Who is this guy?
I have been fortunate enough to spend my entire career in startups, from an engineer and designer to a Founder and CEO. I’m currently a venture partner at Spark Capital, an early stage venture firm that does things a little different, and has invested in some great companies.
- The switch from startup product guy to investor sounds crazy to some, but I try to treat this as a product too. I addressed that a little bit here, but I plan to write more on it.
- I’ve been a startup CEO twice. Long enough to know it is a burden and a privilege. You get more of the credit, and more of the blame, than you deserve.
- I’ve sold a company, bought a company, taken a company public, been part of another IPO, and left a company that’s still happily running without me. Transitions are the most treacherous of times.
- Various products I’ve built have reached over 50 million monthly users, and others have been total failures.
- I get as much enjoyment of working on ideas that are my own as I do someone else’s. Ownership is fleeting, making a difference is the scarcity.
- I’ve worked on a variety of consumer startups, from consumer electronics to social gaming to online sports media. I started life as an engineer, then went to design school, and spent most of my professional life in startups. Specialization is for insects.
- I live in Cambridge, MA, which means I fly a lot working with teams wherever they are.
- I’ve gotten smart about some stuff over the years, generally others come to me about growth, social software design, and product. I will sometimes talk on this blog about things I don’t know as much about, largely to try and learn more about the subject, so please feel free to school me.
