DFJ GOTHAM VENTURES PROMOTES THATCHER BELL TO PRINCIPAL, HIRES MARK DAVIS AS ASSOCIATE
June 9th, 2008, (NEW YORK, NY) – DFJ Gotham Ventures, an early-stage technology venture capital firm based in New York, today announced the promotion of Thatcher Bell to Principal and the addition of new Associate Mark Davis.
“DFJ Gotham continues to grow in every way,” commented Danny Schultz, co-founder and Managing Director at the firm. “We are investing out of our second fund and continue to expand initiatives such as the DFJ East Coast Venture Challenge and our involvement in the New York Tech Meetup. To help enable this growth, Thatcher is stepping up to an expanded role, and we’re excited to add Mark to the team on a full-time basis after working as our intern for the last two years.”
Thatcher is an accomplished professional whose background includes venture investing, operating and consulting roles with software, Internet, and financial services companies. He has been part of the DFJ Gotham team since 2005; working closely with portfolio companies Worktopia, Lumeta and Monitor 110; sourcing investments; conducting due diligence; and assisting with fund operations. With this promotion, Thatcher will take an even more active role with the DFJ Gotham portfolio. Prior to joining DFJ Gotham, Thatcher worked at North Hill Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of Capital One Financial, and Silicon Alley Venture Partners. Earlier in his career, Thatcher held operating roles at two start-ups after beginning his career in consulting at Ernst & Young. Thatcher received his B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and his M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
“Thatcher’s promotion reflects the role he is already playing at the firm, our expectations for him as well as his maturity as a professional investor,” noted Ross Goldstein, co-founder and Managing Director. “He has already begun to take on new responsibilities, including more leadership roles with portfolio companies and in new investments.”
Mark Davis, a recent graduate of Columbia Business School, is an active member of the venture community and has been an entrepreneur himself. He is the author of Get Venture, a popular blog designed to help entrepreneurs better understand the process of raising venture capital. Prior to joining DFJ Gotham, he founded Zotspot, an internet search destination, and also advised numerous startups. In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Mark advised clients on acquisitions at both Bain & Company and KPMG. Mark earned his B.A. in Economics at Duke University and his M.B.A. at Columbia Business School, where he was the Early Stage President of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Club, an InSITE Fellow and the Founder of the Columbia Venture Community.
“We are pleased that Mark has joined us as a full-time associate,” said Jed Katz, DFJ Gotham Managing Director. “His skill-set and work style complements our team well, further strengthening this group.”
About Draper Fisher Jurvetson Gotham Ventures:
DFJ Gotham Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York City focused primarily on investments in information technology startups based in the Northeast U.S. and Israel. DFJ Gotham partners with extraordinary teams of entrepreneurs to build strong and successful businesses that make a huge impact in their industries. Managing Directors Ross Goldstein and Danny Schultz co-founded DFJ Gotham Ventures in 1999. Since then the group has invested in a wide range of early-stage technology companies including Mimeo.com, Massive (sold to Microsoft), ContextWeb, XOSoft (sold to Computer Associates), Worktopia and Drop.io. For more information about Draper Fisher Jurvetson Gotham Ventures see www.dfjgotham.com.