In this Fund81 podcast episode, I spoke with Bill Maris, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist focused on technology and the life sciences. Bill founded early web hosting pioneer Burlee.com, now part of Web.com, and then went on to found and become the first CEO of Google Ventures or GV. Under his leadership, GV grew from 1 - 70+ team members, across seven offices and had over $3 billion under management. GV made over 350 investments including Uber, Nest, Cloudera, DocuSign, Climate Corp, 23andMe and more. He also created Google's Calico project, a multi-billion dollar company focused on the genetic basis of aging.
Bill left GV in 2016 and recently started his own fund Section 32.
In listening to other interviews with Bill, I learned two unexpected things: Bill is a practicing magician (Who knew?) and an introvert.
I am also an introvert and have been doing a lot of thinking about how my introversion plays into my life as a venture capitalist. Bill and I explore this topic in this episode.
Enjoy.
In this second episode of a new series to feature startups sourced from our Fund81 VC forum members’ portfolios, I interviewed Alaffia Technology Solutions nominated by the Hustle Fund.
Read more ➞In this episode, Beezer shares how the pandemic is affecting Sapphire Partners’ investment strategy. I also share what I’ve been seeing from investing in startups and venture capital funds through our MergeLane fund.
Read more ➞I want to keep reminding myself that nearly 50 percent of my fellow Americans desired a different outcome for this election. I believe that in politics, business, and life, understanding and collaborating with your adversaries is the key to driving change.
Read more ➞Trinet founder Martin Babinec offers timely advice on why and how VCs should engage politically, and how they can leverage opportunities outside traditional startup ecosystems.
Read more ➞