Team
Byron Alsberg, Founding Partner
Byron didn't plan on becoming a venture capitalist, but after Byron and Owen worked together, Byron decided to join the dark side. And it’s a great thing he did.
Byron’s combination of business and technology comes from all parts of his career. From helping build Texas Instruments’ custom semiconductor and Audience’s voice technology businesses at tech juggernauts to starting two startups that were bought by public companies, Byron’s been immersed in fields from consumer electronics to advanced software and artificial intelligence to biotech. And now, he’s spreading his wisdom through his investments, which focus on early-stage deep technology companies. All without giving up his midwestern charm.
Owen Van Natta, Founding Partner
A meeting with Owen is not like any meeting you’ve ever had. Bring him a problem, and he’ll give you 10 ideas. One of those ideas will reframe your entire world view, one of those ideas will reframe your view of the problem, and the rest might be too bold to even wrap your head around.
This happens because Owen operates on a different wavelength. He’s been rewired to think this way thanks to working for Bezos, Zuckerberg, Murdoch, and Pincus, to name a few. Owen helps open up your mind to untraditional ideas because he knows you’re too busy thinking about tactical items. He’s been through it before, and through investing, he’ll help you through it too.
Calvin Ling, Founding Principal
While other folks coming out of college go for steady banking, consulting, or tech jobs, Calvin found a different path. He graduated school a quarter early and left his job at Honda Silicon Valley Lab to take a leap of faith and work with Byron and Owen. He started off with regular diligence work but quickly took on investment management and operational tasks.
Now, from managing vendors to running due diligence, Calvin works across all parts of the organization. Investment associate, financial analyst, legal controller, general manager, close confidant: you name it, he’ll do it. Ask what he’s doing on a given day and it’ll be something unexpected. No doubt, it’s more interesting than a boring corporate job.
