Aaref Hilaly
Partner·Bain Capital Ventures
Bio
Professional summary
Aaref Hilaly is a Partner at Bain Capital Ventures in the Bay Area. His investment focus centers on small teams building AI-native software and applications. His official profile describes his founder background, including co-founding CenterRun and Clearwell, and says he later spent seven years as a partner at Sequoia before joining BCV in 2020. He emphasizes close post-investment work with founders, including recruiting, organization design, strategy, and helping companies think ahead. His profile frames generative AI as a major platform shift and highlights interest in new AI-native applications as models, interfaces, and user behaviors evolve.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
Sector
Thesis
Notable companies
Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Lead with a crisp AI-native software wedge, founder insight, and why the team can out-execute in product design and go-to-market.
Partneralization hooks
- 1Reference his founder-to-investor path and empathy for the loneliness and difficulty of the CEO role.
- 2Position the company as a small, high-conviction team applying AI to a problem software could not previously solve well.
- 3Highlight a clear narrative, as his profile says BCV is drawn to companies with a compelling story.
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Official profile emphasizes generative AI as a once-in-a-generation opportunity and discusses AI-native application categories.
Profile describes active involvement with Decagon, including recruiting, org design, and strategy.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- Bain Capital VenturesPartner2020 – Present
- Sequoia CapitalPartner2013 – 2020
- Clearwell SystemsCEO & Co-founder2004 – 2011
- CenterRunCEO & Co-founder2001 – 2004
Skills
Other partners at Bain Capital Ventures
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