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Aspiring VC #2 — Jason Allen (MassVentures)
Notes from my Podcast Interview with Jason Allen
For the second episode of the Aspiring VC Podcast, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with my colleague and mentor Jason Allen, Vice President of Investments at MassVentures. In the episode, we talk about Jason’s origin story (which includes a unique combo of law, divinity, startups, and VC), the Massachusetts technology ecosystem, the history of MassVentures, and Jason’s takes on the industry. I really loved this episode — as I do every conversation with Jason. Below are some useful summary notes on the key learnings from the episode.
REAL TALK: Dunkin’ vs. Starbucks Coffee
The preposterous yet revealing intro question — whether one chooses Dunkin’ or Starbucks coffee. Some will say this has nothing to do with venture capital but I would argue this really begins to break down the personality of the interviewee from the get-go. Jason went with Starbucks for the experience and variety. It was a tough loss to lose a fellow Bostonian to Starbucks but I respected his logic nonetheless.
