Brad Feld is a co-founding partner of Foundry. His path into VC was truly organic from being a natural entrepreneur and founder to an almost accidental seed investor.  Now 35 years later his path proves the benefit of time and experience in the business as a wisened and worldly early-stage investor and fund manager. Brad is also a co-founder of Techstars and, with his wife Amy Batchelor, runs the Anchor Point Foundation. Highlights from his conversation with Michael include:

• the organic pathway into VC
• why five (!) breakfast meetings is the key to growing your network
• advice for how to cut through the noise of the industry
• a look at recent VC trends and what it means for those pursuing the field today
• the importance of showing up, engaging, and following up
• the difference between being an advisor and being a mentor
• a closing and highly personal reflection on not just finding balance, but seeking harmony in life

We plan to publish episodes bi-weekly, so don't forget to subscribe!

Comments, feedback, questions, guest suggestions?

Connect with Michael on LinkedIN, or on the vc_pathways website.

For the first interview of the season, Michael sits down with Paul Maeder, founder and General Partner at Highland Capital Partners.  Paul has over thirty-five years of experience in venture capital having invested in and been a director of over 35 public and private companies, including 2U, Carbon Black, and VistaPrint. 

This “trial run” recording captured so many amazing sound bites, we decided to make it our first full episode. Highlights from the conversation include:

• why you shouldn’t expect to get rich as a VC anymore
• the number one skill needed to be a successful VC and how it might affect your waist line
• a great analogy that explains why VC’s hate pizza
• why most companies never stop fundraising

We plan to publish episodes bi-weekly, so don't forget to subscribe!

Comments, feedback, questions, guest suggestions?

Connect with Michael on LinkedIN, or on the vc_pathways website.

A quick intro to VC Pathways led by our host Michael Skok. Michael is renowned for his passion in helping others, especially in the startup and venture capital communities. With a 40-year career from a pioneer technologist to a prominent entrepreneur and trusted investor, he has demonstrated a drive to innovate, inspire, and empower others.

Michael’s investments and strong belief in open source and the power of community, led him to co-found Underscore.vc with a now 1,800-strong Core Community featuring successful creators, founders, and builders that have created billions of dollars of value. He is also an Executive Fellow at the Harvard Business School leading the VC_pathways program, and teaches the Startup Secrets series at the Harvard Innovation Lab. In this welcome episode we will talk about: 

• the origin of the podcast 
• our goals for the series
• the types of guests we have lined up
• how Michael’s experience and expertise will bring a unique perspective to the VC Pathway journey

We plan to publish episodes bi-weekly, so don't forget to subscribe!

Comments, feedback, questions, guest suggestions?

Connect with Michael on LinkedIN, or on the vc_pathways website.