Harvard in Tech AI Edition: Russ Wilcox, Partner at Pillar VC
I spoke with Russ Wilcox, operating partner at Pillar VC. Russ is a serial entrepreneur and founded companies including E Ink, which grew to over $200 million in annual revenue and pioneered ePaper technology. Russ shared more about his journey, lessons learned from founding and scaling companies, and his ongoing contributions to and perspective on the Boston tech and innovation ecosystem.
Journey to Pillar VC
At Harvard, Russ studied applied math and was involved with different student groups, including Model UN. His interest in entrepreneurship led him to center most of his career on building companies. He founded and scaled several startups, including E Ink. He then connected with Jamie Goldstein who was founding Pillar VC at the time. Jamie wanted Pillar to be a founder friendly firm. For Russ, Pillar was the kind of firm he had hoped existed and would have benefited from as a founder, so he joined the firm as an investor. At Pillar, he hoped to help other early stage founders navigate the challenges he had faced when founding companies.
In the past 8 years at Pillar, Russ and his colleagues have invested in close to a hundred companies and worked with many more founders. Earlier this year, he decided to start a new company spun out of the Joanna Aizenberg lab at Harvard and the Design School focused on building a cleantech dehumidifier, so he now splits his time between that company and being an operating partner at Pillar.
Lessons from E Ink
Reflecting on his time at E Ink, Russ discussed some of the hard-won lessons that continue to shape his approach to both investing in and helping founders. “It took two years to get the product looking good, two years to make it durable, and another two to scale it up. In total, it was a six-year journey and $100 million investment with 150 patents,” he shared. Russ learned to focus on doing the scariest, most intimidating thing on his to do list at the start of every day. By systematically knocking out the greatest risks for the company, Russ could add the most value.
A key lesson for Russ was learning how to balance technical innovation with the demands of running a business. “At E Ink, I realized that once you start to ship product, 90% of your time is spent managing customers and addressing their needs, which takes time away from the lab. Our early investors wanted revenue fast, but in deep tech, chasing revenue too early can be a trap. It’s better to focus on completing the research for a major breakthrough before you start trying to sell and finding investors who understand that and align with the unique needs and timeline of deep tech.”
Supporting Founders as an Operating Partner
As an operating partner at Pillar, Russ plays a hands-on role in helping founders navigate the complexities of scaling their businesses. He serves on the boards of 8–10 companies, acting as a sounding board and advisor for critical decisions, including recruiting key hires and navigating crises. “I see my role as being a ‘pillar’ for the local startup community,” he explained. “Founders and CEOs often come to me with questions, whether I’m formally on their board or not. One of the most valuable things VCs can do is help companies make major hiring decisions or provide guidance when the path forward isn’t clear.”
Staying Involved with Harvard
In addition to his work at Pillar, Russ teaches a capstone course at Harvard, where he helps graduate students from the business school and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) blend entrepreneurship with cutting-edge science. Many of his students go on to launch startups, with several raising venture capital before even graduating. Russ finds the innovation at Harvard to be more holistic than some other schools — projects are more cross functional, the people are open to collaborate, and this unlocks novel ideas. Over time Harvard SEAS faculty have become increasingly thoughtful about which inventions will be truly useful.
“Harvard has some fantastic inventors, and I’ve gotten to know many faculty members and the licensing office,” Russ said. “There are Harvard startups emerging in everything from exoskeletons at Verve Motion to Kula Bio making ultra cheap organic fertilizer to Quadratic with a breakthrough in 3D printing to GRO Biosciences from the George Church Lab that is creating novel therapeutics through protein engineering to Mesa Quantum building a new chip that serves as an atomic clock to keep electronics running without GPS.”
The Boston Innovation Ecosystem
Over the past decade, Russ has seen the Boston tech ecosystem transform, particularly with the rise of biotech. “Boston has become one of the top cities in the world for biotechnology. Most of the world’s largest biopharma companies have opened headquarters or labs here,” he noted.
Russ also highlighted how AI is poised to revolutionize hard tech and healthcare. “AI will not only fundamentally alter how we practice medicine and education but also change the way we approach deep tech. It can suggest experiments and learn from them, accelerating the pace of discovery.”
Fascination with Emerging Science and Technologies
When asked about the technologies that excite him most, Russ pointed to advancements in biotech, particularly cell-based therapies. “Pillar has built a strong biotech practice, and we’re seeing a shift from traditional pharma, which focused on small molecules and moved on to biologics, to now create therapies at the cellular level. For example, CAR-T therapy, initially developed to treat cancer, is now being adapted for autoimmune diseases.” Russ is also enthusiastic about developments in regenerative medicine, like stem cell therapies that could help regrow the thymus.
Advice for His Younger Self
Looking back on his time at Harvard, Russ advised students to focus on building strong relationships with faculty. “I loved my time at Harvard, especially the leadership experiences I gained through clubs and undergraduate life. But if I could go back, I’d spend more time with the professors. You can learn so much from them, and they can become lifelong mentors.”
