Becoming an entrepreneur isn’t all about glitz, glamor, and success. While it’s nice to enjoy the success of entrepreneurship, only those willing to put in the time and effort find ways to get to that point.
Shima Capital, the venture capital firm headed by Yida Gao, is still in its early stages of growth. Despite the investments already connected to Shima Capital, Yida believes the future is brighter. His entrepreneurial mind helps him believe.
Hard Work as an Entrepreneur
Many people like the idea of becoming a successful entrepreneur. However, being cut out for that work isn’t for everyone. It takes a lot of dedication to build up and become successful in any industry.
People see the 30 under 30 recognition from Forbes and all the money Yida Gao has earned throughout his career and initially think it’s relatively easy for him. His entrepreneurial mind led to Shima Capital, and they’ve also had success reasonably early.
But all the hours spent studying, making connections, and working behind the scenes are missing from the equation. Yida Gao has dedicated time and energy to what he’s passionate about. Failure to not go all in would result in lackluster results. When Yida jumped in, he knew the work ahead of him.
How a Venture Capital Entrepreneur Helps Other Entrepreneurs
Yida Gao is an entrepreneur himself, launching a venture capital company. His role is to help other entrepreneurs reach their dreams in various ways. Funding is the top reason companies seek out Shima Capital, but Yida hopes to provide connections and industry expertise to get a business to the next level.
Appealing to an entrepreneurial mind can sometimes seem intimidating for those reaching out to Shima Capital. Yida is very careful about who his company works with, especially in an industry with questionable practices. If an entrepreneur can come off convincing and show the correct type of mindset to reach goals, the Shima Capital team is open to working with them.
Why Yida Gao Started in Venture Capital
The venture capital world opened up to Yida Gao while attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Even though he was in the middle of his schooling, he realized finance and venture capital looked like a great career path.
In a more traditional financial setting, the first massive milestone for success came with the M&A Group at Morgan Stanley. He was part of a team that raised $15 billion in aggregate deal value. Getting a chance to work with significant players with Morgan Stanley also showed Yida the pros and cons of being part of the rat race.
He began structuring special purpose vehicles to start investing strategically in technology companies. After deploying about a dozen special purpose vehicles, he started to receive backing for closed-end funds. This made him fall in love with venture capitalists and their investments in a new, exciting way.
In the back of his mind, Yida always realized that he was passionate about doing things on his terms. Working with a team is nice, but working with a team that Gao himself puts together could make a huge difference. That’s when Shima Capital came to be.
Launching Shima Capital
Launching Shima Capital was a big step in the career of Yida Gao. He knew that to have more control over investments and other opportunities, he needed to be a more significant part of a team. He found vast success early on in his career, but there were still parts of him that wished he played a significant role.
As a managing general partner, Yida takes a wealth of knowledge from other opportunities to create something of his own. He borrows many of the same strategies running the likes of Virgin Digital Currency and New Enterprise Associates. Individual success came easy for Yida, and his teamwork improved situations drastically.
Shima Capital is already backed by Dragonfly Capital, Digital Currency Group, Tiger Global, Bill Ackerman, Animoca, Huobi, and more. The connections made by Yida during his career have led to unique opportunities for Shima Capital to grow fast.
Investments are also coming in categories ranging from Defi to Gaming. With a team of 15 people working at Shima Capital, opportunities continue to arise.
What’s Next For Yida Gao?
Yida Gao’s primary focus is on the growth of Shima Capital. He believes that with the right mindset, the venture capital firm has a chance to be one of the biggest names in the industry.
Crypto and Blockchain technology companies are popping up with great ideas, but they don’t always have the proper funding to meet the needs of an ambitious entrepreneur. That’s when the proper presentation to the correct investing team can be a life-changing experience. Shima Capital wants to provide that opportunity.
Investing in a field with so much unknown requires much knowledge. Even equipped with the proper knowledge, there’s always some level of risk involved. Yida hopes to lead his team with excellent decision-making and knowledge of how to get things done.
Yida Gao definitely appreciates his opportunity to teach at MIT. He’s become a crypto expert MIT depends on to teach the next generation. His course, 15.492: Crypto Finance, is more than just an introductory option.
It’s hard for Yida to think about where he was just about a decade ago when he was a student at MIT himself. Cryptocurrency existed, but it wasn’t nearly what it is today. Knowledge picked up over the years is now starting to pay off.