Venture Studio (18): Mike Brown, Jr., Partner & Founder AOL Ventures

Recently I sat down with the terrific Mike Brown, Jr., one of the Founders and a Partner at AOL Ventures, the VC arm of AOL which focuses on Seed and Series A non-strategic investing in tech-oriented consumer internet companies.

Mike comes to AOL Ventures from the Virgin Group's investment arm and talked with us about the history, vision and approach of the AOL fund- which you'll learn is definitely not your typical corporate venture arm. He recently moved the operation to the venerable Brooks Brothers building on Broadway and Bond in NOHO and absolutely did wonders with the space- check the video below for footage. In 1874 the New York Times effused as follows concerning the place: “Externally it is an ornament to the street, and its internal arrangements are of the most perfect kind.” I can state unequivocally that this description still fits the bill and that all AOL Ventures portfolio companies headquartered or being incubated there are enjoying one of the best workspaces I've encountered in NYC.

Learn about how AOL Ventures' approaches investing in the very early-stage sector of a startup's lifecycle in our conversation below:

You'll find the whole interview here at: Venture Studio

 

Venture Studio (10): Ben Lerer, CEO of Thrillist

This is Episode (10) of Venture Studio

Welcome to this week's conversation with Ben Lerer, CEO of Thrillist, which he started five years ago in NYC as a daily email/city guide chock full of product and experiential recommendations for a very underserved market- urban-dwelling guys.  Since then, Ben and his team have scaled the company to over three million subcribers, 90+ employees and into approximately 20 cities around the country. They have also just made their first acquisition: JackThreads and have launched a Rewards program.

I would say that "evolution" was definitely one of the major themes of our talk. Ben talks not only about the evolution of his business but also of his own from a "do everything kind of entrepreneur" to a guy who now oversees a large and growing business with talented people in important roles. It's a transition that any startup entrepreneur should aspire to make one day.

We also discuss Lerer Ventures, (the seed investment fund he and his father operate). Here too we talk about his evolution as a seed investor.  Enjoy.

:20  -  What is the story of Thrillist and how it got started?

2:10 -  On getting funded by AOL veteran Bob Pittman of the Pilot Group

3:34 -  What's an average day like for Ben lately?

4:04 - "Thrillist is definitely hiring!"

4:35 - How has Ben's role at Thrillist evolved as the company has scaled?

5:13 - What's with the Bowie Knife? (ok, ok, it's plastic....) 

8:19 - Biggest lessons learned... (it's that focus thing again!)

10:04 - All about the JackThreads acquisition

11:40 -  Lerer Ventures & their evolution as seed-stage investors

14:24 - What are they looking for in terms of entrepreneurs they back?

15:02 - What is the Rewards Program and what's next for Thrillist?

Click Here for Venture Studio (11) w/ Jonathan Glick from Sulia