The next step in my journey to make the world a better place

I am tremendously excited and proud to tell you about my next great professional adventure. I am joining the Atlanta-based venture capital firm Tech Square Ventures (TSV) and Engage, as a general partner. 

My journey

For as long as I can remember, my mission in life has been to make the world a better place. Throughout my career, I’ve pursued this goal by finding roles, organizations, and industries that tap into my strengths and passions. The tech industry has been my home since I co-founded my first software company in high school. I love working with teams of dedicated, visionary people as they convert promising technologies into products and services that change the world. 

Most recently, I have discovered climate tech, which combines the best of tech’s disruptive, high-growth startup culture with the promise of improving our planet’s future and lifting the lives of billions of people. Climate tech allows entrepreneurs to do well by doing good. 

Over my career, I have amassed an unusual set of experiences and skills. I have been the CEO of several high-growth companies, raising capital for each one, and navigating exits for all of them. In between, I spent several years with the venture capital firm, Greylock, investing in startups and serving on boards. Later, after selling my company to IBM, I was promoted to help run IBM’s corporate strategy for the company’s CEO and SVPs. Over the last few years, I have gained some expertise and a wide network in the climate tech industry through hosting a podcast and, later, publishing a book. 

So, earlier this year, after my book was complete, I began to ask myself, is it possible to create the next chapter in my career in a way that builds on all of these experiences, taps into my passions, teams with people I respect and care for, and provides me the opportunity to help make the world a better place? It turns out the answer is yes.

Engage

Engage was born from an unprecedented collaboration with several of the Southeast’s largest corporations and one of the region’s top universities, Georgia Tech. The firm was founded and led by Blake Patton, who has been a close friend of mine since our time together at the early internet services giant, iXL.

The Engage fund invests in companies selected for its enterprise-focused Go-To-Market Program, which combines education and one-of-a-kind access to help the startups break through the barriers of selling to, and partnering with, large enterprises. Engage accomplishes this through a unique collaboration with the fund’s investors and partners, which include the CEOs and other senior leaders at Chick-fil-A, The Coca-Cola Company, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power Foundation, Georgia Tech, Goldman Sachs, The Home Depot, Honeywell Connected Enterprise, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Inspire Brands, Invesco, Invest Georgia, UPS, and Wellstar Health System.

It will be a tremendous privilege to work directly with the top execs of these global corporations, to collaborate with the leaders at Georgia Tech, and to help build high-impact, innovation-focused partnerships with the amazing startups.

Tech Square Ventures manages the Engage fund, program, and partnerships. All together, across the early-stage fund and Engage, the firm has invested in 70 amazing startups and has a combined $140 million under management, ranking them among the most active firms in the Southeast. 

For startups

The mission of Engage/TSV is to be the best partner and investor for startups targeting enterprise customers. Engage has done something few other venture funds have accomplished. It has created a virtuous cycle where large enterprises can tap directly into, and learn from, the most innovative startups; and those startups become more successful and innovative by tapping into the most senior leaders at some of the world’s most respected corporations. Each startup gets direct access to the most sought-after markets and customers, allowing them to get their solutions in front of Engage’s enterprise partners and the many vertical markets they represent. 

Engage, and its enterprise partners are looking for the very best startups in five segments: supply chain & manufacturing; future of work; big data, analytics & security; customer experience; and climate tech & sustainability. 

Building the future of Engage and Tech Square Ventures

Blake likes to say Tech Square Ventures is like an early Series A startup. We have found our initial market fit, and we are ready to rapidly grow and expand into new markets. I have joined Engage and TSV to help chart a future that is bigger, broader, and makes a defining impact on our region and the venture-backed startup community worldwide. 

I could not have imagined a better fit and a better place to continue my career than Engage/TSV. I love working with startup founders to help transform their visions into industry-defining companies. At IBM, it was very rewarding to work with the company’s CEO and top executives to help unleash the incredible innovation of its people, products, and partners. I am deeply interested in all the segments Engage works in, particularly supply chain, analytics/AI, customer experience, future of work, and of course, energy and climate tech. 

Blake, his partner Vasant, and the entire team at both Engage and TSV are some of the finest people I have ever met. Our strengths are wonderfully complementary yet our values are tightly aligned. Together, we plan to aggressively expand the firm’s ability to help our startups, our corporate partners, and the entire community (this includes building on our early work in climate tech).

Beyond Tech Square Ventures and Engage

I have spent the last few years building out several ventures. With the bulk of my time shifting into Engage/TSV, I want to be intentional about where they go from here.

The Freeing Energy book - I am very proud of the book’s success. It was ranked as Amazon’s #1 new release across several categories and has gained widespread praise, including a recent Gold Medal in the Living New Book Awards Green Living category. I have a flurry of interviews and keynotes scheduled through September, but I expect this will slow dramatically to just a handful of speeches and interviews each quarter going forward. 

The Freeing Energy podcast - This will definitely continue! I love the community that has built up around this podcast. After it was recently ranked by Feedspot as the #1 podcast in renewable energy, it has taken on a life of its own. It also happens to be well aligned with Engage’s deepening focus on climate tech. 

Solar Inventions - The startup I co-founded was granted its core patent late last year. The recent Inflation Reduction Act means that a US solar manufacturing market is now likely to take off, providing exciting opportunities for the company’s inventions. My partner, Gregg Freishtat, has generously agreed to take over the CEO role, and I will become the company’s chairman. 

Moving forward

I wanted to love going to work each day, and I wanted to find a platform from which I could put my best efforts toward making the world a better place. Huge thanks to my friends and family for their endless support and patience as I worked through myriad options. I couldn’t be more excited to have found Engage.