Ask A VC: DFJ’s Josh Stein On What He Looks For In Early-Stage Investing

In this week’s episode of Ask A VC, DFJ Managing Director Josh Stein joined us in the studio to talk about his investing strategy, and much more.

Stein, who has backed and invested in Box, Chartbeat, LendKey, Selligy, SugarCRM, Swell, AngelList, Redfin, Tremor Video, and Twilio, explained that DFJ is often the first institutional money in a startup. At that stage, Stein talked about what he looks for in an entrepreneur and an idea, speaking specifically about Box’s Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith, as well as Redfin’s Glenn Kelman.

He tells us, “It’s about great people who are motivated less by money but by wanting to change some problem and are really persistent. It’s really hard to build a startup so we want people who are going to stick with it.”

Check out the video above for more.