every month. We’re very, very active.
X: Do you see certain sectors more prominent in certain places?
PW: I think it’s pretty uniform. You see a little bit more consumer facing e-commerce out of New York sometimes. But everything is incorporating technology in some interesting way. I hate to generalize.
We’re very focused on life sciences and like to that to be about a third of the portfolio, with a preference to devices and diagnostics. All of the markets are fun markets for life sciences.
X: Are there big startup trends that are catching your eye right now?
PW: Everybody is looking at mobile as an opportunity. One of the thigns I really believe is our companies come out of very profound recognition of an unmet need by a consumer or business. We have these “a ha” moments from every one of our CEOs. They don’t start as tech looking for an applications; they always start as a problem that you then find a solution for. It really resonates; some need, some moment where they just had to fix something.
We just did a life sciences deal where the CEO is a software engineer. She took time off to care for her aging parents, and is now leading a life sciences company because of something she was experiencing and witnessing. She completely committed her life to a family of patents around something she experienced as a human being.
X: What’s the focus for Golden Seeds in the next year?
PW: It’s really to leverage the talent of our network to help these companies succeed. That’s the biggest push thematically. We’re really working on doing everything we can to support the companies with our skill set and network.
We’re always seeking to grow our membership; our role is trying to solve the capital issue here. We’re also looking to expand the knowledge institute. We think it’s key for investors to know what they’re doing and have a solid knowledge background. It’s really about perfecting the process and bringing that to bear on the companies.
