SVUDL Welcomes Rak Garg to the Board of Directors

Our newest member of the Board of Directors is Bain Capital Ventures Partner Rak Garg. When he was in high school, he was on a team for three years of competitive Lincoln-Douglas debate. Now he serves as a volunteer Speech and Debate judge for Milpitas High School.

“Debate changed the trajectory of my life. I learned critical thinking, persuasion, advocacy, and the ability to see both sides of every issue. This skillset is invaluable for the world we live in today, given rampant misinformation and lack of understanding in online communities. Learning these skills early gave me the ability to handle heavy workloads, create unique perspectives based on first-party research, and have carried me through my career,” he recalled.

Rak looks forward to serving on the Board and contributing to the SVUDL community. “I want to give back and replicate what I learned as best I can for students who lack institutional support. As a venture capitalist, much of my work and network are in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. I’m committed to establishing entrepreneurship as a viable career path for SVUDL students. I’m interested in organizing visits to Silicon Valley venture capital firms, and helping students develop their ideas from concept to launch. Much of the thinking and reasoning involved in crafting a debate case applies to crafting business cases, and most entrepreneurs face a lot of rejection before achieving success. This is similar to how many debaters face a lot of losses before winning,” he reflected.

Rak Garg is a Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, where he invests in entrepreneurs building the future of AI, cyber-security, and enterprise. Before investing, Rak was a product leader at Atlassian, where he led multiple teams towards creating new businesses within security and productivity. Rak is originally from New Delhi, India, and grew up in Milpitas, CA.

Please join us in welcoming Rak Garg to the SVUDL Board of Directors!