Three main investors have left General Catalyst amid a series of recent changes in the firm, which now describes itself as an “investment company and transformation”, Techcrunch has learned.
The outgoing management directors include Deep Nishar and Kyle Doherty, who co-guided the late phase General Catalyst strategy known as consistency, and Adam Valkin, one of the three directions of the firm’s firm fund, according to many people near General Catalyst.
Nishar, Dohety and Valkin did not respond to requests for comment. The general catalyst refused to comment.
While the reasons for the departures remain unclear, a limited catalyst general partner described a number of other differences between leadership in the company.
Following its joining in October 2023 with the European firm in the early phase La Famiglia, General Catalyst named Jeannette Zu Fürstenberg, the founder of La Famiglia, as one of its top partners, according to the LP. About six months later, General Catalyst won the Indian firm VC Venture Highway, setting its founder, Neeraj Arara, also among the top older investors in the firm, the LP added.
Individuals near General Catalyst have also said that the firm’s strategic relocation beyond entrepreneurship has influenced the way investors are compensated. General Catalyst has moved his compensation structure to favor cash rewards on net capital, these people said.
Deep Nishar, a former LinkedIn executive, joined General Catalyst from Softbank’s Vision End in 2021. While in Softbank, Nishar LED is taken at Slack and 10x Genomics.
Kyle Dohety joined General Catalyst in 2017 after spending five years as chief of private investment in Coatue. Doherty investments include the step of starting digital banks and the ethics of the insurance company. He left the Catalyst General in July, according to his LinkedIn.
Meanwhile, Valkin began his mandate with the firm in 2013. Valkin serves on board Rapyd, a fintech start that is reported to increase capital to a sloping $ 3.5 billion rating, and Shift technology, a fintech that last raised funds in 2021 in a $ 1 billion rating. He also supported Classpass, who was won by Mindbody in 2021.
Departures come at a time when General Catalyst, which manages $ 32 billion, is evolving from a partnership model firm to a company and adding non-convenience strategies such as a property management business and the purchase of a hospital system in Ohio.
The firm has long been rumored to want to become a public company. In recent weeks, many people have told Techcrunch that the firm is approaching the contemplation of an IPO. Axios reported on Friday that General Catalyst is in the “very early stages of consideration” of a public offer.
