Marcus Ogawa

Marcus is a Managing Partner of Quest Venture Partners, and is responsible for new investments, evaluating and closing seed / A rounds and working closely with management from portfolio companies. He enjoys strategy games and Greek mythology.

Website: http://www.questvp.com/blog/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mogawa
Twitter: @marcusogawa
California, United States
Accredited investor
Member since July 12, 2012

About

Investor interests

Type of investor	Early stage VC
Typical investment size	$100k - $250k $250k - $500k $500k - $1M $1M - $2.5M
Typical investments in a year	9
Categories of interest	Digital media Mobile Mobile advertising Mobile apps Software as a service (SaaS) Video
Locations of interest	Silicon Valley
Credentials	Accredited Investor

Activity

Investments made	DogVacay.com, CrowdFlower, Qik, 500 Startups, Tripping, Retailigence Corporation, Angel List, Cardinal Blue, Stipple, 500 Friends, Plumzi, App.io, Visual.ly
Advisory positions	500 Startups

Exits

M&A

Tapulous, Undisclosed
Qik, $50M to $300M
Vivu, Undisclosed
Xgraph, Undisclosed
MMTG Labs, Undisclosed
Foodzie, Undisclosed

I am a(n):

Investor

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

"It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

Freedom; it serves as oxygen for the soul to flourish just as soon as it would fan the flames of one's own destruction.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Underestimating the important and delicate nature of beginnings. Initiatives set into motion significantly larger events. Compromising in the beginning will yield a vastly significant compromise in the future.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

Get. Shit. Done.

1) Get good people to support you financially and productively. Without people you can do nothing greater then yourself.
2) Shit will suck. Startups are hard, and you need to have the courage of your convictions. Get good people and this step is made easier. Get stuff done and your momentum will help you cruise through the lulls.
3) Done. Execute, execute and execute. Always be in motion forward. It's so important, its repeated in the three most important lessons.

Full bio

Marcus has worked with a number of startups and established companies in consumer web, distributed computing, real estate, and news media. He has both a business and technical background having served on over 10 Boards of Director positions, worked as a web programmer with the LAMP technology stack, Windows and Novell systems administrator, a Cisco network designer and engineer. Marcus currently serves as a Resident Mentor at 500 Startups.