Eric Paley

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Eric Paley
Alma materDartmouth College, Harvard University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur
Venture investor
Years active1999–present
TitleCo-founder and managing partner, Founder Collective
SpouseShirley Paley
Children2
Websitefoundercollective.com

Eric Paley is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is the co-founder and managing partner of Founder Collective, a seed-stage venture capital fund based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Paley grew up in Long Island.[2] He attended Dartmouth College, graduating magna cum laude with a BA in political science in 1998.[3] He received an MBA from Harvard Business School with distinction in 2003 as a Baker Scholar.[4]

Career[edit]

Monitor Group, Abstract Edge[edit]

Following his graduation from Dartmouth, Paley returned to New York, where he began his career as a strategy consultant for The Monitor Group. In 1999, with his brother and a cousin, he founded Abstract Edge Web Solutions, a web development company. Their clients included the Million Mom March, a rally in support of stricter gun control that took place on the National Mall on Mother's Day 2000. Abstract Edge developed the website, millionmommarch.com, which raised more than $100,000 for the organization.[2][5]

Paley attended Harvard Business School after leaving Abstract Edge in 2001. His classmates included Micah Rosenbloom and David Frankel. As MBA students, Rosenbloom and Paley partnered with MIT professor Douglas Hart to co-found and run Brontes Technologies, a 3D digital dental impression and fabrication system. Based on technology from MIT and the research of János Rohály and two MIT graduate students, Paley served as the CEO of Brontes. Rosenbloom was its COO and Frankel its first investor.[6] All three graduated from Harvard Business School in 2003.[7]

Paley served as CEO of Brontes until 2006, when it was acquired by 3M for $95 million.[6] He holds six patents related to the invention and commercialization of the Brontes system.[1][8]

Founder Collective[edit]

Following the sale of Brontes, Paley began investing in technology startups with Rosenbloom and Frankel. In 2008, with several part-time partners, they founded Founder Collective,[9] a seed-stage venture capital fund with the mission of “being the most aligned fund for founders at the seed stage."[10] Paley has led investments in companies including Uber (NYSE:UBER); The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD); Airtable, Embark Veterinary, WHOOP and Cruise, acquired by GM.[11] [12][13]

Advocacy and recognition[edit]

Paley has been active in lobbying Massachusetts politicians for the elimination of non-compete agreements,[14] fighting against patent trolls,[15] and funding for student technology internships.[16][17][18]

He has appeared on the Forbes Midas List five times. He was #9 in 2020, making him the highest ranked seed investor on the list.[19] He was named to the Business Insider list of Top US Seed Investors in 2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as the Boston Globe Tech Power Players 50 in 2022 and 2023. [20][21][22][23] He was an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at the Harvard Business School from 2011 until 2015.[24]

Personal life[edit]

Paley and his wife, Shirley Paley, an attorney, live in Lexington, Massachusetts.[3] They met in 1998 as students at Dartmouth College. They have two children.[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Shafrir, Doree (2010-11-18). "Angel Investors Are Going Where VCs Fear to Tread". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  2. ^ a b "Leap of Faith: Dot-com startups still beckon traditional workers", Newsday, 17 Sep 2000: F06.
  3. ^ a b "WEDDINGS; Shirley Sperling, Eric Paley". The New York Times. 2002-08-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  4. ^ "Open for Business: HBS's Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Part 3 - The Harvard Business School Harbus". harbus.org. 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  5. ^ Fitzgerald, Rebecca (July 5, 2007). "Paley Aims to Share Love of Tech Business". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  6. ^ a b Tedeschi, Bob (2010-06-26). "The Idea Incubator Goes to Campus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  7. ^ Frick, Walter. "From Backing His HBS Classmates to Making the Midas List — How David Frankel Became a VC". www.americaninno.com. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  8. ^ "An index of patents with Eric Paley listed as inventor". radaris.com. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  9. ^ "Boston's Newest VC Firm: Founders Collective". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  10. ^ "Founder Collective - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  11. ^ Bergman, Ben. "How seeking out the 'weird and wonderful' led to Eric Paley's seed investment in Uber and hundreds of other startups". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  12. ^ Bernsau, Marc. "BBJ Innovation All-Star: Eric Paley of Founder Collective". www.bizjournals.com. Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  13. ^ "How We Selected Our Seed Investors to Watch". The Information. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  14. ^ "A Gap In Noncompete Legislation Still Leaves Fast Food Workers Exposed". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  15. ^ Moore, Galen. "A Husband and Wife in Tech ae Pushing A New Weapon Against Patent Trolls". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  16. ^ "MassTech Intern Partnership to Connect Students with Growing Tech Companies for Summer 2016". MassTech. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  17. ^ Rosen, Andy. "Mass. lawmakers consider a new tool against 'patent trolls' - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  18. ^ "Funding Faculty Entrepreneurs". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  19. ^ "Eric Paley". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  20. ^ "Tech Power Players 50 | Boston Globe Technology". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
  21. ^ "Here are the top tech leaders in Boston - The Boston Globe". bostontechleaders.bostonglobe.com. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  22. ^ Erb, Jordan Parker. "10 Things in Tech: Meet the top seed investors". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  23. ^ Russell, Julie Bort, Samantha Stokes, Ben Bergman, April Joyner, Stephanie Palazzolo, Darius Rafieyan, Madeline Renbarger, Melia. "The Seed 100: The best early-stage investors of 2023". Business Insider.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Harbus, The (2012-10-17). "Introducing the Rock Center's Entrepreneurs-in-Residence - The Harbus". harbus.org. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  25. ^ Vanni, Olivia. "Startup Power Couples: Shirley & Eric Paley Met at a Dartmouth Dorm 22 Years Ago". NBC Boston. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
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