In an effort to be more transparent, we invite founders to read our three-part series around what we invest in, how we make decisions, and how we support companies post-investment.
We are interested in supply chain and mobility startups with enterprise business models that are at the pre-seed or seed-stage.
.png)
We pride ourselves in our ability to be quick and thorough. We can offer a term sheet within four weeks of a first meeting.
We have a thoughtful, phased approach to portfolio support. Our focal areas are product/strategy, sales, and talent introductions.
We are a team of former operators and specialist investors who are committed to helping our founders execute on their vision. We leverage our deep domain expertise to support founders with product and strategy, sales and business development, and recruiting and talent development.
Partner
What's one opportunity area in supply chain or mobility that most excites you?
The convergence of supply chain and fintech. I strongly believe that the movement of boxes and money are conjoined twins; as boxes move in one direction, money flows in the opposite direction. There are many lessons to be learned from the emergence of fintech over the last 10 years and how they can be applied to supply chain. As startups increase visibility, transparency and provence around supply chain, there will be huge opportunities for smarter trade finance with greater granularity at a shipment level.
Who is the most influential person in your life?
Among the most influential people I’ve had the good fortune to be introduced to was David Cohen, one of the founders of Techstars. Long before accelerators were popular, David helped me launch the first accelerator programme outside of the US. More importantly he taught me the value of #givefirst. With his generosity of spirit and desire to help entrepreneurs, David Cohen along with Brad Feld, David Brown and Jared Polis inexorably changed both my life and those of the entrepreneurs who participated in the accelerator programmes and venture funds I subsequently ran. Little did David know that by his generous example of #givefirst, he was setting the foundations for Techstars’ overseas expansion: as fate would have it, three years later I helped open Techstars London, their first international programme.
Partner
What do you believe your unfair strength is?
I believe my unfair strength is a keen awareness of my own weaknesses and limitations. I've benefited greatly in my career by partnering with folks who may share my core values but, more importantly, complement my (many) blindspots. As an investor, I look for these same type complementary qualities in the teams we invest in.
Detail your most important daily habit/ritual?
I love preparing breakfast for my daughters, even if some mornings it ends up being a rushed bowl of Cheerios. My wife certainly pulls most of the day-to-day parental responsibilities but starting out the day as a Dad is a deeply grounding and satisfying ritual (and it seems to correlate with a successful day in every other facet of my life).
Partner
What is the one technology you wish existed today?
There’s a Sanskrit quote that roughly translates to “The journey is more beautiful than the destination.” While that’s important to revisit and remember as leaders and problem solvers, I’m less convinced as a road warrior and family man.
I can’t wait for teleportation to become a reality. I will be able to see faraway people in the flesh but can return home to my family and sleep in my own bed. On that note, distribution of freight would truly become a problem of moving atoms and last mile delivery will be about teleporting parcels to a garage vs a living room.
Who is the most influential person in your life?
My great-grandmother has to be the single most influential person in my life. Widowed at a young age with two children, she put herself and her two sons through college in an environment that was unfriendly to single mothers. She passed away about 10 years ago with a variety of accolades: Sanskrit scholar, math teacher, expert seamstress, and more. However, the most notable achievement and one she likely never considered herself was angel investor. Until today, you’ll hear merchants, artists, and others from her community share their stories about her commercial smarts and support as they were trying to get off the ground.
Her tenacity, intelligence, work ethic, and ferocity is something I look to the model.
Partner
What do you believe the single most important trait in a startup CEO is?
I think the most important trait a startup CEO would have is vision. The CEO has to set the vision for their company. They must get investors, employees, customers, and vendors to buy-in to that vision. A CEO has to see the invisible. They have to be crystal clear on what exactly success looks like and inspire others to believe in the startup.
Who is the most influential person in your life?
The most influential person in my life is my wife. We got married right out of college. We took a chance early starting our 3rd party logistics company and she has been fully committed to my entire entrepreneurial career. We even used to go to truck stops on the weekends and talk to truck drivers to learn where they needed help on their backhauls. Heck, we would even get in the back of their cabs. She holds our marriage to a high bar and is one of the hardest workers that I know. She personifies the quote, "The way you do anything is the way you do everything." I love her and am lucky to be married to her.
Venture Fellow
Coming soon!
