VC Spotlight: Allen Duan, Partner, B Capital
Throughout his career, Allen Duan, Partner at B Capital, has held various leadership positions at Hearst, Viacom, Sony, and Microsoft. Those roles, he says, “have given me plenty of battle scars and a clear view of what makes enterprise technology and AI solutions truly enduring inside global corporations.”
That experience, combined with the number of enterprise tech and AI pitches he hears, means he knows a thing or two about what works in those pitches — and what doesn’t.
As you’ll read in our interview below, Allen discourages founders from overemphasizing product and features in initial conversations.
“While those matter, investors also need clarity on the business opportunity: why this market matters, why this team can win it, and why the investment thesis is compelling enough to justify the inherent risks,” he told us.
We caught up with Allen to discuss his career, what’s in his tech stack, the top resources he recommends for early-stage founders, and much more.
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Where did your career start?
Allen: My career began dramatically. Within weeks of joining Microsoft as a Product Manager, I was part of the prep team for "Internet Strategy Day" where Bill Gates announced the company had fundamentally chosen the wrong path and announced a major pivot to open internet standards, launching Internet Explorer to compete with Netscape. It was a masterclass in strategic recalibration and taught me that even the world’s largest technology company can recognize and course-correct at scale.
You joined B Capital in 2017 — what was the catalyst?
I hadn’t set out to become a venture capitalist. After years in strategy, corporate development, and M&A, I found myself drawn back to product management and explored founder roles at several portfolio companies. But the B Capital co-founders made a compelling case: treat B Capital itself as the product and, in partnership with BCG, build what a truly founder-first, multi-stage investment firm could be. [Editor’s note: B Capital has a strategic partnership with Boston Consulting Group.] The chance to help shape the firm from the ground up ultimately won me over.
What stage do you invest at and what’s your average check size?
B Capital writes checks from $500K at seed stage through several hundred million at strategic growth and pre-IPO. While I’ve historically focused on venture growth investments, I’m increasingly drawn to seed and Series A, where the founding team and initial product-market signals are most revealing.
Which sectors within enterprise tech and AI do you think are underinvested or misunderstood by founders and investors alike?
Everyone’s chasing proprietary datasets, but the real opportunity lies in capturing real-time data that AI cannot yet access: information currently trapped in paper, voice messages, and photos. The companies that will see enormous growth are those that digitize and streamline that unstructured data into actionable AI insights. This is a massive, often overlooked wedge.
Coming from technology leadership roles at Hearst, Viacom, Sony, and Microsoft, how do those experiences inform your investment decision-making today?
Years of operating experience have given me plenty of battle scars and a clear view of what makes enterprise technology and AI solutions truly enduring inside global corporations. Combined with a deep curiosity for innovation, I'’ve developed an approach to partnering with founders that consistently works. Moreover, my experience has shown me something counterintuitive: great technology and great investments are often divergent. Understanding that distinction is critical to identifying truly valuable opportunities.
What’s the most common mistake you see founders make when pitching to investors?
Early-stage founders in enterprise tech and AI often overemphasize product and features. While those matter, investors also need clarity on the business opportunity: why this market matters, why this team can win it, and why the investment thesis is compelling enough to justify the inherent risks. Make sure to cover the full picture in the initial conversation.
What's an investment from the last 12 months you’re especially excited about?
Channel 1 AI. They’re revolutionizing professional video creation with a platform that companies can use today while enabling radically new creative workflows. The Channel 1 AI platform lets creators and businesses build what they’d create if resources were unlimited. It's a rare company solving a real problem in an entirely new way.
What’s in your tech stack? What’s your favorite AI tool?
A shameless plug for Perplexity Pro, a B Capital portfolio company product. My go-to workflow: feed it an investment memo and ask for the top five takeaways, then use those distillations to sharpen the memo’s core messages. It’s become indispensable for cutting through noise.
What are some of the top resources you recommend for founders starting out?
First Round Review is an excellent resource because the team truly lives and breathes the zero to one journey. For those in and around New York City, in addition to Tech:NYC (of course), I also recommend tapping into nextNYC.
Rapid fire: You have a founder or LP from out of town. Where are you taking them?
The Jazz Vinyl collection at Kissa Kissa in Crown Heights. It’s an experience, not just a venue.
Choose one: power breakfast, power lunch, or work dinner. Where?
Work dinner at Shukette. Knock-your-socks-off food, every time.
What's the best slice of pizza in NYC?
Spicy Pepperoni at Prince St Pizza.
