S3 Ep1: A Candid Look at the Road from College to Tech VC and PE Partner: Part I

After an unexpected hiatus, we’re back at it. 

If you're in the tech sector and looking for investment funding, it really helps to understand a little bit about the people you're pitching to. That's why today’s conversation is with an old and very close friend, Brent Granado. Brent's a JD, MBA who started out as a corporate attorney working on deals, moved in-house running corporate development and M&A doing deals, then jumped over to the funding/investment side. He's currently Managing Partner at Sweetwater Private Equity. Prior to that Brent was a General Partner at Sway Ventures. Both firms are focused exclusively on the tech sector, primarily on Software as a Service.

We start off talking about the value and gift of multi-generational friends and mentors. How an older guy (Dave) mentors a younger friend (Brent). Time goes by. Everyone gets older. The once young friend starts mentoring the undergraduate son (Dan) of his now “Silverback” buddy. That new relationship blossoms. The son’s career is accelerated. In about decade Dan enters the executive ranks. The mentoring cycle starts to repeat and the family of friends grows. Why genuine, honest, authentic, trust-based relationships are the most important part of your business career. And why if you ever forget that business is all about people, your life won’t be worth living. 

We pivot into Brent’s career journey. From there we get into a discussion of venture funding in the tech space, the mechanics of that environment, how that landscape has changed over the years, and where things seem to be headed now. The conversation was so expansive we’re breaking it into a couple of parts. The second half is coming in a few weeks. We hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as we enjoyed having it. 

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