Max Simkoff
I use my operator’s knowledge of the essential fundamentals of a successful startup, alongside my experience as CEO of a VC-funded enterprise SaaS business from inception to exit, to help me selectively invest in 3-5 companies per year who have the potential to impact $10 Billion+ markets. I invest primarily in companies who are trying to solve messy and complicated problems that affect the largest global markets. My focus is primarily on enterprise SaaS, and I have specialty knowledge in evaluating business models that apply machine learning/AI to large network datasets.
I spent the majority of my time over the past 10 years as founder/CEO of a venture-funded enterprise SaaS business. The company I founded, Evolv, largely defined one of the biggest segments of enterprise predictive analytics (HR/human capital analytics), and after signing several very large customers (AT&T, Xerox, Harte Hanks among others), raising money from top-tier VCs (Lightspeed, Khosla, GGV Capital) and being named one of the 10 most innovative big data companies in the world by Fast Company, we were acquired by Cornerstone (Nasdaq: CSOD) in late 2014. My experience as a Founder/CEO gave me a unique inside look at the rare combination of ingredients that make for a successful company. Where I’ve selectively done investments or taken on advisor roles those companies have all either significantly increased their valuation through financing from top-tier investors (Grovo, Percolate) or been acquired by very large publicly-traded companies (Bureau of Trade to eBay, Identified to Workday).
I am investing both as an individual and as an "Open Scout," a program created by Bloomberg Beta (http://tiny.cc/manual), the early-stage venture fund.
Bloomberg Beta created the Open Scouts program to deepen relationships with a handful of angels they trust. They will back every deal I syndicate at a fixed ratio with my personal investment. (In my case, Bloomberg Beta invests $3 for every $1 from me.) While a portion of each allocation I bring will therefore be reserved for Bloomberg Beta, they will not be direct investors in my portfolio companies and I will manage the syndicate's relationship with companies. Bloomberg Beta's intent is to support people they trust as investors, and extend their fund to support many more companies, not to create direct deal flow for them.