year.

But with deep conviction comes meaningful commitment, including sizable checks and time availability. Because of our level of exposure, we go all-in to support our founders. If a founder needs to talk at 11:30 PM, I’ll answer the call.

Other VCs have different strategies—and that’s perfectly fine. I’ve come to realize it’s not about which strategy is “best,” but about what fits you. The strategy must align with the GP’s strengths, the team’s capabilities, and yes, even personality.

So why did I move to Austin?

Because consumer-facing startups were emerging all over the U.S. Before COVID, flying from SFO to the East Coast required major planning and time, which was a logistical headache for me. About six months into the pandemic, the idea hit me: What if I moved to Austin? It has a growing startup and VC ecosystem, and is centrally located, making it easier to reach both coasts quickly.

Since relocating four years ago, besides deepening our relationship with the community in Texas, I’ve made nearly 120 business trips—most of them short and efficient. A typical trip? Fly to California or New York for 36 hours packed with back-to-back in-person meetings.

And the house bought in 2021?

Still standing. Still home.

Hello Austin!