Today's Entrepreneur: Brian Jacobs

Kristin Karaoglu · October 10, 2011 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/2006

No. 1 mistake: Protecting an idea instead of sharing it

Today's Entrepreneur is Brian Jacobs, who founded Emergence Capital Partners. According to his VEQ, Brian is good at finance management, team motivation and fund raising.

Vator’s community is the home to entrepreneurs who embrace their passion and follow their dreams. Our newly-designed profiles allow members to express themselves by sharing their interests, lessons learned, as well as bits and pieces of their roller-coaster journey.

These profiles give entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase themselves and tell their story. So if you are an entrepreneur, a serial entrepreneur, or even an aspiring entrepreneur, we'd like to hear from you.

I am a(n):

Investor

Companies I've founded or co-founded:

Emergence Capital Partners

Companies I've invested in:

YouSendIt, Intacct, Bill.com, InsideView, Janrain, BigFix, HireRight, Lexar, Net Perceptions

If you are an entrepreneur, why?

I'm bursting with ideas!

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

Changing the world takes time. It's important to have the right idea with the right team at the right time. Too early is the same as being wrong.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make?

Protecting an idea instead of sharing it, iterating and making it better.

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

Your values are your most enduring competitive advantage.
Focus wins.
No success or failure is permanent.

Kristin Karaoglu

Woman of many skills: Database System Engineer; SplashX event producer; Author of Startup Teams

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Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs

Emergence Capital Partners

Angel group/VC

Joined Vator on July 6, 2011

The declining cost of IT infrastructure combined with pervasive connectivity has created opportunities for new companies with innovative business models to penetrate large markets and reorder the competitive landscape.

Emergence Capital has been at the forefront of this trend with early investments in SaaS, digital media and mobile services companies and brings deep experience and network resources to its portfolio companies. This focused team oriented approach has led to investments in industry leaders such as Salesforce.com and SuccessFactors. Emergence manages $325 million across two funds and is actively seeking new investment opportunities.