Benchmark's New General Partner, Victor Lazarte

Today we’re announcing that Victor Lazarte has joined the firm as our newest General Partner and cofounder. We use this term because the firm remains defined by the simple, clear model of six equal General Partners, each operating with the autonomy and ownership of a founder in the fullest sense — from compensation to decision making authority.

In asking “Who do we want as cofounder?”, Victor captured our imagination in three ways:

• Radical understanding of the founder’s journey. Having been turned down by every investor in Brazil, Victor took a mere $100 and turned it into a transformative gaming company that generates hundreds of millions in annual revenue.

• A go-to resource for some of the best founders of our generation, from Dylan of Figma, Pedro and Henrique of Brex, Alex at Scale, and Howie of Airtable. Founders feel comfortable and supported in bringing Victor their biggest challenges and being vulnerable with him.

• Refreshing, low-ego curiosity that allows him to traverse with alacrity areas as wide ranging as AI gaming to fintech. We realized we often found ourselves asking for his perspective to sharpen our own.

Our enthusiasm to work with Victor comes from the bright signal of working together through the challenges of building a company, when success is far from obvious, and deeper values emerge. After investing and working through the transformation of Wildlife with Victor, we saw first hand the depth and magnitude of his capacity as a partner, thought leader, and human. That perspective gives us complete conviction that he will be the partner of choice for the next decades of iconic entrepreneurs.

At Benchmark, we strive to offer a radically different level of service and commitment to the founders we serve. Done this way, venture does not scale. To do this and continue to perform at the level we aspire to, each person we add to our partnership must raise the bar and make us as a partnership better. We have the highest conviction Victor will not only excel at the multi-disciplined craft of early-stage venture investing but also push all of us in our thinking. We can’t wait for you to spend time with him.

Peter, Eric, Sarah, Chetan, and Miles

You can follow Victor on Twitter at @victorlazarte.