Alex Tran

I started my career at Morgan Stanley, where I learned to analyze businesses.
In 2012, I joined the growth-stage investing team at Kleiner Perkins.
During my time there, the platform shift to mobile internet was happening rapidly, and I was able to help create and publish the annual Internet Trends reports that chronicled its evolution.
I also had the privilege to watch companies go through their critical phases of growth and eventually redefine their industries.
From this, I came to appreciate that great founders and teams with strong product instincts have the ability to make the world look more like what they envision, even when they are solving some of the toughest problems.
In 2017, I took a year off to travel around the world.
Most of the world’s growth has shifted East and is being driven by economies outside of North America.
I wanted to see this firsthand.
I met with entrepreneurs, journalists, government officials, and everyday people to get a basic sense of the local economy.
Global technology investing gets me excited for a few reasons.
First, there’s much to learn from the billions of “new” internet users who have onboarded via mobile phones.
They are pushing the envelope on new modes of human-computer interaction.
Secondly, as industries in emerging economies develop and mature, they sometimes get to ask, “How can we do this better?” The pockets of leapfrogging that happen can give us a glimpse into the future.
At General Catalyst, I am excited to meet teams solving problems in big markets no matter where in the world they are located.
I work closely with Monzo in the UK and CRED in India, for example.
I am especially excited about the potential for technology to influence the development of sectors like commerce, financial services, and healthcare.
If you’re a founder with a great idea, I’d love to get on a plane to come meet you.