1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: With Benjamin Narasin, Founder and General Partner at Tenacity Venture Capital (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: So this is a question, Ben, time-wise. I know you’re passionate about food and the whole food-oriented lifestyle. What is your view about cooking?

Benjamin Narasin: Well, I like to cook. I bought a sous vide machine, though I’ve never used it. I already mentioned that I go to multiple grocery stores to buy my food. I tend to shop the day I cook; I’m not interested in stocking up.

None of that’s efficient. There’s no logical reason why I should go to one farmer’s market for eggs, a different one for stone fruit, then a butcher for meat, and another place for other ingredients. But it fulfills a different part of me. I like to be the cook in our family, and I enjoy doing it. Yes, I do like to cook steak on a grill.

There are places where convenience is useful. For example, I got my wife this super fancy espresso machine, and it broke. Now, I have to make pour-over coffee. What a pain! I’m not neurotic about coffee; I don’t even like it that much. I just want a cup.

I’d much rather have a robotic coffee machine grind the beans, heat the water, and make the coffee than go through the process of boiling water, grinding beans, and doing a pour-over. That’s not my thing. I do know people who love that and find it meditative.

But I’ll take a robot for my coffee. I’m not interested in a robot for my food.

Sramana Mitra: Unlike you, my husband is also a very good cook. We love to cook, and cooking and entertaining are central to our lifestyle. On Monday night, we went to a friend’s house, and they prepared a wonderful, elaborate dinner. It was a Monday night, but it felt perfect.

One of the guests, the fifth person, said, “Wow, I’m jealous. You both have wives who are great cooks.” I replied, “Well, Dominic, my husband, is a great cook, and Eric, Jasmine’s husband, is also learning. He’s not a great cook yet, but he’s getting there.”

He then clarified, “No, no, that’s not what I mean. My wife doesn’t cook, which complicates my social life because I enjoy hosting. If we want to have people over, we have to hire help and so on.”

So, I think our perspective of enjoying cooking and entertaining is actually in the minority, not the majority.

Benjamin Narasin: I have a founder coming over tonight who wants to use my house for a charitable fundraising dinner, which I agreed to. My wife, however, is a little less excited about it. He’ll just be bringing in catered food.

When I entertain, it’s important to me to be the cook. As you know, I wrote about wine for a long time. When I throw a party, I often center it around some exceptionally high-end wine or spirit. I don’t hire a bartender; instead, I’m the one pouring and telling the story. I offer tastes, not full drinks—especially with expensive items, it’s more about the experience and education.

I’m both outgoing and a neurotic introvert, so manning the bar is perfect. People have to come to me, I talk to each for a bit, then move on to serve the next person. It keeps me engaged but also allows me to keep moving.

My life is essentially made up of two things: my family and my founders. I love what I do, have no hobbies, and no interest in sports, concerts, or similar activities. Anytime I can do something centered around my work, that’s what I want. This does make me suboptimal as a party guest for non-entrepreneur-focused events, which is a constant source of friction with my wife.

At holiday parties or gatherings with friends, after about 20–30 minutes, I’ll tell my wife I’m ready to leave. She’ll say, “I can’t believe you’re leaving,” but once people start talking about sports—football, basketball, or whatever—I’m done. I can get them to talk about entrepreneurship and venture for about 15 minutes, but after that, they move on to sports, and I’m out.

Usually, I’ll start by talking to the husbands, but as soon as they shift to sports, I’ll go talk to the wives. Even then, I’m not always a hit, and eventually, I’ll tell my wife, “Sorry, I’ve got to go.” She’ll say, “I can’t believe you’re so antisocial.” My response: “I’m social all day long. I can be social this for 12 hours if it’s about my founders, how to help them, and what others do as founders.”

Sramana Mitra: You can about cooking and food and wine.

Benjamin Narasin: Eh, they don’t, I do.

Sramana Mitra: That’s it. You care. They don’t care.

Benjamin Narasin: Exactly. We’re all selfish with our interests. I think sports were pretty much invented so guys would have something to talk about at parties. They don’t have the ability to talk about anything other than, “Hey, did you see that great game?” Now, I respect the effort it takes for athletes to excel—it’s just not something I want to dedicate my brain power to. I prefer things that really expand the mind, like historic or philosophical discussions, similar to Benjamin Franklin’s ‘Junto’ clubs, which I’ve tried to recreate. Those kinds of gatherings bring fascinating topics that are enriching.

I agree—it’s additive to my job, to helping entrepreneurs, and everything else. I don’t know why we drifted off on this topic

Sramana Mitra: Yes, this is probably a dinner conversation. Ben, thank you very much for sharing your perspective. Things are moving so fast. So I’m telling everybody who’s coming to this series that we will catch up in a few months and see where things are moving to. We’ll know more on all the issues.

This segment is part 7 in the series : 1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: With Benjamin Narasin, Founder and General Partner at Tenacity Venture Capital
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