Chris Smith came to venture capital through an unusually varied path—founding a telecoms business at university, working nearly a decade as a lawyer in the City, and then building the sales team from scratch at plan.com—before spending years angel investing and eventually joining Playfair Capital, where his legal background helps him back founders working in regulated industries and his sales experience lets him personally help technical founders sell. He also gravitates toward overlooked areas like maritime, drones, and factory automation rather than trendier categories, has worked to make the investment process faster and clearer for founders by cutting response times on pitch decks from 14 days to 5, and helped start Female Founder Office Hours and Playfair Academy to support women in tech from a young age.