Coming Full Circle: Joining FirstMark Capital

Today, I couldn’t be more excited to share I am joining FirstMark Capital’s partnership in New York City. I look forward to working alongside Rick, Amish, Matt and Catherine to work with the next generation of founders to build and scale transformative companies.

In many ways, I have already been a part of the FirstMark family for years. In 2011, I joined FirstMark as a Venture Partner and worked closely with many of their portfolio companies. As a former entrepreneur myself, it was important to me that they have a track record of being incredible partners to the entrepreneurs they back. Through working alongside them, I learned that their approach, investment thesis and investor mindset was consistent with mine. I am incredibly humbled by and grateful for the opportunity to return as a General Partner, as well as the support and friendship along the way.

I am fortunate to have had a front row seat to two of the fastest growing startups in NYC and that experience has profoundly influenced my approach to venture. My experience in the trenches as an early stage operator, as well as a scale architect has taught me that empathy is more powerful than prescription. I’ve seen first hand how hard it can be to get to product market fit, raise capital and ultimately scale. Embracing change, particularly in the dark periods, is critical and that lesson has proved invaluable in working with my portfolio and making investment decisions as I built WME Ventures.

Another reason I’m excited to join is FirstMark’s early investment in New York City. We are really just getting started. Entrepreneurship is deep seeded in NYC and there is a tremendous community of founders here. We are seeing second and third-time serial entrepreneurs starting new businesses, as well as experienced engineering talent coming out of some of the most successful startups. I am super long on New York City as a tech hub and startup ecosystem and it was important for me to find a firm that viewed the market the same way.

If you are building a company, I am eager to learn more about your journey and explore how I can help you succeed. You can find me at beth@firstmarkcap.com.