Built & Backed, Episode 21: Nik Talreja

Nik Talreja is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sydecar, an SPV and fund automation platform for venture. Nik previously practiced securities & transactional law at Cooley LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, and held leadership roles in operations, finance, and as general counsel at venture-backed companies. In addition to his role at Sydecar, Nik actively invests in early-stage companies at 18.ventures and serves on the Board of Directors of Maxine’s Heavenly. Nik graduated from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business with a BS in Corporate Finance & Entrepreneurship. Nik subsequently obtained his JD from the UCLA School of Law.

During this episode, we discuss:
How Sydecar helps investors create SPVs and invest and founders they really care about
His pain points at 18.ventures that led him to starting Sydecar
What Sydecar does
The amount of time it saves and how it flags potential flags where you might want to speak with an attorney
The relationships Sydecar has with banks
When investors might need something like Sydecar
How Sydecar is beneficial for founders who might have 30 individual investors
His advice for founders who are looking to raise their next round
How Sydecar has changed throughout the past 5 years
The importance of focusing on the problems you have solved rather than problems you need to solve
Where Sydecar is going in the next year
How their customer base started to expand because they realized their user base was going beyond their ICP
Why you need to take risks
His shoutout to Vishal Rana of Deciens

And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things SPVs!