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Chris Laughlin

Trustee at The Franklin Institute

I joined First Round as a Partner in 2006 and have focused on a number of areas such as advertising and marketing technology, social/mobile, eCommerce/travel, connected devices and gaming. In 2019 I shifted to Board Partner where I continue to work with existing companies, but no longer lead new investments.

Some of the companies I’ve been fortunate to work with include Ring (Amazon), Hotel Tonight (AirBnB) Flurry (Yahoo!), Invite Media (Google), Demdex (Adobe), Yapta (Coupa), Adaptly (Accenture), and Arbor.io and Circulate (Acxiom). Several are now public companies — ROBLOX (NYSE), DoubleVerify (NASDAQ), ScanScout/Tremor (NYSE) and MyYearbook (NYSE: MEET). Some of the current investments I work with include Warby Parker, Nomad Health, Troops, Outlier, Stensul, LiveIntent, Boom.TV and Rec Room.

I've always been interested in venture capital, but before I became an investor I spent the bulk of my 35-year career on the operating side of tech companies - from the Personal Computer revolution through the early days of the Consumer Internet and Web 2.0. I've held a variety of sales and business development roles that included VP Business Development at Half.com and a 6-year career at eBay after the acquisition, and I led BD at del.icio.us through our Yahoo! acquisition. I’ve attended the TED Conference for over 25 years and worked with them in 2006 to help launch TEDTalks, which have now been viewed over 8 billion times.

Otherwise I like spending time with my family, I like to run (though I'm pretty sure I've run my last marathon), I have a lot of fun skiing in the winter, and I play a decent game of tennis. I’m on the board of trustees at the Franklin Institute and the Computer History Museum, and proud to support food and water initiatives like charity: water, Fuel The Fight/Frontline Foods/World Central Kitchen, and Lemontree Foods. I’m a member in good standing at the Palizzi Social Club in South Philadelphia. I'm also interested in how people can connect better in business.

Highlights

May 4 · twitter

Schroedinger’s Strait can be open and closed at the same time; ships simultaneously hit and not hit https://t.co/IbwiYN8Fhz

Schroedinger’s Strait can be open and closed at the same time; ships simultaneously hit and not hit
May 4 · twitter

What did Fred Wilson say is the part of VC that can’t be replaced by AI? What was his best advice for new investors? BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS with founders.

Great interview and also features my favorite part of NYC.

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Experience

Trustee at The Franklin Institute
Advisor at Various Startups

Education

Serra Catholic High School
Bachelor Of Fine Arts In Graphic Design, California State University, Fullerton
Bachelor Of Science In Business Administration In Finance, Villanova University
Master Of Business Administration, Saint Joseph's University

Location

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States