Assembling the Right Team
Over the course of the past couple of years, I would say the one continuous thread I can see in our success is surrounding ourselves with the right mentors, advisors, and investors. It is so interesting to trace the networks between groups of people, and realize that perhaps the one small conversation you may have had at a random networking event was the connector. You just never know who you are going to meet and who else they might lead you to. We have been so fortunate to work with the amazing group that we do. From the beginning Scott Griffith (Zipcar), Robbie Vorhaus (Vorhaus Communications), and Tom Erickson (Acquia) have been personal mentors to me, and from there came two early stage private investors, Jill Preotle and Peter Aldrich. In these very early days, this group guided me and helped shape my vision for TaskRabbit. They remain a strong thread in the vision today.
Participating in fbFund REV, Facebook’s incubator program run by Dave McClure, connected me with Tim Ferriss who has been immensely helpful and instrumental in helping us launch TaskRabbit in the San Francisco Bay Area. After fbFund, a round of funding was lead by Ann Miura-Ko at FLOODGATE Fund (formerly Maples Investments) and Steve Anderson at Baseline Ventures. Ann and Steve have offered invaluable help and insight, and have been really wonderful to work with. Shervin Pishevar (SGN), Michael Powers, and Payman Pouladdej rounds out this strong group of advisors.
Following the same high standard of working with the right people at the right time, I am thrilled to welcome First Round Capital to the TaskRabbit team. Their partners are smart, savvy, and most importantly, incredibly supportive of our vision. As the Founder, I constantly want to ensure that this company is collaborating with the right group of investors, advisers, and mentors. Anyone can write a check or offer input, but to be able to work with this amazing group is an absolute dream come true.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
This makes me think of the old adage: It’s not what you know, its who you know. I never thought of this applying to your overall well being before, but I think it this case it applies. Congrats on the first round of funding!
May 4th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
[...] has been the truly amazing people I have been lucky enough to surround myself with. I’ve written many posts on how important it has been to assemble the right team. As an engineer-turned-entrepreneur, [...]
May 4th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
[...] has been the truly amazing people I have been lucky enough to surround myself with. I’ve written many posts on how important it has been to assemble the right team. As an engineer-turned-entrepreneur, [...]