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Brian Rothenberg

Founder, startup growth leader, and early-stage VC

Brian Rothenberg is a General Partner at defy.vc, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Woodside, California.1 Here are some key details about Brian Rothenberg:

Professional Background

  • He has been a General Partner at defy.vc since April 2019.2
  • Prior to joining defy.vc, Brian spent over 6 years at Eventbrite, where he served as VP of Growth, CMO, and VP/GM of the company's largest revenue segment.1 He helped scale Eventbrite from a startup to millions of users, $300M in revenue, and through its IPO.
  • He co-founded SkillSlate, a VC-backed local services marketplace that was acquired by TaskRabbit.1
  • Brian started his first business, an online ticket brokerage called EventTicketsNow, from his dorm room at USC.1

Investing Experience

  • At defy.vc, Brian typically invests $2-10M as first checks in early-stage companies.1
  • He has invested in various sectors including vertical AI, enterprise & vertical SaaS, marketplaces, health IT, defense tech, and blockchain/web3.1
  • Prior to joining defy.vc, Brian was an angel investor and advisor to startups for several years.2
  • He was part of Sequoia Capital's Scout program and Y Combinator's Growth Council.2

Education and Personal

  • Brian studied entrepreneurship and marketing at the University of Southern California.1
  • He also has an MBA in Finance and General Management from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business.2
  • Brian is a fourth-generation San Franciscan and lives in the Bay Area with his wife, four children, and their dog.1

Brian Rothenberg brings a combination of entrepreneurial experience, operational expertise in scaling startups, and venture capital knowledge to his role at defy.vc.

Highlights

Aug 29 · linkedin

At defy.vc, we're often the first outside board member for the startups that we back. I recently shared my advice on making this important decision in Fast Company's article, "7 Questions Founders Should Ask When Choosing Their First Investor Board Member:"

  1. Is the pitching / investment process a one-way or a two-way street?
  2. The ‘ups’ are easy, how do they handle the ‘downs’?
  3. Can we try before we buy? Create a cadence of interactions
  4. Can you communicate effectively and work through disagreements?
  5. Will this person ‘do the work’ without grabbing the wheel?
  6. Not all cash is the same color green—where is the money coming from?
  7. Are we aligned on the vision and goals?

Check out the article for all the details, and thanks to the many awesome founders who have chosen us as your partners on the startup journey! 🙏

Medha Agarwal, Neil Sequeira, Bob Rosin, Amy Yin, Adam P., Purvi Shah, Phebe T., Jennifer Wiguna

https://lnkd.in/gT5DR3rq

Nov 20 · linkedin

It's an honor to have two amazing new partners join our Defy team -- welcome Medha Agarwal and Amy Yin! I had heard great things about Medha through mutual friends, and after meeting through one such long-time friend, it was obvious why. As a former founder turned long-time VC, she has deep empathy for the entrepreneurial journey as well as a strong track record helping founders navigate their early paths. She is also an awesome all-around person. Amy and I have already had the pleasure of working together on her startup OfficeTogether, from their first investment round to building the team and product, to their exit to Envoy. Amy is not only an extremely talented product person and technical leader, but she's also a consummate entrepreneur who will be a great asset to the other founders that she works with. We're fortunate to work with Amy again, now as an investor. I couldn't be more excited about the future of Defy and am thankful to continue building the firm and helping the next generation of entrepreneurs alongside Medha, Amy, Neil, Bob, Adam, and team!

Related Questions

What are some of the startups Brian Rothenberg has invested in at defy.vc?
How did Brian Rothenberg's role at Eventbrite prepare him for his career in venture capital?
What makes defy.vc's investment strategy unique compared to other VC firms?
How does Brian Rothenberg support startups beyond providing capital?
What are Brian Rothenberg's favorite sectors to invest in?
Brian Rothenberg
Brian Rothenberg, photo 1
Brian Rothenberg, photo 2
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Experience

General Partner at defy.vc (April 2019 - Present)
VP of Growth & GM at Eventbrite (December 2012 - February 2019), Scout at Sequoia Capital (2018-2019); Growth Advisory Council at Y Combinator (2018-2019); Expert Network Advisor & Angel Track at Firs at EventTicketsNow.com (2001-2005)

Location

San Francisco, California, United States