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12 Splash Points
8 followers
1 vote
3 companies followed
8 followers
1 vote
3 companies followed
Following
Followers
Sam Hayes
Co-Founder & EVP, SharesPost
Palo Alto,
California,
United States
Business owner, Employee, Investor
Member since June 29, 2009
VEQ: MM-FR-TL
Investor interests
| Investments made | TrueCar, ListSpinner, Infralex |
| Credentials | Accredited Investor |
I am a(n):
Vator.TV early adopter
Companies I've founded or co-founded:
SharesPost
Startups I worked for:
Wine.com/WineShopper, Zerotree, Outlink
If you are an entrepreneur, why?
Paraphrasing Drucker: Customer is my inspiration (and keeps me busy).
My favorite startups:
Sun (circa 1984), AOL (Circa 1994), Amazon (Circa 1998), SharesPost (Circa 2011)
What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?
Delighting the customer (in a profitable way).
What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make?
Losing sight of the customer's needs
What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?
Be humble. Be forward-looking. Be focused. All at the same time!
Full bio
Sam Hayes is co-founder and executive vice president of marketplace development for SharesPost, the leading online marketplace for private investments. Sam has worked for emerging growth companies, three of which were funded by Kleiner Perkins, at key stages in the entrepreneurial lifecycle, from pre-launch to dynamic expansion to exit through acquisition. Sam most recently led corporate development, including M&A and investment, for Java-related businesses at Sun Microsystems and has led business development for startups that were acquired by Akamai and Wine.com. Sam was also part of the launch team at America Online's ClassifiedsPlus service, a pioneering marketplace. Sam received his MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and A.B. with honors & distinction from Occidental College.
Sam has been interviewed by leading publications, including BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal and The Economist, and he has spoken at industry events including the Montgomery & Company Growth Conference, Founder's Institute, Tuck-Dartmouth Private Equity Forum and Plug and Play Tech Center Forum.
