Three key investors have left General Catalyst amidst a series of recent changes at the firm, which now describes itself as an ‘investment and transformation company,’ TechCrunch has learned.
The departed managing directors include Deep Nishar and Kyle Doherty, who co-led General Catalyst’s late-stage strategy known as Endurance, and Adam Valkin, one of the three leads of the firm’s early-stage fund, according to multiple people close to General Catalyst.
Nishar, Doherty, and Valkin didn’t respond to requests for comment. General Catalyst declined to comment.
While the reasons for the departures remain unclear, a General Catalyst limited partner described a number of other changes among the leadership at the company.
Following its October 2023 merger with European early-stage firm La Famiglia, General Catalyst appointed Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, La Famiglia’s founder, as one of its top most senior partners, ‘ according to the LP. About six months later, General Catalyst acquired Indian VC firm Venture Highway, placing its founder, Neeraj Arora, also among the top most senior investors at the firm, ‘ the LP added.
Individuals close to General Catalyst have also said that the firm’s strategic shift beyond venture has influenced how investors are compensated. General Catalyst has shifted its compensation structure to favor cash bonuses over equity, these people said.
Deep Nishar, a former LinkedIn executive, joined General Catalyst from SoftBank’s Vision Fund in 2021. While at SoftBank, Nishar led deals into Slack and 10X Genomics.
Kyle Doherty joined General Catalyst in 2017 after spending five years as head of private investments in Coatue. Doherty’s investments include a digital banking startup Step and insurance company Ethos. He departed General Catalyst in July, according to his LinkedIn.
Meanwhile, Valkin began his tenure with the firm in 2013. Valkin serves on the board of Rapyd, a fintech startup reportedly raising capital at a steep valuation drop of $3.5 billion, and Shift Technology, a fintech that last raised funding in 2021 at a valuation of over $1 billion. He also backed ClassPass that was acquired by MindBody in 2021.
The departures come at a time when General Catalyst, which manages $32 billion in assets, is evolving from a partnership-model firm into a company and adding non-venture strategies such as a wealth management business and buying a hospital system in Ohio.
The firm has been long rumored to desire becoming a public company. In recent weeks, multiple people have told TechCrunch that the firm is getting closer to contemplating an IPO. Axios reported on Friday that General Catalyst is in the “very early stages of considering” a public offering.
