Khailee Ng

True story: 41 year old VC left his family home to live with 20+ founders half his age, in a house with dorm duties. Here's why I did it: SF is back like never before. And @500GlobalVC will be taking the world's best founder talent from across 15 years backing 80 countries to come make it here. I needed to live it for myself. Stay rooted in what's up and coming. So I can recommend it If you're up and coming yourself, @theresidency should be your top choice to launch your new life 🔥 Stay tuned: I will be posting more about what goes on inside the homes, what I learned from the new crop of founders, and how to make the most of your stay...

Go @YengT9

Sure, it's easier for more people will clone your ideas / apps. Doesn't mean that more people will persist.

From Seed to $100M revenue: the funds that pick the winners

Day 1 of 500 Silicon Valley Takeover. @khailee opened with the stat that should reframe every international founder's ambition: SF raises $2–3B per week in early-stage deals alone. Most countries don't see that in a year. @albertlee (MyFitnessPal, $475M exit) closed it: "Moving motivation is very, very difficult. Almost all of our time was spent reducing friction." "If users succeed, we succeed. That's all that matters." 20 more days to go.

Governments pushing AI literacy are creating a nation of users. "Users" need Universal Basic Income. BUILDERS create Universal Basic Innovation. Literacy isn't enough. Teach people to build.

When orgs use both human and agent, will HR leaders only focus on Human Resources? If they also oversee the orgs agent workforce, what's their new title? And if they don't, report to the Head of Agents, or the other way around?

@LuhmeisterC But GPT-5 doesn't add emojis anymore. I missed stupid emojis so I had to add them after 😘

@khailee your fking text is ai generated tho. look at all those stupid emojis

Didn't expect Jensen Huang to serve me hot green tea. (No, the video isn’t AI-generated). He spoke about SF, AI, Trump. I asked him about venture capital. But there is more to the story than what he said. Why he said it, who was there, and what happened during the opera: Embedded in the subtext is a masterful move. First, the facts: 1. 🐵 He brought his tech superpower friends to see Monkey King - casual! 2. ❤️ He and Lori donate $5M/year to the SF Opera - lovely! 3. 👯 He underscored the role of the arts in the age of AI - important! 4. 🤖 He said “SF is back!” “An AI City” attracting global talent - evident! 5. 🤔 He was one of two people who rang up Trump urging against sending the National Guard into SF —and Trump listened - baller! 6. 🧧 I asked if NVIDIA is going deeper into VC; he gave three reasons (in the video). And then the subtext: As I took my seat, I saw Tier 1 VC partners, big-tech CEOs (@sundarpichai included), and decacorn founders do the same. The way everyone settled in felt like a quiet rehearsal for a larger play. Think about it. He chose the guests. He chose the opera to back. We weren’t watching “Hangover Part III” :P - We were watcing Monkey King in opera. Then the curtains parted. A timeless story about POWER unraveled: The quest for absolute power. To subjugate others or uplift others. To hoard or share power. And most of all, how to use the power you have. Diane Paulus directed the opera. But Jensen directed the narrative: As AI accelerates in power, tech titans secure NVIDIA chips to forge AI power -> Venture capital funds AI applications for the masses -> Government leaders battle to secure intelligence as utility for citizens. Jensen just sat their butts down for a 2.5 hour lecture in full vibrato and monkey makeup - an instruction manual how to use their power like an enlightened being would. Jensen’s made his message is clear. Those who continue to accumulate power must remember to empower others with it. If only more of the leaders he rang up could have joined the night. ( Thanks @chipro @DalianaLiu @nvidia for the invite, and @YengT9 for the inspo)

meet khailee, managing partner at @500GlobalVC 180 seed deals, 7 unicorns, 3 IPO’s this is a taste of the type of insane talent you could live with by applying to delta apply now 🔗👇 livetheresidency.com/delta @enter_delta

@_adishj Mosaic

today, we're launching Mosaic, the agentic video editor. in a world tending towards AI slop, create something real. no waitlist — public beta is now live at mosaic [dot] so. comment "MOSAIC" to get 1,000 free credits dropped into your account. this release comes with 7 key features (thread):

Khailee Ng is a Managing Partner at @500GlobalVC 500 Global is one of the world's most active venture capital firms with over $2.4 billion in assets under management. He is widely recognized as the architect who transformed 500 from a US-centric seed fund into a truly global platform Today he gave a presentation to our residents on the physics of fundraising and how to raise your first seed round 🪽 @khailee Put together by @zeno_fox

@KarthikIO @500GlobalVC @theresidency @_Actioners @nick_linck incredible recap, thanks 🙏 and enjoy the ride ✨

