I love building strong companies around great software and helping entrepreneurs scale up their impact, withstand adversity, and achieving something historic. I had the opportunity to build three leading business software companies before joining General Catalyst, taking two of them through their IPOs as CEO.

At General Catalyst, I’m involved with companies that transform a range of industries, including airSlate, B12, Bigcommerce, Black Duck Software (acquired by Synopsys), Clarabridge, Custora, Drift, Feedvisor, GoodData, HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS), Kensho (acquired by S&P Global), Locu (acquired by GoDaddy), Logz.io, L2 (acquired by Gartner), Mark43, OM1, Semantic Machines (acquired by Microsoft), Tidelift, Yottaa, and Zageno.

My path to becoming a venture capitalist is quite unusual; I drove a taxi, worked on a farm, was a short-order cook, and managed a pool hall before getting a BA in English from UMass Amherst and an MA in English Linguistics from Clark University. Later, I taught composition and literature at junior colleges. With an undergrad class in Fortran and some writing skills, I got a job at Data General as a software technical writer and rode the wave that has made software the most important technology of our time.

My investment focus today includes new and existing businesses in cloud-based computing, AI, and SaaS business models, especially with a focus on commerce and analytic applications.

Outside of work, I’m an avid cyclist and occasional woodworker. I’ve been a rider in the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) for 22 years and have contributed to raising over $450 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I’m also a proud dad (two grown kids working in healthcare) and not a perfect husband married to a near-perfect wife.