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Who he is: Vice president, Venrock, where he invests in web companies; organizer of the quarterly Web Innovators Group conferences, a 400-strong gathering of web entrepreneurs.
Track record: Co-founder, Sombasa Media — acquired in 2000 by About.com for $35 million in stock; previously a principal at Masthead Venture Partners, where he invested in Expo TV, Tremor Media, Intercasting, TripConnect and NewsGator.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics, Duke University; MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Favorite accomplishment: “Before I got on the venture side of things, I was an entrepreneur myself. Having helped start a company and go through that success — to me that was a very defining moment for me.”
Launch, grow, repeat: “I like being a part of the creation of a new company — having something that just wasn’t there before and starting from zero to 60 or zero to 70. That’s the exciting part. Growing something once you’re there, that’s exciting, too, but I like that ‘beginning part’ of the process.”
WebInno. Accidentally famous: “I started it in the summer of 2005 and I literally just invited a dozen entrepreneurs and others in the web space to a bar. I just gave everyone name tags and we’re standing in the middle of this bar, and other people were, like, ‘Who are these guys wearing name tags?’ But at the next one, 24 people showed up, and it started to grow.”
An East Coast optimist: “I think earlier this decade (the Boston area) didn’t have as many of the events that help foster that interaction. Now we have more of it. We’ve got Web Innovators Group. We’ve got Mobile Monday. I think we’ve seen a movement toward people recognizing we need more informal or formal or somewhere-in-between kind of events. There’s a recognition that something was missing. I feel like, as a community, we’re starting to do something about it rather than just talking about it. In 2005, we were just talking about it.
Geek pride: “I was a geek as a kid. Even before high school, I can remember when I had my first computer. Even before that, in kindergarten, I got to sign up for a special computer class and play with an Apple I.”
On David Beisel, from Richard Levandov:
Masthead partner Richard Levandov was an early investor in Sombasa, and later hired Beisel as an associate at Masthead.
What makes Beisel a good VC?
“Being a founder of a company is invaluable experience for a venture capitalist. That’s who our customer is. In this business, you have to serve your customer well (and) to serve them well, you have to know them. The people who are best at this are previous founders of companies, as opposed to purely finance backgrounds.”
Were there any early signs he’d turn out to be the social coordinator of an event like WebInno?
“Definitely. From the day he started here, his communication skills were extraordinary — and his ability to use web tools (like) wikis and invite systems. If he didn’t have those skills, it would be impossible to do it without it becoming a full-time job.”
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