Hilarie joined NEA as a Venture Partner in 2017 and is focused on enterprise software and services. A software industry veteran, Hilarie spent three decades at growth-stage companies in operating and board roles. Most recently, Hilarie was President at New Relic. Prior to that, she was President at Salesforce, responsible for the company’s worldwide sales organization. She started her career at Oracle and Intuit. Hilarie has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Mills College.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to your work?
Working with people to help them realize their dreams. It’s a gift of a lifetime to be in a position to help founders and their executive teams realize their dream of building and scaling a successful company.
What’s a philosophy that guides your approach to company-building?
My father was an engineer by profession. True to the engineer’s credo, he taught me and my three siblings that there is always a better way in terms of identifying a new solution or approach. This philosophy can be applied broadly to the disruption of technology, a business model, or even the tactics of building a company. My lifetime quest will be to find those better ways.
How has your career experience given you empathy for the founders you work with?
I’ve walked in the shoes of an executive trying to scale category-dominating software companies several times, so my empathy comes quite naturally. While the circumstances may be different, I will always have that perspective in common with founders and founding teams.
What matters most in the process of building a company?
I think there are two ingredients that make for a category-disrupting company: a differentiated vision and a talented team to build with. While they may sound simple and obvious, these components are incredibly nuanced. They both require thoughtful contemplation and evolution.
In what ways does NEA’s ethos align with your personal ethos?
I’ve always been a believer that teams win bigger. At NEA, we work as one team, committed to helping our founders realize their dreams. There’s no individual egos or agendas that distract from that ultimate objective.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your career?
Life is a numbers game. Nos, rejections, and failures are just part of the pathway to success.
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“I’ve always been a believer that teams win bigger. At NEA, we work as one team, committed to helping our founders realize their dreams.”
