Rachel Deinhart

I was born in Texas and always felt like an outcast. I am half white and half Asian, not great at sports (albeit always trying), and had the most fun in my own solitude. It wasn’t until I ventured out of my shell and moved to a new city where I realized that I was not alone.

The most influential people I have met seem to carry the same DNA: a misfit, going against the grain, not always likeable, but those who work hard to create something new and different that reshapes societies for years to come.

I have an insatiable curiosity of mechanics and a passion to build businesses by applying new frames of thought. This may be somewhat countercultural to venture; however, unlocking how a product works helps me understand how a technology or business creates an unfair advantage.

I love using both sides of my brain. During undergrad, I majored in Finance and Piano Performance and believe I learned the most from piano. Piano taught me how all works of art are based on structure, logic, and numbers, but the beauty of it lies within the creativity of the composer or musician. You must focus, work on memory, stay disciplined, and manage time efficiently, all skills transferrable in real world applications while also learning to count.

Integrity, transparency and accountability are core to my beliefs. If one of these legs is missing, the stool will fall.

I hit rock bottom trying to chase other people’s dreams rather than focusing on my own. We are all unique, and figuring out that my passion is problem solving, losing hours of sleep until a solution is found, was the first step on a lifetime of self-discovery.

The roller coaster ride of entrepreneurship is a drug. Once I was hooked, there was no turning back, and each of the mistakes I made along the ride was where I learned the most.

During my entrepreneurial journey, I found humility is the key to success. I love to be surrounded by people who are compassionate and embrace the fact that we are all human.

Some of the best businesses I have seen are ones that are built not by having the best idea, but by focusing ruthlessly on execution and delivering the best product or service. I love meeting and building businesses with executors and strive to meet every last member of the team in the dredges.

I strongly believe in immigrant founders. My mother was an immigrant who raised me on her own while working towards the American Dream. She was an odd duck in her home country for being too tall, and although she barely spoke English, she worked three jobs while putting herself through college to buy her father a car as a token of her appreciation for the opportunity to move to a place she belonged. She taught me that hard work, perseverance, and a little bit of luck is all we need to be successful, but family always comes first.