Paris Rouzati took an unconventional path into venture capital, moving from marketing and community roles at companies like Medium and about.me into angel investing before becoming a GP, which gives her unusually strong experience in consumer storytelling and community-building compared to most crypto investors. At IDEO CoLab Ventures, she focuses on human-centered Web3 investments in areas like NFTs, social tokens, and the metaverse, and actively experiments with community-driven crypto projects herself, including building DAOs and creating playful NFT projects like growing internet cabbages.

• Deep conviction in the long-term success of decentralized finance protocols. She consistently champions the Aave ecosystem, expressing excitement about its potential to become a dominant financial tool for everyone, including non-technical users like family members.
• Strong emphasis on high-quality marketing and brand strategy within the crypto space. She appreciates well-executed campaigns, such as acknowledging the quality of Solana advertisements, and values creative community merchandise, pointing out instances where musicians wear branded gear during performances.
• Respect for founders who demonstrate grit and persistence through multiple market cycles. She highlights leaders who continue building relentlessly over the course of a decade, citing Stani Kulechov as an example of someone with the judgment and conviction to stick with a vision long-term.
• Focus on tangible operational experience and professional maturity. When discussing hiring, she explicitly looks for candidates with several years of serious experience in relevant roles rather than generalists, signaling a preference for teams that understand the nuances of their specific verticals.
• Support for initiatives that foster diversity and inclusion within the industry. She actively advocates for organizations like SheFi that educate and empower women in the blockchain sector, viewing their overall impact as a net positive for the ecosystem.
• Engagement with community-driven events and culture. She values the energy surrounding industry conferences and social gatherings, even incentivizing creativity by offering tickets to people who contribute to the event atmosphere with unique outfits or enthusiasm.