There was a time when Google and Facebook were startups. There were people who believed in them. And understood their potential early on.

Being a venture capitalist is for those who like taking big risks for big payoffs. Or understanding markets so well, that you see the possibilities that no one else has seen - yet.

Divya Sampath has a career path that converged with the internet boom in the mid-90s. And she saw things change faster than the gigabyte speeds that would soon be taken for granted.

Rarely does someone sign a check for 500 crores on their third day at work and walk away with a lesson about humility rather than pride. That early moment at Citibank in mid-1990s Bombay captures everything about how Divya Sampath has approached her career: with perspective, curiosity, and a relentless search for meaning.

Divya's s ...