Yan-David (Yanda) Erlich

Initiator
DISC Type : Di

General Partner at B Capital

San Francisco, California, United States

Overview

Yan-David "Yanda" Erlich is a General Partner at B Capital, focusing on AI investments from seed to pre-IPO. A four-time founder and former COO/CRO at Weights & Biases, he holds an MBA from Stanford and a B. S. from Rice University. Colleagues describe him as creative, passionate, and sharp.

He operates with a "regret minimization framework" and has a keen interest in strategic communication and negotiation. He has gone as far as creating and publishing a detailed summary of the popular negotiation book, "Never Split the Difference", showing a passion for the underlying principles.

Unique fact: In addition to being a seasoned technology investor and operator, he is a four-time venture-backed founder and CEO.

Personality Overview

Friendly Challenger

Confident

Risk-Accepting

They don’t mind taking a stand if they believe in something.  They respond well to objective pitches but also attach some value to relationships. They measure a product on its merit but can be influenced by strong testimonials.

Topics They Care About

AI Investment Strategy
His roles at B Capital and previously at Coatue are focused on investing in AI and enterprise software companies, from seed rounds through to the pre-IPO stage.
Enterprise AI Adoption
He publicly discusses the challenges of implementing AI in large companies, noting that most pilot programs fail due to environmental factors, not poor models.
Founder Mentorship
As a four-time founder and former COO/CRO, he has deep operational experience in building sales and strategy teams, which he applies to his portfolio companies.

Media Appearances

B Capital Appoints Yan-David Erlich as General Partner. Featured in B Capital

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Yan-David Erlich, former Weights & Biases executive, joins B Capital as General Partner. Featured in Fortune

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Yan-David Erlich, former Weights & Biases executive, joins B Capital as General Partner. Featured in Yahoo Finance

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Work History

10-2024
General Partner at B Capital
6-2021 - 7-2024
COO & CRO at Weights & Biases
1-2019 - 6-2021
Series A Investor & Board Director at Weights & Biases
5-2018 - 6-2021
General Partner at Coatue Management
5-2013 - 9-2017
Founder & CEO at Parsable

Education

MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business
B.S. from Rice University

More Information

Social Presence :

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Exp : N/A Location : San Francisco, California, United States Job Level : N/A Designation : General Partner at B Capital
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Insights For Selling To Yan-David (Yanda)

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Acknowledge their status and position during the conversation
  • Clearly address the competitive aspects
  • Refer to testimonials from well known people to highlight the value of your product

DONT's

  • Avoid focusing only on the product or its ROI, keep building trust subtly
  • Don’t be very informal even if they are being so themselves
  • Don't be unorganized, be prepared for the pitch

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Yan-David (Yanda) is

  • Confidence in the product’s value is critical, followed by relationship and a sense of achievement.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Yan-David (Yanda)

  • They will not hesitate to say no if they do not develop conviction.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Yan-David (Yanda) move?

  • If they develop confidence in your product and you, then they can make fast decisions.
  • Can Yan-David (Yanda) take some risk or not?

  • If necessary, they have the ability to take risky decisions.

You And Yan-David (Yanda)

Personality Compatibility


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