Meet Vlad Cazacu

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vlad Cazacu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vlad below.

Hi Vlad, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

I think for the first question, there is a little bit of a bias in the way it is asked. The reason why I say this is because it implies that being different, being the only one in the room that looks like you, must be something negative, must be some form of roadblock in order to be effective and successful.

And I really disagree with that. I think there’s a lot of joy, pride and excitement that comes from being the only one in the room that looks like you.

It’s very easy to fall into a trap, feeling like an impostor, feeling like you don’t belong, feeling like there’s a reason why there’s nobody else that looks like you in that particular room. And I would say that’s a broken way of thinking because everyone has their very own journey that’s very different from one another. As a result, everyone should focus on getting their journey accomplished.

In my particular case, I’ve been having this idea of where I want to be for the last 14-15 years, and I’ve been almost myopically focused on getting that accomplished. Comparing myself with everyone else who is in any rooms that I’ve been in or will be in any rooms that I will be in isn’t conducive to me actually being effective and successful.

That’s why I would suggest reframing this whole piece. Focus on yourself, focus on the things that matter most, and simply ignore who else is or isn’t in the room. Stop comparing because it won’t really get you anywhere.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’ve been on quite the journey in the tech and investment world. As the CEO and Co-Founder of Flowlie Technologies, I’m building what we consider to be the modern operating system for venture fundraising. After years in venture capital and angel investing where I witnessed firsthand the inefficiencies of fundraising, I’m now focused on solving these challenges through our technology.

I think one of the most exciting things about Flowlie that we’re currently working on is our intro path detection engine and our ability to save founders hundreds of hours by identifying the most helpful people in their network who can help them get warm introductions towards investors which are the highest fit.

A lot of founders are either spending an outrageous amount of time trying to do this by themselves – identifying the people in their network that would be a good fit and that know people they want to get in touch with. Or alternatively, they either don’t do it or miss out on a lot of potential introductions that could have happened if they knew those people and who those people know.

This is why I believe that in our particular case, working with already incredibly busy founders and people who don’t really have any time to lose whatsoever, being able to save honestly hundreds of hours of research in identifying the right investors and the right people in their network that can help them get to those investors is very powerful. I’m really excited to bring future updates to this particular functionality and get it in the hands of more people with time.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

When I look back at my particular journey, and by no way it’s ended, quite frankly, I think it’s still very much in the beginning, but if I were to look back at everything that I’ve realized so far, and ask myself what are the most impactful traits, qualities, and skills that I developed or got over time that made the largest positive impact in my journey, I would argue that grit, perseverance and optimism are the three traits that come immediately to mind.

The reason behind this is because there’s gonna be a lot of times when things get really tough. There’s gonna be a lot of challenges along the way, and it’s natural. I don’t think there’s any successful business journey that doesn’t come with a lot of challenges attached to it. And in order to persevere through those moments, you need to really want what’s on the other side of the mountain. You need to have that grit and perseverance and be willing to overcome things where a lot of other people fail or give up.

A big part of it is really this irrational optimism because you have to see bad things as positives and you have to figure out what’s the silver lining in all of this. How can we be successful and how is this actually going to turn around our way? When you have this relentless optimism combined with a natural grit and perseverance, everything takes care of itself.

That’s why I don’t believe there’s any particular skills or areas of knowledge that have actually been dramatically impactful because everything is learned. We’re all hopelessly average when we start. We all have a very limited set of knowledge and skills, but we do have an ability and willingness to learn. If we’re willing to go through all these challenges and learn the lessons and not repeat the mistakes and focus on getting better every single day, those are the ones that actually persevere and push forward and end up becoming successful.

I don’t think there’s any particular way to develop it other than being very introspective in those moments, doing meditation, and understanding how you can control your mind and make it work for you.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

I think by far the most helpful individuals in helping me overcome challenges and build and develop the skills and the mindset that I need in order to be successful with my current business are my two co-founders, Giovanni and Mark. The reason why I say this is because starting a company is probably one of the most difficult things that one person can do. There’s just so many other things that are easier than that.

When you get on that particular train and you want to build a business, doing it alone is a very scary decision and there’s gonna be a lot of times when you feel like giving up. Those are the times when you really need the most support, and the beauty of having co-founders, and the beauty of having the right co-founders that I’ve been very likely and blessed to have, are that those are the people that want the best for you and the best for the business. They’re gonna keep you accountable when things aren’t going the right way and force you to think outside of the box to find perspectives that otherwise you may have not actually considered.

Those are the individuals who can encourage each other to pick up all the skills and knowledge that you need in order to be able to overcome all the challenges that you may face. But as I was mentioning in the other parts of the interview as well, I would argue that the biggest challenge is really overcoming your own mental barriers, and I think this is where having great business partners allows you to struggle less when things get tough and celebrate the wins together when things get easy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.flowlie.com/
• Instagram: cazvlad
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladcazacu/