Listening to the needs of our market
It’s an exciting time in my world. Venture Capital has changed dramatically over the last 12 years since I switched from entrepreneur to full time VC.
Kickstarting, Crowdfunding, Accelerating, Incubating, Co-locating, AngelList syndicating, Full Service and many other innovations are now part of founder’s choices. So I’ve set aside the preconceptions and constraints of the past and immersed myself in learning about these different options. I’ve already become either an investor in, and/or advisor to, at least one form of each of these new approaches to support innovation and entrepreneurship (1).
But for me the founders and entrepreneurs are at the heart and I view them as my customer2. So, there’s no substitute for listening to and understanding the founder’s viewpoint. As part of that, I’m on a “listening tour” to really understand what Boston, and the local region, needs next for investment in the future generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to empower them to change our world. I’m already incredibly busy connecting with the community, yet I know I will only reach a small representation in person, so apologies in advance if I miss you personally at this stage. Feel free, however, to comment on this post so I can listen more broadly.
There is also a discussion to be developed of course in the larger sense of what’s needed. I would therefore suggest you feel free to share your comments or questions for others to discuss what is needed in our local ecosystem to help the next generation of founders build great companies.
I’ll ask some open questions to get us going here … (see comments section at bottom of page)
(1) I am also happy to be investing in my former partners at North Bridge for Fund8, where I believe the mission to create significant companies addressing fundamental opportunities from inception will have a place in the market for many many years to come.
(2) In my view the more successful we make our founders and their businesses the more likely we are to be able to consistently generate substantial returns for our LPs and investors. So I am also talking to selective investors and LPs who have a like minded philosophy about what they see as the future of Venture Investing.