Investor

Over many years, I’ve invested in many companies, mainly Internet and software startups.

One might say my “investment” career began in college, when I maxed out student loans, learned several options trading strategies from my father, and began trading. This essentially funded my excessive skiing habit.

As an early stage investor, I support founders because I'm passionate about a particular sector, startup mission or team, and I feel that I might be able to contribute to moving their cause forward.

EARLY WEB

It started with a core thesis in 1997, while at Volpe Welty Asset Management, a venture capital firm in the Bay Area, that people were going to interact and form communities online.

We published a research report in 1997, and lacking a good term for this “sector” at the time, we create our own (terrible) acronym: SPICE. Synchronous Person-to-Person Interactive Computing Environments. “Online Communities” was more broadly adapted; go figure. Now, this doesn’t need a name. It’s just life.

In other words, we were early. And…this gives me perspective.

We invested as a firm, and I invested personally, in Electric Communities, which became Communities.com and acquire OnLive Communications and The Palace.

BLOCKCHAIN

In blockchain, crypto assets, and distributed applications, I've been researching and investing since early 2014. I'm a full believer that blockchain and decentralized platforms, protocol, applications and ecosystems are changing our world in fundamental and monumental ways, and will have massive impact.

My first bet was on Brock Pierce, Bart Stephenson and Brad Stephenson: I am an LP in Blockchain Capital in an early Crypto Currency Partners fund.

I have (or had) stakes in Coinbase, Abra, BitAccess, BitGo, BitPesa, Blockstream, BlockVEE, Case, ChangeCoin, ChangeTip, Codex Protocol, expressoin, Factum, Filament, Filecoin, Gem, Gems, GoCoin, itBit, Koinify, Kraken, LedgerX, Metacert, Peer Nova, Ripple Labs, Securrency, Sense, ShapeShift, 22X Fund, Templum, WAX, and others.

And yes, I'm a big believer in Bitcoin. Hodl.

MORE

I was a founding investor in American Riviera Bank in Santa Barbara. I was an early investor in Jody Sherman’s Ecomom, as well as in solopreneur scheduling platform Prompt.ly.  

I am also passionate about supporting innovation in human health, nutrition, mind/body performance optimization, mindfulness, conquering disease through prevention: all as a means to extend life AND livability.

I’ve invested in Human Longevity, founded by Peter Diamandis and Craig Venter, as well as Four Sigmatic Foods, the creator of mushroom coffee and adaptogenic elixirs.