Kevin Hart is known for his comedy, but the comedian eschews the celebrity moniker.
He's building out an investing enterprise through his venture firm, Hartbeat Ventures, and wants to develop a reputation based on the team's success, not just his name. You could call it more of a brand, he said on Wednesday during TechCrunch's annual Disrupt conference in San Francisco.
Hartbeat Ventures also announced its first institutional investor: J.P. Morgan. Both firms declined to say exactly how much J.P. Morgan was putting down for Hart's new fund.
Hart's firm has invested in a couple of Bay Area startups, though, according to Crunchbase: San Francisco-based Snackpass and Fremont-based Pathwater.
Here's what Hart had to say about his journey towards becoming an investor, how he takes ego out of the equation and why he isn't relying on "star factor."
On realizing that investing doesn’t automatically lead to getting conned
“I'm from North Philadelphia. You may or may not know what that is, where that is, but you know, it's the bottom, right? It's the gutter. It's the hood. … I had to learn why investing was OK. From my understanding of the world of investing, well, it was attached to the space of a con. You're trying to con me, to get my money. I don't trust you. I'm not giving nobody my money. … That was my challenge.”
On the learning curve
“The biggest learning curve for me was understanding that investment has a timeline attached to it and because I invested today, does that mean I get anything tomorrow? You have to be confident and understanding the world of growth and the process that has to happen and it's not just about doing one. It's about understanding the economy, how the economy works, understanding how to make your money work for you. These are all things that I had to learn on the ground level, but I was confident about learning it. I didn't need or want to be the smartest guy in the room. And I had no feeling about being the dumbest guy in the room. No question was a bad question.”
Why he eschews the celebrity moniker
“So Hartbeat Ventures, you will detach the Kevin Hart equation from it because I'm not standing in front of it. … I'm not on display. It's a name and under that name, you'll respect the infrastructure that we built and the personnel that works underneath it and more importantly, the success that we've had over the years. That's what I want. I don't want the Kevin Hart star factor attached to it because it’s bigger than Kevin Hart. If it's just about Kevin Hart, well, then I'll go and I'll just do shows, I'll go and I'll do more movies. That's not what this is for me. And that's the difference, right? But there has to be a clear understanding of that, which is why we've positioned the business the way that we have and built it the way that we have.”
Watching other VCs play ball
“This isn't a Kevin Hart opportunity anymore, right? It's something that is underneath the umbrella of Hartbeat Ventures. But now, paying attention, watching how other VCs have navigated in this space, why can't we do the same? Why can't we play the same type of ball? Well, let's make sure that we share a significant amount of wins that act as justification to what I want to do.”
Why he takes his ego out of the process
“This is a space in the world where egos can’t exist, right? You know, the only way to improve is to empower, and I think the beauty of aligning yourself with people that have operated in this space at a high level who had done the business well over the years is trusting the direction in which they feel we can go or the trajectory that they feel we can have. This is not a Kevin Hart machine that Kevin Hart stands in front of and I said it has to happen and there's no other way. This is a table. This is a table where we sit and we talk, we ideate and we come up with the best possible solution based ideas that we feel ultimately help the entity that we all stand in become successful. That's something that I've done very well over the years. I've aligned myself with people who have done it right and also, you know, that's how I've learned.
“Where I come from, I'm not supposed to be in those rooms. I'm not supposed to be at those tables, but the fact that I am is insane to me… It's a relationship business and forever will be and I am true to the word of taking a step back when needed.”
