Rising Stars Q&A – Phoebe Wang, Shell Ventures

1. First, just give us a quick overview of who you work for, what you do, and how long you have been doing it.

I am a venture principal at Shell Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) arm for [oil producer] Shell. I lead investments in both early-stage and late-stage startups who are working on technologies to accelerate the energy transition, such as CCUS, artificial intelligence and machine learning, battery storage technologies, hydrogen fuel cell and mobility. I am also passionate about improving diversity and inclusion within Shell Ventures and have been part of a task force to help advance our journey.

I started as a venture capitalist back in 2012, with a financial cleantech fund, and moved to corporate VC as a principal in 2017. I have made over 20 investments in my VC career ranging from sub-$1m seed investments to $30m growth stage investments.

2. What attracted you to CVC? 

I have worked both in financial VC and CVC, I can say that CVC is attractive in a few aspects:

First, smart capital to startups. There is the strategic capability we can provide to entrepreneurs in addition to capital. Shell and many other corporates can provide strong support in terms of technical expertise, and through our supply chain network, global customer base and brand. This is something a pure-play financial VC cannot provide.

Second, high impact work. CVCs are the eyes and ears of the parent company. Being able to feedback on the newest market trend and the latest technology can provide invaluable insights and contribute to corporate strategy. We also have a strong deployment team to leverage technologies we invest in the overall Shell landscape, and the strategic value we can achieve and the impact we can make at the mothership level with relatively small investments is amazing.

Last but not least, diverse and inclusive culture. I was very fortunate that both of the CVC teams that I have worked in are top-notched in diversity and inclusion. When I first made the transition into CVC, I was in the last trimester of my pregnancy, and the team was extremely accommodating. With my current CVC unit, we have achieved stellar diversity in the team, with over 10 nationalities and ethnicities, as well as a strong gender-balanced associate and analyst pipeline.

3. What have been your greatest successes at your unit? 

I have invested in almost 20 startups in my VC career. At Shell, I have done a handful of interesting deals to date it is a bit early to pick the winner.  If I really need to pick a favourite, the investment in Connected Freight is an interesting one as it is the first corporate incubated startup spinout I have done. Based in Singapore, Connected Freight digitises and optimises third-party logistics with a strong value proposition and traction in local SE Asia markets.  Connected Freight was originally incubated in 2017 and has evolved into a stand-alone company with external validation from customers and investors, creating significant value during the past two years.

4. What have been your biggest challenges? 

Phoebe: The difference of risk appetite between the large corporate function requirement v.s. relatively early-stage startups. Sometimes the reconciliation and mitigation could either require complex processes or limit the opportunity to invest or explore companies that otherwise would be interesting for us to invest in.

5. What is your main professional ambition for the future? 

Be instrumental to tackle climate change and accelerate the energy transition and continue the journey to achieve and maintain a diverse and inclusive culture in the teams I am a part of.

6. What do you think all CVCs could do better to make it a stronger industry?

Phoebe: Collaborate, collaborate and collaborate. It is important to have a strong network and share the deal pipeline. Co-investing with CVCs from different parent companies in adjacent industries can optimise the strategic values of the startups and in turn, create value on the investments.

7. What are some of your corporate parent’s technology needs and corporate strategy amid the pandemic, as well as your CVC unit’s pain points?

This is a great question. Energy transition has been the top priority for Shell, and the pandemic only accelerated that. Our investment focus is a mix of oil and gas, renewable energy and cleantech, new fuels for transport, smart mobility and digital.

Painpoints during the pandemic is probably not on the deal flows, as we actually see the same level of deal flow if not more coming our way. The main challenge is to perform due diligence and interact with founders in an all-virtual setting. On-site due diligence and face to face interviews with the founder and management teams were important components in our due diligence and decision process, and now we need to be able to feel comfortable to write a check to a team that we have not met in real life. However, I do find thorough reference calls and background checks can mitigate some of the risk and uneasiness.

8. And, finally, for colour, what did you do prior to CVC or in your spare time?

Prior to my life as a venture capitalist, I started my career as an engineer for several years, did a short stint of investment banking with Citibank, and later on founded or worked in a few startups including Carednd (founder, Berkeley Skydeck Startup), Jobricer (founder) and Wefunder (head of operations, YC startup) and Acorn Systems (product manager, acquired by Ignite Technologies in 2014).

In my spare time, I am also a guest lecturer at universities such as UC Berkeley, UT Austin, Rice University, MIT and Brandeis University, mentor at several accelerators and incubators. I practise yoga and meditation (Vipassana) to replenish my energy and find balance in my life and enjoy annual reading vacations during Christmas with my family.