Most of what I do at CRV happens before there's much to point at. I lead seed and Series A investments — often when the product is only days or weeks old. My sweet spot is post-product, pre-traction: I don't need huge adoption or obvious proof points to invest. Conviction has to come from the founder, the insight and the product itself — not from a chart.
DoorDash founder and CEO Tony Xu on a delivery run.
What I'm drawn to are two things: products that have the potential to touch millions of people and founders with a unique insight into a market they believe they can create or disrupt. I get excited about founders who know something the rest of the world doesn't yet — people who've understood a problem more deeply than anyone else and care obsessively about the craft of building.
Products will evolve a hundred times; dedication to craft is what carries a company through.
What I hunt for is exactly that, paired with a product customers over the moon love — a sharp original insight wrapped in something people genuinely can't stop using.
Patreon Founders Sam Yam and Jack Conte
That can look like a consumer breakthrough (DoorDash, Ring, ClassPass, Patreon, Lotus Health AI), a tool that gives founders or small businesses real leverage (Mercury), a B2B marketplace (Protege) or something I haven't seen before.
The common thread: I love products that make people's lives meaningfully better — safer, healthier, easier, more connected and highly creative.
I'm just as passionate about what comes after the check. I've been lucky to watch companies grow from 2 to 20 to 200 to 2,000 to 20,000 to 50,000 people. At some point the company itself is the product. Along the way there are dozens of decisions that can make or break things: people, product, competitive strategy, org design, financing, co-founder dynamics, culture, etc. There's no playbook for any of it, so at those moments of real uncertainty I try to be a partner, not a fixer.
Mercury makes it easier for entrepreneurs to focus on making something from nothing.
Before CRV, I co-founded Brightroll out of a San Francisco apartment (later acquired by Yahoo) and worked in startups. My goal is to try to bring a clear point of view — shaped by my own time as a founder and by watching many other founders navigate similar moments. The founder doesn't have to take it; every path is different, but I know firsthand how much it can matter to have someone in the room who's thought deeply about the problem and is willing to say what they actually think, help them see around corners and feel confident about the decisions they make. The real work belongs to the founders — I just feel grateful to be in the room.
The founding team of DoorDash.
CRV led DoorDash's first round in 2013, when the company was just nine weeks old. I signed Mercury's Series A term sheet when Immad's product was only two weeks old. Rahul at Aerodome had the insight that drones could be first responders before it became a category — we backed him very early, before the company was acquired by Flock Safety. I also led our investment in Lotus Health, which is offering free primary care in America — the kind of original idea that could change U.S. healthcare.
Fun fact: I went to Allderdice High in Pittsburgh, the same public school that produced Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller. My parents were immigrants, and as far as I can tell, I'm still the only Saar to ever walk those halls.
A bit of founder and investor bonding at Kelly Slater Surf Ranch.
Some of my happiest days are when I can combine two of my favorite things: being active (whether that’s kiteboarding or heliskiing) and hanging out with friends, family and founders. If you're building something non-obvious — a new behavior or a market that doesn't quite exist yet — please say hello.
Catching some rays on a backpacking trip in Yosemite with founders.
Feeling both spent and exhilarated at the top of Kilimanjaro with my brother.
In Baldface, British Columbia.
A bunch of techies letting loose on the mountain.