Abdul Ly Announced As Fourth Principal Of San Francisco-based Early-Stage VC Firm Initialized

In a post made on the company’s official website, it was revealed that the United States-born, Senegal-raised Ly is the third principal to join the team through their open search process.

Abdul Ly has a background working at Google. He was also at First Round Capital and Index Ventures as an investor and before getting into VC – he also worked at Blend as a product manager focusing on consumer banking software.

“At Initialized, we don’t evaluate founders based on education level or work credentials,” wrote the company in its official announcement.

Speaking on their first impressions, the company announcement said: “When we first met Abdul, we were impressed by his strong sense of identity as an individual with nomadic roots. Born in the United States, raised in Senegal, and having lived in Rwanda, Togo, and Brazil, Abdul has been shaped by different worlds.

“We believe his global background, training as an early-to-growth stage investor, and experience working at technology companies will help founders navigate every step of their entrepreneurial journey. 

They added: “Abdul’s path into the world of entrepreneurship and venture capital started years ago in his hometown – Dakar, Senegal. Seeing his world transition from analog to digital across banking, social experiences, and commerce, he was inspired by how technology – in the right hands – could create meaningful opportunities for people.

“Motivated by this experience, Abdul relocated to the Bay Area and joined a new team at Google to help founders scale consumer internet startups,” he added.