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2.0 Ceo
Fund: Carlyle Venture Partners
Posted by Robert Holloway on 2007-09-19
I have worked with and pitched multiple VC's . We have been funded by Allan Thygesen and the Carlyle team for several years across two ventures.
Ultimately the fund is about the people you work with and Allan is the guy to get hold of. He's got strong operational experience in tech start ups and has personally experienced the ups and downs of being in a start up. This generates a pragmatic partnership approach rather than some of the more conventional faceless MBA type number crunchers I've encountered. He's a no bullshit type of guy with a very friendly open demeanour.
Carlyle has undergone significant change since we were first funded. Of course the mother ship is huge, however the venture arm in SF maintains smaller shop feel.
The critical piece for me is how your investment partners react to the bad times rather than when everything is running smoothly. This is where Allan and his team has excelled. Very hands on if you want, very keen to learn about our business and just all round good colleague in and out of board meetings.
I've talked with other of their portfolio CEO's who echo these sentiments. Happy to answer questions if you are considering approaching them.
Rob
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