On Raising A Fund - The IA Ventures Story

This past Thursday it was announced that my first fund, IA Ventures, had closed with $50 million in commitments from a group of fantastic investors. Brad, Ben, Justin and I couldn’t be more proud or excited, especially at the confidence and belief our investors have shown in us and in our approach to early-stage venture investing. We clearly have deep conviction in our mission and our strategy, and have gone “all-in” from a career perspective. This is exactly what we want to be doing, and we are giving it our all.

There are way too many people to thank, on whose guidance and mentoring I’ve relied upon over the past six years and whose support continues today. Particular thanks go out to Fred Wilson, Josh Kopelman, Matt Harris, Brad Feld, Tony Conrad, Jon Callaghan, Phil Black and Stewart Alsop, each of whom has helped me think through the issues of intelligent fund management, the implications of managing LP capital and LP relations. What is so special about these guys is that notwithstanding their success and standing in the community, they’ve been incredibly generous with their time, contacts and general support. Everyone is super busy and it is challenging to do one’s own work much less help others with theirs, but they are the kind of people who manage to do it all. They serve as a great example for me and my colleagues, and I deeply appreciate how they’ve helped me make the transition from angel investor to venture capitalist.