Brendan Parry, Head of Private Markets and Deputy CIO sat down with Mucker Capital’s founders Erik Rannala and William Hsu. Mucker, founded in 2011, is an early-stage venture investor focused on companies outside of Silicon Valley. Their discussion highlighted the potential for venture success outside traditional hubs and emphasized the importance of innovative thinking and diligent execution in Mucker’s style of early-stage investments. Erik and William spoke about their seemingly “contrarian” approach to venture, which involves targeting geographies such as Cleveland and Kansas City. They often invest in companies overlooked or viewed as too risky by other venture capitalists. Given this profile, Mucker is highly focused on entry valuation and a clear plan for profitability. This approach was influenced by both Erik and William’s experience in the Dot Com bubble/bust. Erik and William also spoke about innovative thinking. They purposefully look to stay outside of the Silicon Valley echo chamber by not reading venture blogs or participating on Twitter. They stick to their values of building great profitable business through hard work.