Asymmetric in the News: Venture Capital Journal's "Getting personal with Rob Biederman"

Thrilled to share Ryan Hibbison of Venture Capital Journal's article "Getting personal with Rob Biederman".

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Going from start-up founder to venture capitalist is no small feat, but Rob Biederman is among the few who have successfully made the transition.

Biederman co-founded Catalant Technologies in 2012 while working on his MBA at Harvard. Formerly known as HourlyNerd, Catalant uses machine learning to match freelance consultants with clients. It has raised a total of more than $145 million over seven rounds from Highland Capital Partners, General Catalyst, Salesforce and others.

In 2021, Biederman transitioned from co-CEO of Catalant to chairman so he could focus on the next chapter of his career: Asymmetric Capital Partners. He teamed with partners Sarah Unger Biggs and Sam Clayman to launch ACP, an early-stage B2B software investor, raising $105 million for their debut fund (far above their $75 million target) and they started raising Fund II in April, aiming for $125 million.

What’s the most exciting space to invest in now?

We love investing in the intersection of where markets like manufacturing hit AI. Candidly, we don’t love the pure AI space of investing in large language models because it’s very competitive and I think it will have far more losers than winners, however I think so many different processes in supply chain, manufacturing and design are going to change in ways nobody can foresee because of AI.

Last book you read and would you recommend (why/why not)?

The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh. It basically says that the point of the game isn’t outcomes, it’s doing all of the things properly.

Favorite place to travel?

Every January we do an offsite with our founders in Jackson Hole. I’ve spent pretty much my whole life living in New York or Boston, and Jackson Hole is this whole western experience that’s so different from the rest of my life. I hope to be a full-time Wyoming resident one day.

Favorite activity outside of work?

I wish it was less stereotypical, but I really love playing golf.

What’s the most unusual thing in your home?

I thought this item was totally commonplace, but when I tell people about it, they don’t even know what it is, but it’s a [water oven called] sous vide. It’s such a fun way to cook, I’d say I’m super long on sous vide and super short on grilling.

What career advice would you give your younger self?

Every day you’re going to have positive and negative developments, but none of them are really a big deal. The thing that’s most important is that the trend line is going up and to the right.

What have you accomplished in your career that you’re most proud of?

I think founding a company that now has 120,000 people in its network and is now the full-time job for thousands of people is really cool. It was my business school class project and now it employs hundreds of people.

Dream job as a kid?

I really wanted to be an architect. I suppose I could have been an architect. It’s not like my other dream of playing for the Mets, but at some point in college I realized business was what I really wanted to do.

Will you retire early, late or never?

I said this to my dad recently who’s 71 and still working very hard. I don’t think I’ll ever have a period where I’m not doing anything professionally, but at the same time I have a lot of hobbies I want to pursue further.

What do you think about most every day?

Making continuous progress in every area. There’s a lot of things I want to get done personally, professionally, relationship-wise, but I focus on being realistic about what I can get done in the course of one day.

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