Building billion-dollar hubs beyond Silicon Valley

Can Middle America become the next innovation powerhouse? Aziz Gilani, General Partner at Mercury, thinks so—and he’s proving it by backing cloud and enterprise software startups across Houston and beyond. With a track record that includes major exits like Black Lotus and Modus, Aziz has helped Mercury’s portfolio reach over $9 billion in enterprise value.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• 00:43 Introduction to Driving Alpha  

• 00:51 Meet Aziz Gilani: Venture Powerhouse  

• 02:08 Aziz's Journey to Venture Capital  

• 04:20 Houston: A Hub for Enterprise Software  

• 05:37 The Evolution of Texas's Startup Ecosystem  

• 06:29 What VCs Look for in Entrepreneurs  

• 10:29 The Growth of the Venture Capital Industry  

• 15:38 The Impact of Regulations on Startups  

• 24:29 Future Opportunities in Technology  

• 31:41 Connecting with Aziz and Mercury Fund  

• 34:29 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

 

In this episode,

Aziz joins Steve Brotman to unpack how Mercury is scaling venture success outside traditional hubs. He shares the journey that led him from early enterprise software gigs to shaping national innovation policy. Along the way, Aziz discusses the rise of Texas as a startup epicenter, fueled by domain-specific advantages and the growing infrastructure led by institutions like Rice University’s Ion.

Aziz dives deep into what he looks for in founders—those with a “spike” of excellence—and why massive market potential, tenacity, and adaptability are essential. The conversation also explores the explosive growth of venture capital as an industry, the evolving regulatory landscape, and why now is a critical moment for sectors like AI, cybersecurity, and quantum computing. If you want insight into how to build capital-efficient, billion-dollar companies outside the coasts, this episode is a must-listen.