Approach
We go earlier. We think a company’s culture and first strategy are set early on. So, to increase the odds of success, we like engaging early. 
Other venture firms have a different strategy. Many look for formed teams, an existing product, customers and revenue. The marketplace is filled with these venture firms.
We focus on helping companies happen.
Specifically, we offer tangible value by:
 | Recruiting the best. We source and recruit trusted-and-tried executives from our personal networks. For one new company, we personally sourced the CEO, CFO and VP Engineering; it was the CFO’s third company with us. For another emerging company, we found a CEO and co-founder before we even finished due diligence. For another company, we helped recruit the senior team, including a highly sought-after CEO who had been shown over 20 opportunities by many known venture firms. |
 | Offering private access to market makers. A great way to test an idea or define a product is to go to people who make markets happen. Companies we’ve worked with have met privately with senior IT executives at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, Putnam, State Street, Putnam, Marsh & McLennan and others. We also know key people at IBM, Dell, BMC, HP, EMC, BEA, Yahoo!, eBay and other strategic partners. Over a decade, we’ve built trusted relationships with them. They know we don’t waste their time. Says Marsh & McLennan CTO David Fike: "Jo is at the top of my list of VCs I want to work with." |
 | Working with urgency. We want to work as hard as our entrepreneurs. For example, we sponsored a critical partner meeting for one of our companies and flew out with the CEO, founder and VP Marketing to be there. We then took a red-eye flight back with the CEO. The management team was grateful. It was the least we could do. We work as if our financial net worth depended on our companies’ success. It does. |