A Conversation With Niko Bonatsos - Venture In The Capital 2025

This is A 1-1 With Niko Bonatsos and was recorded as part of Georgetown University’s 2025 Venture In The Capital Conference. It was moderated by Drew Peterson (MSB’25). Panelist's Bio: Niko Bonatsos: Managing Director, General Catalyst My passion is working with first-time technology founders with strong product instincts, who treat every decision as a learning moment. These are essential traits of entrepreneurs who build great companies. I began my career as an investor looking for very early-stage consumer products and services that most people might perceive as crazy, funny, or even controversial; those strong reactions tell me there is a founder creating something disruptive. But I’m always looking for areas to learn about and am now equally as interested in investing in young companies working with emerging technologies and those that are applying consumer-grade experiences to business-focused services. I believe technology exists to make our lives better. Combine this with a large market, and billion-dollar revenue companies can be created. General Catalyst companies I’m involved with include Audius, Bandana, Brighter (acquired by Cigna), ClassDojo, Collective, Cover, Discord, Dubsmash (acquired by Reddit), Hive, Finni Health, Livongo (acquired by Teladoc, NYSE: TDOC), Mercor, Remote, Sleeper, Snap (NYSE: SNAP), Superplay (acquired by Playtika), Triumph Arcade, and Wag! (NASDAQ:PET). My intellectual curiosity and ambition to maximize serendipity (my life’s function) led me to be a perpetual student in multiple countries. I graduated from Stanford (MS in Management Science and Engineering as a Fulbright Scholar), the University of Cambridge (M.Phil. in Manufacturing Engineering and Management), and the National Technical University of Athens (Dipl.-Ing in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science). I also worked in Tokyo at the R&D headquarters for Yokogawa Electric Corporation. This random walk through the world has proven to be extremely helpful in my role as a venture investor.