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Jeff Andrews was offered several opportunities to venture away from the VC world and back into the executive boardroom, but it was one of his firm’s own portfolio companies that enticed him to make the leap.
Andrews announced in January that he was leaving Waltham venture capital firm Atlas Venture to become senior vice president of strategy and business development at Advanced Electron Beams, a Wilmington maker of electron beam emitters for industrial processes.
“As an investor I think I have a number of core competencies, and one of those is the potential to build a very large company out of a small one,” he said. “AEB has some very real acceleration in its business right now, but like all startup companies, there is risk. My personal skill set is going to be important in helping manage those risks.”
He is one of a small but growing number of venture capitalists to leave the traditionally high-flying VC world on their own terms, either to start personal ventures or step into senior roles at other firms. Yet Andrews’ story is unique because not only is he leaving for one of his former employer’s portfolio companies, his transition has been supported by his fellow partners.
“They were just a class act about it. I’m very grateful to them for being so supportive of (the decision),” he said.
To be sure, Andrews did not — nor could he — completely sever ties with the firm he worked at for nearly a decade. He is personally invested in many of Atlas’ portfolio companies, and the firm decided to keep him as their representative on the boards of his former portfolio companies — Wilmington fuel cell developer Lilliputian Systems Inc. and Andover mobile display technology developer Pixtronics Inc. But it was his concerns about the VC industry in general, combined with a nagging desire to jump back into business operations, that made him decide to leave Atlas.
“I really liked operations work, and I’m looking at a VC industry that looks dicey at best, and I decided instead of riding this out and hoping for the best I would go and make a change on my own terms,” Andrews said.
Atlas, for its part, raised a $283 million fund last year — a little more than half of the $500 million it hoped to raise, according to regulatory filings, and about $100 million smaller than its prior fund.
AEB CEO Mitch Tyson was introduced to AEB through Andrews, who put the former executive and then-corporate consultant in touch with Atlas colleague and AEB board member Jeff Fagnan. Some four years later, Tyson had the opportunity to give Andrews an opportunity to come back to the corporate world.
“I don’t think I would have gone after Jeff if he wasn’t thinking about leaving the VC industry, but that spark I think he felt — that kind of completed the picture for me,” Tyson said. “He’s one of the brightest guys I know, and he has a tremendous business acumen.”
In addition to drawing upon his decade of VC experience, Andrews will also rely on his knowledge gained by working in operation roles at Becton Dickinson Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. to succeed in his major mission at AEB: to find large industry partners that AEB can work with to expand its customer base. The company’s core technology, electron beam emitters, can be used to increase efficiency in a number of industrial processes, from sterilization to curing and treatment of coatings. While AEB has seen sales traction among major food and bottling companies, Andrews’ role will be to determine what other industries may be early adopters.
“The company has very convincing returns on investments in other industry verticles, and basically I will be evaluating and selling to a large company in each industry to be a partner with us in that industry,” he said.
Editor's note: Jeff Andrews' role at AEB was incorrectly identified in a previous headline. He will operate as vice president of strategy and business development.
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