Great session with @khailee of @500GlobalVC on the Physics of Fundraising at @theresidency today. Here are my notes, expanded. Why listen to him Khailee has three vantage points. First, scrappy founder roots in a capital scarce environment, which created a bias toward cash flow, zero cost user acquisition, and frugality. Second, twelve years as a VC across multiple cycles, sitting with founders through the highs and lows of assembling rounds. Third, he fundraises constantly himself, so he lives the follow up and momentum game. The core metaphor Fundraising behaves like physics, with pushes, pulls, and timing. Founders who appear to be “naturals” are usually just fluent in those forces. You can learn that fluency. 1) The ladder strategy Do not open with your dream firms when your round is empty. Walk up the ladder. Start with easier checks, angels, smaller funds, relevant programs, and non-dilutive money. Build committed capital and social proof, then approach your top targets with momentum in hand. After you land a top name, walk back down the ladder to close fence sitters. Momentum creates urgency, an empty round creates stall. 2) Combination locks Every investor has a unique code. Pieces of the code include thesis fit, stage preference, fund cycle timing, past portfolio wins and scars, the partner’s angle, even mood and bandwidth. A “no” often reflects their combination, not your worth. Replace victim language like “I got ghosted” with diagnosis, then update your approach. Curiosity beats bitterness. 3) Founder runway beats company runway If the founder’s energy is depleted, company runway is irrelevant. Protect your tank. Sleep, movement, food, supportive people, a way to reset. If the process drags, you can still win if you preserve energy and perspective. If you burn out, you are out of time regardless of cash in the bank. 4) Simultaneity Do not pause your company while you raise. Keep shipping, selling, and forming partnerships during the process. Returning to an investor after two months with the same numbers signals dependence on capital. Returning with progress signals you know how to turn dollars into growth. Design your environment to switch contexts on purpose, not by accident. Use your team and advisors as extensions of your brain. 5) Cellular integrity Say only what you can stand behind fully. Investors have finely tuned spin detectors. Authentic beats theatrical. Be precise about what you have, what you learned, and what the next check unlocks. This builds trust now and reputation later. 6) Signals, not theater Pedigrees and logos can open a door, they do not build a business. Oversignaling is noise. Share real proof points instead. Conversion and retention that are moving the right way, early payback tests, unit economics trending in the right direction, credible customer anecdotes tied to numbers. 7) Timing and momentum Categories have seasons. When your category heats up, lean in, compress your process, and consider taking more capital since the window can close. When you are out of season, get even more combination driven and scrappy. Either way, move with intent. 8) Build the fundraising muscle Reps turn drama into process. Systematize outreach waves, crisp follow ups, learning loops after each call, and weekly progress broadcasts. Treat each interaction as data to refine the deck, proof points, and target list. Conserve energy. High activity is not the goal, effective activity is. Practical playbook I am taking away Preparation • Map investors from easy to aspirational, then plan waves. • For top targets, write a quick hypothesis of their combination. • Define a progress plan you will pursue during the raise, independent of capital. Execution • Climb the ladder. Collect smaller commits to create social proof and urgency. • Time outreach in a tight window so people feel momentum, not drift. • Keep a visible drumbeat of progress that others can reference. Communication • Lead with truth. What is working, what is not yet working, what the money unlocks next. • Offer crisp metrics and milestones, not vanity signals. • Ask directly for check size, process, timeline, and diligence needs. Closing • Once a lead or top logo is secured, loop back to fill the round. • Protect founder runway with clear boundaries and recovery blocks. • Close fast. Prolonged raises drain energy and weaken narrative. Watch outs • Waiting for money before moving, progress is the strongest signal. • Personalizing rejection, decode combinations instead. • Defining success by logos, define it by leverage and learning. • Slipping into bitterness, it kills momentum and relationships. Lines that stuck with me • Fundraising is a ladder, walk up with easy checks, then down to fill. • Every investor is a combination lock, find the code. • If the founder is out of energy, the company is out of time. • Progress during a raise is the clearest proof you will use capital well. • Authentic composes better than theater, in the room and over the long run. Grateful for the session, lots to apply immediately.

Founder runway > Company runway - every. single. time.

Gamma crossed $50M ARR with 28 employees and more cash in the bank than we had raised ($23M) In hindsight: We got here because we ignored common VC advice. Examples of glaringly bad advice that you should ignore to save you $10M+ and years of time, like we did for Gamma:

Creators 👉 Founders. It’s not a leap, it’s your next level. ⚡️ Everywhere you look, creators are turning influence into companies that scale, raise, and thrive. Why not you? This is your shot to awaken the founder inside and build what only you can. Apply for the #CreatorsVentures Accelerator by #500Global + #CreatorsHQ Priority Deadline: September 19 🔗 be.500.co/461a9U8 @CreatorsHQ @1billionsummit

It's not that people from your country can't make it in Silicon Valley - it's that not enough of them try.

Speed bends time.

Tanay did it again. Watch this 16 year old take over the world 🔥