Photo by moerschy from Pixabay
Photo retrieved from KrAsia.com

Kathy Xu (徐新)

Founder & Investor

Capital Today

POSITION

Founder & Investor

COMPANY

Capital Today

COUNTRY

Hong Kong, China

Website

Capital Today

SCENE

Business

What makes Kathy Xu a Global Shaker?

Kathy Xu / Xu Xin (徐新), also known as the Queen of China’s Venture Capital, is the founder and president of Capital Today (今日资本), an independent private equity firm. Capital Today is one of the first firms of its kind in China.

According to Forbes, Kathy’s philosophy is to find the first mover in her preferred markets (brand consumption goods, internet-based consumption, and retail chains), sufficiently fund them, and “have them make every effort to become a leading player.” As the only Series A investor of JD.com, Capital Today’s $18 million invested led to a $2.6-billion return after the company went public.

Kathy is one of China’s first-generation venture capitalists and has consistently bet on successful projects over her decades-long career. When asked for the secret to her success, she explained that she prefers to focus on “the nature of humanity” and her “consumer insights” instead of investment stages.

“I spent a lot of time doing research to gain an insight into the target consumers of every project I looked at,” she told KrAsia. “I make calls myself even today. Some said it’s unnecessary for me to do so much ‘dirty work’ myself, but for me, it’s just the most effective way to understand a project.”

She was listed in the top 10 of Forbes’ Midas List in 2019, beating out Mary Meeker to become the highest-ranked female venture capitalist on the list.

Tags: Asia, Investment and Funding, VC, Women in Tech, Women in VC

Last updated: May 22, 2019