Leave out the fiction

The fact is; 

This friction, 

Will only be worn by persistence



Leave out conditions

Courageous convictions, 

Will drag the dream into existence

Excerpt from “Vital Signs” by Rush

Yes, it’s true. I’ve been a Rush devotee since I was very young. I grew up in a family of musicians, and started playing string instruments from the time I could walk. I loved the technical sound, the musicianship, and the intelligence of the lyrics. These themes seem to follow me throughout my life.

For me, success means being able to pursue your passion through your work. I was lucky enough to figure out that our world would be defined by technology, and that as an entrepreneur and eventually a venture capitalist I could surf the waves of innovation. It keeps me young and I can’t imagine ever stopping.

Here’s the progression:

Education: Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University

Director, Blue Chip Venture Company

• Grew to $600 million under management in less than 10 years
• Led investment in Get2Chip (sold to Cadence) and Advertising.com (sold to AOL)

Founder & Chairman, ShareThis

• Sharing tools found on over 5 million sites reaching over 600 million people around the globe
• Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA

Syndicate Fund Manager, Cintrifuse

• Investing in early stage venture funds around the U.S. for the purposes of growing the venture-backed startup community in the Cincinnati region.

My favorite thing that I get to do is live at the intersection of art and science. Exciting new ideas come from happy collisions of ideas and people. Success means having a positive impact on the lives of individual employees, families, and the community. And it provides the fuel to do it all again tomorrow.

However, I most proud of the fact that my wife and I have been able to help our three kids discover their passions. Now we get to help them with their pursuits, and we couldn’t be more fortunate.