Operations

11/21/2024

How I Got to Now: Vishal Vasishth

Years ago, as Vishal Vasishth laid in a hospital room in his hometown of Chandigarh, India, near the Himalayan foothills, he could not have imagined...

07/18/2024

Promoting Kahini Shah to Partner

Since joining Obvious in 2022, Kahini has led our world positive AI investments, with a focus on healthcare, governance, and robotics. Kahini has made an...

05/21/2024

Obvious, in Hindsight

As our firm crosses the ten-year mark, our conviction in world positive venture capital is stronger than ever

05/08/2024

Generative Science: Our Contrarian View of AI 

Large science models will deliver transformative solutions in climate, biotech, and robotics

04/03/2024

The E.T.H.I.C.S. checklist to sustain and grow AI responsibly

The age of generative AI is upon us, and it’s already proving to be a disruptive new technology. Generative AI has already shown how it...

01/18/2024

The Missing Piece

Inside the making of Scott Kim’s world positive puzzles

09/12/2023

To Wall Street and Beyond

At Obvious, we celebrate the founder’s journey from idea to IPO. After signing a term sheet, we send our founders a levitating light bulb representing...

08/24/2022

The ESG Term Sheet

The 2022 Sequel to the World Positive Term Sheet

12/07/2021

How to Build a Time Machine

The four elements of thematic venture capital

11/30/2021

The World Positive Report Returns

As the rules of ESG in VC are being written, let’s focus on the metrics that matter

12/01/2020

Reimagining ESG Reporting For Startups

Introducing Obvious’ first ever World Positive Report

07/14/2020

The Persuasion Equation

A marketing playbook for technical founders and teams, rooted in truthful storytelling

07/07/2020

Delightful Board Meetings

A recipe for effective and enjoyable startup board meetings

03/03/2020

Operationalizing Purpose

A practical, Patagonia-inspired guide for entrepreneurs on purpose, values, and the philosophies that underpin it all

01/30/2020

A Modern Guide to Lean OKRs, Part III

Making it happen

01/29/2020

A Modern Guide to Lean OKRs, Part II

The basics of setting Lean OKRs: be brief and look for the RAMPS

01/28/2020

A Modern Guide to Lean OKRs, Part I

Retrofitting a classic tool with purpose, values, and systems that scale for startups

12/17/2018

The Top Ten World Positive Stories of 2018

Just in time to restore your faith in the world

01/23/2018

Profits *Because of* Purpose

Milton Friedman would agree: give the people what they want

05/18/2017

The Org is Your Product. The People are Your Customers. Design Their Journey.

Welcome to the dawn of a new age in People Operations & HR

04/04/2017

The Engine of Purpose That Drives Successful Companies

Inside the healthy tensions that fueled us at Patagonia, and what entrepreneurs can learn as they themselves build for the long term

01/12/2017

Introducing the World Positive Term Sheet

Much has already been written about the proverbial term sheet. From Intel and Apple to Google and Facebook, tech giants have fueled their engines with venture...

01/05/2017

Down With Bias, Up With Profitability

Too many founders/CEO’s are dismissing the data. To the rescue: Joelle Emerson and the team at Paradigm, guiding us on how to fight the unconscious demons within.

12/06/2016

Words of Wisdom From the Queen of Quality Content Marketing

First Round’s Camille Ricketts successfully built the Harvard Business Review for startups from scratch. Now she’s got some content advice of her own to impart.

09/19/2016

Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Board

Lessons Learned From the Board of Directors of Seventh Generation